Blog
4 Year-End Financial Goals to Set for Yourself Today
With Dec. 31 still nearly two months away, you may not be quite ready to get into the holiday spirit, let alone start making year-end financial decisions. But the fact of the matter is that many....
The Biggest Retirement Expense Almost Nobody Is Ready for
The statistics are scary: Roughly 81% of Americans admit to not knowing how much they'll spend in retirement. And who can blame them? The conventional wisdom, which is that you'll end up spending....
3 Reasons to File for Social Security on Time
Few topics are more controversial among financial planners than when you should claim your hard-earned Social Security benefits. Sometimes, claiming as soon as you possibly can is a smart move,....
Why Rite Aid Corporation Stock Is Riskier Than Ever With the Amazon Threat
Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD) keeps on taking hits. The pharmacy retailer has lost around 80% of its market cap so far this year, after a planned acquisition by Walgreens Boots Alliance....
Surprise! The Market for Canadian Marijuana Stocks Could Be 2 Times Bigger Than Expected
Just how big could the marijuana market in Canada actually be?The country's top medical-marijuana suppliers are eagerly anticipating the prospects of enormous new revenue growth after Canada....
If You Max Out Your IRA, Here's How Much You Could Have When You Retire
The maximum that most people can contribute to an individual retirement account, or IRA, in 2018 is $5,500. While this may seem like a lot of money to set aside, it could be a small price to pay....
Affordable Care Act Enrollment: 5 Money-Saving Tips for 2018
It's that time of the year again: Open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which you probably know better as Obamacare, is in full swing. Enrollment began on Nov. 1, as it has in recent....
United Continental Is Forging Ahead With a Bizarre Plan to Grow in Los Angeles
Los Angeles International Airport (also known as LAX) is unique among American airports. Most big hubs have one or two dominant airlines. But LAX is a major base of operations for each of the five....
This Bank Has Tripled in Size Since the Financial Crisis
Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) has gotten into its fair share of trouble of late, but that doesn't change the progress the California-based bank has made over the past decade at growing market....
Credit Cards With Low Interest Rates
If you carry a balance on a credit card, rates and interest charges are more important than virtually everything else -- no foreign transaction fees, rewards, or other perks don't come close.....
Will Manitowoc Company Earnings Surprise the Markets the Way Caterpillar Did?
Something's brewing inside Manitowoc Company (NYSE: MTW). The stock has jumped 12% in just a week's time, as of this writing, without any news from the construction-equipment manufacturer. Part of....
How Big Auto Is Disrupting Tesla's Superchargers
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) fans, take note: The big automakers have caught on to the advantages of Tesla's Supercharger network, and they've begun building their own.A new company called Ionity said....
The Best Marijuana Investment Could Be a Beer Stock
For years, many in the business community believed that tobacco and alcohol companies would eventually break into the marijuana market.Now it seems that prediction is finally playing....
Warning: Don’t Count on Retiring Late
If you’re planning to retire later in life, you’re not alone. An estimated 25% of Americans intend to keep working well into their 70s, and 70 itself is the second most popular target retirement....
2018 FSA Changes: Use a Flexible Spending Account to Cut Your Tax Bill
Millions of workers have access to flexible spending accounts, which are tax-saving vehicles that let you set money aside on a pre-tax basis from your paycheck to cover anticipated healthcare or....
Trump Vows to Leave 401(k)s Alone, but He's Broken a Retirement Promise Before
Ready or not, here comes tax reform.After being rebuffed at seemingly every turn by members within his own party with regard to healthcare reform, President Trump and lawmakers in Washington have....
Are Amazon's Brick-and-Mortar Plans in Trouble?
Amazon's (NASDAQ: AMZN) takeover of Whole Foods stunned many brick-and-mortar retailers, which feared that merging Amazon's e-commerce ecosystem with hundreds of physical stores could render....
3 Stocks With Better Dividends Than General Electric
General Electric (NYSE: GE) investors breathed a sigh of relief when new CEO John Flannery opted not to cut the company's dividend -- at least for now. He did say, however, that the decision might....
10 Social Security Terms You Need to Understand
Social Security serves as a key source of income for countless retirees and disabled individuals. It's also an extremely complex program loaded with rules and terminology. If you're attempting to....
How I Got My Credit Score to an All-Time High
It's one thing to be able to write about how to improve your credit score. It's another to actually follow through and do it. And while I didn't follow my own advice exactly to the letter, as my....
7 Hidden Changes to Education Tax Breaks in the GOP Tax Bill
In the tax framework the GOP released in September, there was a passage that read, "The framework retains tax benefits that encourage work, higher education, and retirement security."Now that an....
3 Stocks That Put Microsoft's Returns to Shame
Few stocks have created the type of wealth Microsoft has. Since going public in 1986 -- and accounting for all of the stock splits and dividends that have come in between -- shareholders have....
Social Security Tax: 3 States With the Highest Income Exemptions
Social Security is already one of America's most vital social programs for seniors, and its importance only seems to be growing. According to data from the Social Security Administration, more....
Could Activision Blizzard Be a Value Stock?
Trading at roughly 42 times trailing earnings and 30 times this year's expected profits, Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) doesn't fit the typical value-stock profile. Those earnings multiples....
3 Things You Need to Know From Cypress Semiconductor’s Q3 2017 Report
Cypress Semiconductor (NASDAQ: CY) reported third-quarter results recently, letting investors know that it took in record revenue of $604.6 million in the three-month period. Revenues have been....