Featured
The Ultimate Guide to Retirement Planning
Many of us dream of retiring at the age of 40, and with this ultimate guide to retirement planning— maybe you just can! While our brains are not wired to tuck money away for future plans such as retirement, you must develop this habit at an early age so you can fully and truly enjoy your retirement phase.
For young professionals, the early phases of our adulthood are spent working and spending – whether it’s for daily necessities such as groceries or for wants such as traveling to different countries. Many individuals in the early adult stage do not really think about the future – that is, their impending retirement. During this phase, which is typically set during the late 50s or early 60s, this is a period of no-income phase, and unless you have invested in passive income such as stocks or have built up a sustainable business that can pay for retirement, normal middle-aged folks are expected to save money during their earning phase (20s to 40s), so they can enjoy their retirement.
Yes, we know we know. Government services such as Social Security can help, but this can only cover the bare minimum. Here is your ultimate guide to retirement planning.
Your Ultimate Guide to Retiring Early
Yes, you are probably out spending your hard-earned money shopping for the latest designer bag or sneakers, or you are out clubbing with your friends. You are at the peak of your best self, and it may seem like you own the world. Anchoring you back to reality, remember that you are at your best self, and you have to maximize this time to save some of your money for your retirement (and yes, this may be YEARS from now – you can surely skip your Caramel Macchiato on Tuesdays, right?). Let’s take a look at some useful tips at any stage of your life.
1. During Your 20s
- Think Compound Growth. This means the earlier you invest your money, the bigger your long-term gains can be for your retirement. The minimum percentage you should save and fork over for your retirement plan is AT LEAST 10% of your salary. If you have wiggle room in your finances, you can top it up at 15% to 20%.
- Check if your employer offers a workplace plan where your employer can automatically enroll a retirement account in your 401(K).
- If you are self-employed, worry not because you can enroll in an IRA where the maximum contribution is $6000.
2. During Your 30s
- Granted that you had no area for saving during your 30s, you are now at the height of your career! Cut to the chase and start saving AT LEAST 20% of your salary—no more baby steps for you. Retirement is lurking in the corner.
- If you were prudent enough to save in your 20s, chances are your money has bubbled up to a significant withdrawable amount. Nope – tempting as it may be, do not withdraw your money. Focus and remember that this is for your future retirement plans.
Saving and investing your money at a young age is the ideal state for you to be able to enjoy your retirement. Hopefully, the tips above can help you prepare for your retirement.
Featured
The latest weekly indicators indicate a significant decline in consumer confidence due to mounting debt
Weekly Indicators: Consumer Confidence Drops Sharply As Debt …
Introduction
Welcome to our analysis of this week’s economic indicators! In today’s blog post, we will focus on the sharp decline in consumer confidence and its impact on the economy. Also, we will explore growing concerns about increasing levels of consumer debt. We will dive into ten different aspects that provide a detailed view of the current market scenario and its potential consequences.
Consumer Confidence: A Decline Worth noting
In recent weeks, consumer confidence levels have seen a sharp drop across various regions. This decline is intrinsically linked with the overall health of the economy, as it reflects how optimistic consumers are about their household financial situation and the job market. When consumer confidence is low, spending decreases, investments falter, and ultimately economic growth slows down. It is essential to understand what factors contributed to the drop in consumer confidence recently. Some causes include inflationary pressures, global economic uncertainties, and fluctuations in financial markets. These challenges can lead to a decrease in disposable income, rising unemployment, and increased anxiety over future prospects. To illustrate the significance of the drop in consumer confidence, consider: – A nation grappling with high inflation rates and stagnant wages inevitably experiences a decrease in consumer confidence, resulting in lowered spending habits. –
- Higher prices for everyday goods and services
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- Wage growth not keeping pace with inflation
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- Limited disposable income
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- Growing consumer pessimism
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- Reduced consumer spending on non-essential items
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- Lower demand for products and services impacting businesses
Debt Concerns: A Growing Menace
Simultaneously, there has been growing concern about the increase in consumer debt levels. High debt can negatively impact the economy by making it difficult for borrowers to manage their financial obligations and affecting the stability of the financial system. It can also lead to a vicious cycle, with debt-laden individuals finding it harder to access credit or save for the future. Higher debt levels result from various factors such as the ease of obtaining credit, low-interest rates, rising cost of living, and slow wage growth. When consumers are unable to keep up with their debt payments, default rates increase, which affects the lending institutions and can potentially send ripples throughout broader economic sectors. Imagine a scenario where consumers take on substantial debt over time, fueled by easy credit access: –
- Shopping sprees financed through high-interest personal loans
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- Frequent use of credit cards without timely repayments
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- Struggling with multiple loans and debts repayments
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- Increased default risk on loans
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- Lenders becoming cautious around loan approvals
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- Credit score decline impacting future borrowing prospects
Summary Table
Indicator | Trend | Impact |
---|---|---|
Consumer Confidence | Declining | Decreased spending, slowed economic growth |
Debt Concerns | Rising | Financial instability, higher defaults, restricted credit access |
As we continue to monitor weekly indicators, it’s essential to assess both consumer confidence and consumer debt levels. Understanding their causes and potential consequences can help formulate policy decisions aimed at mitigating their impact on the economy. An astute evaluation is vital to ensure steady economic growth and prevent unwanted setbacks or crises in the future.
Featured
Keeping End-of-Year Finances in Check
Sometimes, the holiday season is not full of wonder and merriment. The gift-giving culture associated with the holidays can be a source of stress and frustration, especially with the ongoing pandemic, economic downfall. Here is how you can keep your finances in check to cap off 2020 by being financially aware.
Holiday Questions
It is no secret that the ongoing pandemic has affected the economic lives of people. While the holiday season promises a short relief from the doom and gloom of the pandemic, more and more individuals are located on opposite sides of the spectrum when handling finances during the holidays. Others want to go all out to celebrate the hardships that 2020 brought, while others are more practical and tend to be more frugal in their holiday spending.
Here are some of the frequently asked questions about how to manage money during the end-of-year season to have a balance between sharing your love and care to the people you love while not breaking the bank.
How Do I Keep from Overspending during the Holidays?
Give the gift of your time and talents.
Gifts come in many shapes and forms, and while the gift-giving culture primarily revolves around how much money you have spent on a gift… Gifts can also come in the form of time and talents! For example, if one of your friends desperately need time for self-care activities or a date with her husband, you can volunteer to babysit their kids in one evening! If you know your friend is getting married and you have an amazing voice, you can ease up their burden of looking for a wedding band and volunteer to become a wedding singer free of charge!
Make your wish list before going shopping online.
While shopping online is becoming more efficient, it can be distracting to put more in your cart than earlier anticipated. One way to not spend more on your holiday gift list is to make a wish list first and, most importantly, stick to it!
Spend within your means.
Yes, with the pandemic, money may be tight, and it is more practical to let go of luxury items (because who needs a $5000 designer bag if you are not a Kardashian, right?) and make do with practical and useful gift items.
I Will Be Using My Credit Cards for All My Holiday Shopping. What Are Your Thoughts on Best Practices?
With cashless payments slowly becoming a trend, more and more people are attracted to pay using credit cards. Credit cards are a great way to pay for bulk holiday items because most credit card holders provide a generous cash-back system that can pay you back from 1% to 5% of your purchase fees. You have to look out for sure that your chosen credit card has no annual fees, which means you will not pay any interest in your purchases. Another word of caution is to again spend within your means so that your credit card debt will not be carried out through the spring season.
Business
Airbnb Bounces Back amidst Covid-19 Pandemic
It comes as no secret that the Covid-19 pandemic has severely affected the tourism industry, including the hotel and accommodation sector. Despite the initial setback, Airbnb’s are slowly starting to rise with the trendy Airbnb nomadic culture work from home individuals are starting.
Airbnb Nomads
When the Covid-19 pandemic started, the first industry to take the brink of the economic downfall was the tourism industry. With flight and movement restricted by lockdown protocols, fewer people are checking into hotels and booking at Airbnbs. While the industry initially felt the effects of the lockdown protocols, they are slowly bouncing back with the Airbnb nomad trend.
So what exactly is the Airbnb nomad trend? Because more and more companies are encouraging people to work from home to control the spread of the virus, people are ditching their apartments and are starting to hop from one Airbnb to another as an opportunity to explore the world (within the confines of their Airbnb) while they are working from home.
Working in Style
Take, for example, Tess Pawlisch, who has been working in San Francisco for four years. She can only take a few vacation leaves amidst her busy schedule in her previous office work set-up with her demanding job. However, now that she is working from home, she can balance working from her Airbnb even when she is on a sunny beach in Mexico sipping tropical-flavored shakes. Pawlisch is only of the many individuals who decided to seize the opportunity to “travel” while working from home.
Bouncing Back
With the initial setback to minimal to zero bookings for Airbnb during the early half of the year, this trend comes at a perfect time for the accommodation giant as Airbnb sales skyrocketed to twice their original sales start of the year. Airbnb’s market value is almost at par with another booking giant, booking.com, with the Bnb having $83.2 billion and booking having $85.6 billion. Airbnb has been doing so well in the past few months in terms of shares and stocks that they even surpassed Marriott hotel, which has a projected $41.7 billion valuation.
Exciting Opportunities Await
The work from home set-up is advantageous for people who are bitten by the wanderlust bug, but it is also advantageous for individuals with families or those who want to be nearer their families during these trying times. For example, Trey Ditto was working in Brooklyn, New York, because of his job. Because his company encouraged him to work from home, he decided to move in with his wife (who was also working from home) and their 2-year-old son when they found a bigger apartment near the upstate portion of New York City for about two months. When they realized this would be the new normal soon, they moved to another Airbnb in Texas to be closer to their families—an opportunity that would not have been available if they were back in the office.
Pain Points
However, hopping from one Airbnb to another is not all luxury and glamor. First, the stress of hauling all your things to settle for a month and then moving to another house the next. It can be extremely exhausting. Second, there will always be the element of surprise. For example, even if the unit’s photos are very enticing (it’s called marketing for a reason), the actual unit may be smaller or more run-down than earlier anticipated and can be quite stressful for picky individuals. Lastly, since the Wi-Fi connection is essential for work from home individuals, not all Airbnb units have the best Wi-Fi access to work with. In fact, the Wi-Fi connection is the number one complaint of individuals who are slowly adapting to this lifestyle.
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