Big sales, must-have items and a list that just seems to get longer: Holiday shopping can drain your wallet and your sanity. Don’t let the stress erode your guard against identity theft, though. All that holiday shopping can leave you more vulnerable to scams. “It’s the fact that we’re not paying attention that makes the holidays so risky for ID theft,” … Continue reading →

Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O’Neill at least $1 million. That’s how much O’Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home. “I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, … Continue reading →

At some point, you’ll buy your last car and refinance your last mortgage. Surely then you can stop worrying about your credit scores.  Well, not really, although there are situations when credit scores shouldn’t be anyone’s main concern. Let’s start with some reasons why credit scores still matter, even when you don’t plan to borrow money. Lenders aren’t the only ones … Continue reading →

When you’re at the checkout line this holiday season, you could juggle your bags and dig into your purse or billfold for your credit or debit card. Or you could use that phone you’re already clutching, or that new smartwatch strapped to your wrist. Many stores now accept mobile wallets, a technology that lets customers make payments via smartphone or … Continue reading →

Growing your bank balance sometimes can be as simple as relaxing and letting your money work for you — as long as you have the right tools in place. If you want to build a cash cushion without breaking a sweat, try these three methods. 1. Put your money in a high-yield savings account The interest rate offered on savings … Continue reading →

Black Friday competition seems to get fiercer each year. Practically every retailer has an enticing sale, which can make choosing where to shop difficult. Department stores are popular choices. In fact, they were the top shopping destinations over Thanksgiving weekend in 2017, according to a National Retail Federation survey. But if you neglect other types of retailers, you could miss out … Continue reading →

Ten years ago, investors stood on the threshold of one of the most traumatic market environments of modern times.  From the end of August 2008, through March 9, 2009, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index declined by 47%.  An erosion of confidence in U.S. mortgage-backed securities became a full-blown global financial crisis revealing an unsettling fragility across debt markets, money … Continue reading →

In a year when online competition is fierce and brick-and-mortar shops are struggling, major retailers are likely to come out swinging this Black Friday. Ron Kuntze, a professor of marketing at the University of New Haven in Connecticut, thinks Black Friday 2018 will be big for consumers — big, that is, when it comes to savings and customer service. To … Continue reading →