Ways to Repair Your Credit Score Steps to get your credit rating back toward 720. Provided by Valerie L. Peck, MBA, CFP ® We all know the value of a good credit score. We all try to maintain one. Sometimes, though, life throws us a financial curve and that score declines. What steps can we take to repair it? Reduce your credit utilization ratio (CUR). CUR is credit industry jargon, an arcane way of referring...
The A, B, C, & D of Medicare Breaking down the basics & what each part covers. Provided by Peck Financial Advisors Whether your 65th birthday is on the horizon or decades away, you should understand the parts of Medicare – what they cover, and where they come from. Parts A & B: Original Medicare. America created a national health insurance program for seniors in 1965 with two components. Part A is hospital insurance. It...
Keeping All This Volatility in Perspective These recent ups & downs are reminiscent of past Wall Street swings. Provided by Peck Financial Advisors Fall might be anything but calm on Wall Street. Volatility is back, in a big way: the CBOE VIX has risen more than 105% since the end of July. Additionally, 11 of the 15 trading days ending September 9 were “all or nothing” days in which more than 80% of the S&P...
This New York times article caught my eye on why we want to stay invested and not react to the kinds of dramatic changes in the markets that we're seeing. Read here
What Does the Devalued Yuan Mean for the U.S.? A look at China’s unexpected move & its potential impact. Provided by Peck Financial Advisors China has surprised global investors by weakening the yuan almost 5%. Its central bank may even weaken it further. 1,5 Why did the PRC make this move? Its long-booming economy is in a slump. Most notably, Chinese exports have taken a major fall. In July, they were down 8.3% year-over-year. By...
How Might Higher Inflation Affect Your Investments? With the Fed poised to gradually raise rates, this is worth considering. Provided by Valerie Peck, Principal and Founder America once experienced something called “moderate inflation.” It may seem like a distant memory, but it could very well return in the second half of this decade. A remote possibility? Most economists think the Fed will start raising interest rates in late 2015 and take them higher in 2016...
Along with most consumer prices, college tuition costs are heating up again. It seems as though we have become accustomed to college cost increases that have outpaced the rate of inflation; however, recent data shows them rising at an even more alarming rate into the double digits in many states and as high as 30% in California. At this rate, the cost of a college education could be beyond the reach of most parents in...
I remember Lynn O'Shaughnessy when she was a staff writer on personal financial issues for the San Diego Union Tribune. She is the author of a book called, The College Solution , which I recommend to parents starting to consider the costs and value of a college education for their children. Her book is a must-have. She also has a blog, TheCollegeSolution.com. The link below is to a recent article Lynn wrote with facts addressing...
Are You Retiring Within the Next 5 Years? What should you focus on as the transition approaches? Provided by Valerie Peck, Principal and Founder You can prepare for your retirement transition years before it occurs. In doing so, you can do your best to avoid the kind of financial surprises that tend to upset an unsuspecting new retiree. How much monthly income will you need? Look at your monthly expenses and add them up. (Consider...
One of the first lessons of finance we are taught, by our parents or through some basic personal finance course, is to make creating an emergency fund our top priority. Having a reserve of cash equivalent to six to 12 month’s worth of living expenses is considered a fundamental principal of financial security. Yet, the reality is that less than 10 percent of income earners have enough reserve cash to cover more than a month’s...
An increasing number of Americans are facing an uphill battle just trying to save enough and earn enough on their savings to be able to retire on time. Carrying much higher debt burdens than previous generations, many pre-retirees have had to put their savings on the back burner to focus on debt reduction, which, for practical purposes is smart, but it is also the primary reason why some will need to delay retirement or drastically...
I’m not sure I agree that traditional banks are “the perfect partner” as referenced in this article about new sources for small business loans, but if rates and fees are manageable, these new opportunities could be good news for small businesses. Fortune notes: http://tinyurl.com/ltmgrsv
