You may have heard about a type of tax-advantaged college savings plan known as a 529 plan. Similar to an IRA or 401(k), money put into a 529 is “qualified,” meaning it grows tax-free and can be used tax-free in the future. You will find 529 plans sponsored by all 50 states and the District… Continue reading →

Medicare Made Simple? Not Quite: Decoding the Alphabet Soup to Maximize Your Coverage.   Medicare plan options are confusing. This book may help. By Michelle Singletary, November 22, 2024 For all its pluses, Medicare can be a hellish system that befuddles and frustrates so many beneficiaries. Medicare provides health insurance for millions of Americans 65… Continue reading →

Many people, prompted to think about how long they might stay at work, fall back on statistics they hear in the media. You know, the ideal retirement age is 65, maybe a few years more, tops. The thing is, that number made sense only briefly around the time the government was setting up Social Security,… Continue reading →

When we’re young, retirement can feel like a far-off concept, more fantasy than reality. It’s in our middle years that the reality of aging and approaching retirement starts to hit home. By “home,” I mean your actual home, if you live with or near your own aging parents. Many folks in their 40s and 50s… Continue reading →

News you can use: How does the Trump win impact your Social Security benefits? What Will Happen to Social Security After Trump Takes Office? By Tara Siegel Bernard, November 14, 2024 Americans are polarized on many issues, but there’s at least one program that continually wins nearly everyone’s support: Social Security. It isn’t subject to… Continue reading →

Investors who have done well over the years – whether through savvy stock picks, favorable market returns, or just good luck – often find themselves with a unique set of problems to deal with. After holding stocks for a long period of time and achieving substantial returns, investors may have two unexpected issues to be… Continue reading →

Meme stocks. Cryptocurrency. Non-fungible tokens. Flashy and controversial trends in investing tend to get the headlines. So be it. Still, the likelihood is that simple, quiet index investing will only grow in popularity. Why? Because inertia is a powerful force in any industry, and particularly so if the process or product in question works. “If… Continue reading →

A former Kiplinger editor shares financial lessons from his first year of retirement. Seven Lessons for New Retirees, From a New Retiree By Mark Solheim, August 21, 2024 I retired as editor of this publication a year ago, and although I miss the writers and editors I worked with for many years — and the… Continue reading →

Long-term stock market investors earn more by ignoring short-term noise. How to Stay Sane When Markets Get Wild By Jason Zweig, August 9, 2024 Stop trying to make it make sense. Just about every volatility storm in the markets quickly morphs into a baloney blizzard, as Wall Street’s market strategists and a swarm of online… Continue reading →