On Friday, April 29, 2019, the ride-share company, Lyft, made it’s trading debut on NASDAQ (Market Symbol: LYFT) at almost $90 per share ($87.24 to be exact). With all of hype around Lyft’s IPO (Initial Public Offering), my money brother Kevin Williams, II of BuildingBread.com and I had a conversation about it.
We discussed Lyft’s income performance, how to research the company, what their stock price might do and if it is a good investment.
Watch the video and share you perspective below.
The New Year is a great time to overhaul your financial life for the better, and one excellent place to start is by making good resolutions that can help get you closer to your money goals.
Joshua Kennon, Investing or Beginners Expert, shares ten financial resolutions for the new year that we should consider adding to our agenda.
Have a clear, concise financial goal for the year. It isn’t good enough to say, “I want to have my credit card paid down and more money in the bank”. Instead, you should say something like, “I have the balance on my credit card paid down to $0, over $5,000 in my savings account, and a fully funded IRA.”
Not all debt is equal. Make a list of your liabilities and organize them by the annual interest rate. Those with the highest rates (most likely your credit card debt) should be paid off immediately. It does no good to invest money while you are paying 19%+ each year. In a lot of cases, the wisest course of action is to sell any certificate of deposits, savings bonds or other cash holdings and use them to pay the balance. Why? If you owe $10,000 on your credit card and pay 19% interest annually ($1,900 per year), while at the same time, own a $10,000 certificate of deposit at a bank, paying you 4% interest ($400 a year), you would actually save yourself $1,500 a year by paying the debt!
If you haven’t done so already, open an individual retirement account (or IRA for short). Your financial planner or accountant should be able to tell you whether a Traditional or Roth IRA is better for you. Both offer important tax advantages that can add up to a significant amount money by retirement.
Automatic savings plans are now offered for everything from brokerage accounts to government bonds. Simply call your broker and tell them you want a certain amount of money withdrawn from your checking or savings account each month, on a certain date, and deposited into your investment account. This way, you are forced to save because the cash is drawn directly from your bank before you can get your hands on it. Investors can often sign up for ASP’s through a company’s direct stock purchase plan. In these instances, the money is withdrawn and used to purchase additional shares of stock in the particular company. The United States government offers a similar service to those interested in investing in savings bonds.
Banks and financial institutions charge fees for everything under the sun. Is it really necessary to have several credit or checking accounts? Although there are exceptions, in the vast majority of cases the answer is a firm no! To put things into perspective: imagine your bank charges you $8 each month for your checking account. In thirty years, that $8 will have added up to more than … (continue reading 10 Financial Resolutions for the New Year by Joshua Kennon)
The U.S. is facing a massive retirement crisis, with a whopping $13 trillion retirement savings shortfall.
The retirement savings crisis is even more severe for women since they face a gender-pay gap and will likely live longer.
That means women need to be saving more than men. The goal should be 8 to 10-times an annual salary.
“[That’s] what you need if you want to spend 90% of your pre-retirement levels annually. It’s a bit more than you hear at the majority of investment firms, but we want you to retire like a boss — more travel, more fun,” says Sallie Krawcheck, the CEO of women-led digital investing platform Ellevest on a new episode of MAKERS Money. “And, since we women live longer on average it’s better to have a bigger cushion. Yes, in this case, bigger is better.”
On the fourth episode of MAKERS Money, Krawcheck presents steps that women can take to increase their likelihood of having more money in retirement, including investing in a diversified portfolio and asking for a salary increase.
On the show, she’s joined by Tanya Van Court, the CEO of Goalsetter, an online saving and gifting platform to help kids save. According to Van Court, women need to put themselves in a position for a raise.
“[Women] need to have those conversations about how much they want to make, but not only how much they want to make, but what the clear expectations are that will get them to that point to be deemed successful,” says Van Court.
“I completely agree,” says Krawcheck.
Krawcheck spent nearly 30 years on Wall Street, holding high-level positions including CEO of sell-side research firm Sanford Bernstein, CEO of Smith Barney, CFO of Citigroup, and president of global wealth and investment management at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Last month, feminist media brand MAKERS and Yahoo Finance launched “MAKERS Money,” a weekly show hosted by Krawcheck that features advice for women from top female financial experts.
Originally appeared on Yahoo Finance!
On International Women’s Day 2017, Experian hosted a special Twitter Chat and Live Panel to discuss Woman and Money. The Tweetchat, called #CreditChat, featured Celebrity Financial Consultant, Economic Empowerment Educator, author, speaker and founder of MadamMoney.com, Tarra Jackson; and Writer for Student Loan Hero, Shannon McNay.
During the live panel discussion, the guest experts focused on how Women can #BeBoldforChange with their Money. Check out the video replay for their cool Simple Strategies for Financial Success for Women.
Experian hosts #CreditChat (Twitter chat) every Wednesday at 12:00 PM Pacific Time / 3:00 PM Eastern Time.
If you work full time, you know how hard it is to keep up with all the little things outside of your job. But have you tried putting your lunch break to good use? Instead of spending the hour chatting at the watercooler while you munch on a snack from the vending machine, grab something healthy and use the rest of the time to tackle some important odds and ends – like your finances. Below, we share 13 tasks that you can accomplish over lunch that will help you build a better financial future.
Check your budget from time to time so that you can visualize the progress you’re making toward paying down debt or saving. Make it a habit.
“This will help you stay on track and help you feel motivated to keep working hard toward reaching your goal,” said consumer finance expert Andrea Woroch.
She suggests using an app like Mint, which links all of your financial accounts in one place and provides a real-time snapshot of your spending and saving habits.
Rather than just thinking about your financial goals, write them down in a diary or on a vision board. “You’re more likely to stick to your budget if you write down your plans and are specific,” said Marshay Clarke, a certified financial planner at Betterment, a financial advisory site. Make sure to revisit your goals periodically to stay on track.
You’re more likely to save money if you have somewhere to put it. During your lunch break, you can easily open a savings account at your current bank or with an online bank that offers a high-yield savings account. While you’re at it, set up a recurring monthly transfer from your checking account for automatic savings.
There are apps that help you save and take minutes to set up. Dr. Elizabeth Dunn, co-author of the book “Happy Money“, is an adviser for the Joy app and their free FDIC-insured savings account. The app allows users to automatically save extra cash without having to do much extra work. “This is important because just adopting the goal to save money doesn’t seem to change people’s financial behavior,” Dunn said. “But getting a little nudge to save a manageable amount of money can make a difference.”
Other apps that allow you to save incrementally are Digit and Qapital. Digit will recommend how much you should save, based on your spending habits and financial obligations, whereas with Qapital, you create your own saving rules.
If cash is really tight, or you want to save for a large purchase, maybe it’s time to pick up a side hustle with Fiverr or TaskRabbit. Plenty of people have been known to use their lunch hours to pick up riders as Uber or Lyft drivers, too. Put those extra funds toward a future goal, like a vacation or down payment for a new home.
If something unforeseen should happen in your home, like a fire or a robbery, do you know what you’re covered for? If not, take a few minutes to find out so that you’re not caught off guard should something occur. No insurance? Research policies online over lunch.
Knowing your credit score is important because it can positively or negatively affect your ability to secure a loan, qualify for certain credit cards and, in some cases, get a job. A free service like Credit Karma or Credit Sesame will monitor your score and send you emails if something is amiss.
Use an online retirement calculator to determine if you are saving enough for your long-term goals. If you’re falling short, consider increasing your 401(k) elections from your paycheck, or set up an automatic deposit from your bank account to your investment account.
Also, check your retirement account online and make sure your beneficiaries are in order. It only takes a minute to add a beneficiary and you’ll have peace of mind that your funds will go to the right person(s) if you were to pass away.
Review those subscriptions you’re being billed for each month. You might be paying for things that you rarely, or never use. If those New Yorker magazines are piling up, or you can’t remember the last time you listened to Amazon Music, it might be time to cancel.
Call your phone or internet provider to see what promotions they are offering. Or, contact your credit-card provider about a possible APR reduction. If you have good credit, you might be in luck.
Do you blindly pay your credit-card bills each month? Even if you use autopay, you should take a few minutes each month to scan your statements to ensure that all of the transactions belong to you and are accurate.
Take a walk or attend an exercise class. Health care is expensive, and the better you take care of yourself, the better your chances of avoiding costly medical bills. Some life insurance providers offer reduced rates to customers who show a certain level of fitness activity on their fitness trackers. Fitness can pay!
Skip the digital Solitaire or Candy Crush and read a financial book, like The Wisdom of Finance by Mihir Desai. Doug Kinsey, certified financial planner and Partner at Artifex Financial Group, enjoyed the book so much that he took Desai’s Harvard HBX Course, Leading with Finance, which you can complete online.
“Another helpful HBX course is Economics for Managers,” said Kinsey. “Either one of those courses will help almost everyone by providing greater insight into how the world works from an economic and financial perspective.”
Clarke recommends the financial books Rich Dad Poor Dad, by Robert T. Kiyosaki, and A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton G. Malkiel. So take a look at those, too.
Also check out the financial book Financial Fornication by Tarra Jackson.
MagnifyMoney is a price comparison and financial education website, founded by former bankers who use their knowledge of how the system works to help you save money.
Originally appeared on WWLTV.com.
Saving and investing — they’re both critical to achieving your financial goals. They both require you to put money aside, but for very different purposes.
Saving is ideal for short term goals (vacations or a rainy day fund). Investing is for long-term goals (down payment on a house or retirement).
But if you’re confused by the difference, you’re not alone. Most people in the U.S. don’t save enough, according to think tank Economic Policy Institute. And only half invest, according to a recent report from polling organization Gallup.
Take a look at this video. It will help you understand the difference between saving and investing.
Originally appeared on Learn.Stash.com and written by Jeremy Quittner, the Stash financial writer.
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