Soon after donning their caps and gowns, recent college graduates should develop their first (of many) financial plans. Here’s how to start: Create a cash flow: No, not a budget, but a process that will allow you to track what's coming in and going out. This may sound annoying, but think of it as a way to find the money to fund your various financial priorities. Most banks offer apps or you can try Mint, Digit or You Need a Budget.
Read MoreForget job creation, tax cuts and returning any sector back to its glory days. After running into (read: stalking) former Federal Reserve Chair Ben S. Bernanke in the CBS This Morning Green Room last week, he reminded me that the REAL key to boosting economic growth and more importantly, your living standard, is labor productivity. The reason is easy to understand: “In the long run, what we can consume as a nation is closely tied to how much we can produce,” wrote Bernanke more than a decade ago.
Read MorePresident Trump’s “new” tax plan looked an awful lot like his old one from the campaign, though with far fewer details. The one-page overview was more like an incomplete set of bullet points, than a blueprint. For example, the plan would reduce the number of tax brackets from seven to three - 10, 25 and 35 percent, but there was no breakdown of income levels to which the new rates would apply. It also intends to provide a break for child and dependent care expenses, but did not specify the dollar amount.
Read MoreHere we go again…yet another chance for a government shutdown looms this week. The government is currently being funded by a continuing resolution (CR), passed in December 2016, through April 28, 2017, but there are still five months remaining for this fiscal year that need funding. Both chambers of Congress must pass a bill, which the President would sign, before midnight on Friday in order to avoid a shutdown.
Read MoreThere's good news for tax procrastinators: just one more day of suffering! This year's tax filing deadline is midnight April 18th and if you’re getting a late start, here are some last minute tax tips via Q&A: What if you owe money, but can’t pay in full by the April 18th deadline?
Read MoreAlthough it may seem like a lame excuse, stormy weather in March, which followed mild conditions in February, caused job creation to slump in March. The economy added a lower than expected 98,000 jobs and the number of Americans who were not at work due to bad weather was 195,000 in this report, 55,000 more than the historic number of 140,000. Adding back those employees, the reading was 153,000, somewhat weaker than the 175,000 expected, but well within the general range.
Read MoreAs the college acceptance letters arrive, students are thrilled. However, while parents and grandparents are proud, they may also feel a little anxious about footing the bill for what they know is an important credential in today’s labor force. Before you sign on a dotted line, or heaven-forbid, raid your retirement account or borrow against your house, it’s time for a financial reality check. Here are the basic sources available to fund higher education, according to the Common Application, a not-for-profit member organization of more than 700 colleges and universities in the United States and around the world.
Read MoreHappy Retirement Planning Week! In honor of the celebration, it’s time to take stock of where Americans stand. According to the 2017 Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) Retirement Confidence Survey, we still have some work to do:
Read MoreThe improving economy, a tighter labor market and rising consumer confidence are fueling the continued housing market recovery. In January, existing home sales jumped to their highest level since early 2007 and nationally, prices rose to a 31-month nominal high, with prices up 5.9 percent from a year ago. The National home price index is up nearly 38 percent from the post-bubble low set in December 2011. (Don’t get too excited-when factoring in the rate of inflation, prices are still at April 2004 levels.)
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