February 2nd, 2012 By Gary Silverman, CFP® Instead of discussing “Your Money,” today I want to talk about “Your Wealth.” According to Wikipedia, “Wealth is the abundance of valuable resources or material possessions.” What is your most valuable possession or resource? It’s you! The only thing you possess that you cannot separate from is your Self. Sun or [...]
February 1st, 2012 By Gail Cunningham As Congress continues to debate extending the payroll tax cut, they may want to review the results of the NFCC’s January online poll to determine if the objective of the tax cut is being realized. The overwhelming majority of close to 1,800 respondents, 66%, were unaware that their paychecks were larger last year. [...]
January 6th, 2012 By Jason Alderman You may not know it, but millions of Americans are owed money from long-forgotten government payments, stock sales, bank accounts, and other lost accounts. When the entities holding these funds can’t find the rightful recipients, they turn over the money to individual states, which hold it in escrow until claimed. According to [...]
January 4th, 2012 By Gail Cunningham According to the NFCC’s December online poll consumers remain very connected to their credit cards. When asked to rank their 2012 financial resolutions, only 6% of more than 2,300 respondents indicated that decreasing dependence on credit cards was their number one goal. At first glance that statistic could appear to be a warning [...]
December 27th, 2011 By Gary Silverman, CFP® A very common question these days: “I have some CDs up for renewal, where can I get a good CD rate and are there any other SAFE investments that I can use? I’m gun-shy since I lost a LOT in the stock market downturn.” Folks are still scared of the stock [...]
December 21st, 2011 By Sara Gilbert The November poll hosted on the NFCC’s website, www.DebtAdvice.org, revealed that 40% of respondents do not intend to spend any money on holiday purchases as they anticipate experiencing further financial distress in the future. The poll sends a strong signal that a significant number of people lack enough confidence in their financial [...]
December 7th, 2011 By Jason Alderman Each year, roughly one-third of American households itemize deductions on their federal income taxes. If you’re among that group, there are several important actions you need to take by year’s end in order to take full advantage of available deductions. For example, by December 31, 2011, you must pay for any uninsured [...]
December 5th, 2011 By Gail Cunningham The November poll hosted on the NFCC website, www.DebtAdvice.org, revealed that 40 percent of respondents do not intend to spend any money on holiday purchases, as they anticipate experiencing further financial distress in the future. The poll sends a strong signal that in spite of the increase in sales during Black Friday [...]
December 1st, 2011 Please join Girls’ Lunch Out, WestGlen Communications, and the National Foundation for Credit Counseling on Twitter Wednesday, December 7 at 9 pm ET to talk about holiday spending, get holiday spending tips, and learn tools for saving money to help you become “Money Chic” this holiday season and throughout the entire year. The NFCC provides [...]
October 28th, 2011 By Jason Alderman Senior Director, Global Financial Education, Visa, Inc. Admit it: You probably spend more time comparison shopping online than you do reviewing your annual benefits enrollment materials. That’s a big mistake, though, because the money you could save by choosing the right employee benefits package probably far exceeds any savings you could get [...]