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| Stat Of The Day |
| 61.8 |
According to new data from the Pew Research Center, that’s the ideal retirement age. The survey asked Americans what they believe are the best ages for reaching certain milestones, everything from buying a first home to welcoming a first child. Notably, Americans from upper-income households feel it’s better to achieve these milestones later in life. |
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| Spotting Financial Advisor Red Flags |
Research shows just 27% of Americans use financial advisors to help them manage their money and plan for their futures. If you’re not getting help, you could be missing out. A recent survey from Northwestern Mutual shows Americans with a financial advisor expect to retire two years earlier than those who don’t.
If that doesn’t convince you that it’s worth having help managing your money, you’ll want to listen to the latest HerMoney Podcast. It features Pam Krueger, founder and CEO of Wealthramp. Krueger is also a longtime investor educator — you may have seen her on PBS’s MoneyTrack, or you may have heard her Friends Talk Money podcast.
This week, Krueger is giving us unfiltered advice on all things financial advisors, including how to spot a bad one. As you narrow down your list of potential advisors, you’ll want to take a look at each of their track records by using the BrokerCheck website. "If there are any complaints, those are actually complaints that made it to the point of being so serious that they wound up on [an advisor’s] background records," says Krueger. "So when I see that, that worries me." |
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| How NOT To Invest |
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Hi – Jean here. InvestingFixx, HerMoney’s investing club for women, is laser-focused on making our members better, more knowledgeable investors. But this week, we switched gears and talked about how not to invest.
I recently had the opportunity to interview rockstar investment manager Barry Ritholtz on Your Money Map, a show I host sponsored by The Alliance for Lifetime Income. We chatted about his new book, How Not To Invest: The ideas, numbers, and behaviors that destroy wealth - and how to avoid them. In it, he outlines the classic mistakes investors make that prevent them from building wealth. As I recently shared with InvestingFixxers, they fall into three categories.
One of those categories? Bad ideas, which, as Ritholtz says, can be found everywhere, from magazine covers to TikTok. The challenge for investors is knowing what ideas to pay attention to and which to ignore. "We all have to recognize that nobody understands what's going to happen in the future," says Ritholtz. "We certainly can't predict the economy, the market, or individual stocks, so let's not be so gullible and buy things just because somebody has an idea and it makes its way to the cover of a magazine."
For more tips on how not to invest, check out this week’s InvestingFixx session. When you become a member of InvestingFixx, you’ll get access to it and a library of other materials, all aimed at upping your investing game. Sign up here; your first month is free! |
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| This Week In Your Wallet |
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Buckle up. President Trump’s auto tariffs are expected to raise car prices by thousands of dollars. As Reuters reports, sticker prices on most vehicles are expected to spike an additional $3,000 to $6,000. "Automakers may spread that cost between U.S.-produced and imported models, cut back on features, and in some cases, stop selling affordable models aimed at first-time car buyers, as many of those are imported and less attractive if they carry a higher price tag," Reuters reports. And, as you’ve likely heard, vehicles aren’t the only things set to become more expensive under new tariffs announced Wednesday.
This is your brain on retirement. Recent research shows this major life transition can cause everything from depression to cognitive decline, as The New York Times reports. For example, "one analysis of more than 8,000 retirees in Europe found that people’s verbal memory (the ability to recall a set of words after a certain amount of time) generally declined faster once they retired, compared with when they were working." The good news? Test driving a mentally and physically engaging retirement routine before you stop working can help. "The goal is to "pivot from one type of daily life to another," notes Dr. Alison Moore, chief of the geriatrics, gerontology and palliative care division at the University of California, San Diego."Being open to new experiences before you make this big life change can kind of prep you."
April is Financial Literacy Month. Even if you consider yourself a pro, there’s always something new to be learned when it comes to money. That’s why we’ve rounded up the four financial concepts experts say most people misunderstand or undervalue. One of them? The term "expense ratio." Financial educator Tess Waresmith says understanding this can save the average investor thousands of dollars over time. "Simply put, an expense ratio is an annual fee, expressed as a percentage, that every investor will pay for holding investments like mutual funds or ETFs," explains Waresmith. The expense ratio covers the operating costs of the fund itself, and they generally range from .0% to 1%+. "Having a basic concept of what they are and the different options available to you can potentially improve the returns of your portfolio," she adds. |
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| Things That Save You Money |
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| Ask Jean |
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| Q: |
Today’s question comes from Patricia. She writes: What is your opinion on the best way for a young college student without a credit history to build their credit? |
| A: |
Ah, the credit score. A little three-digit number that determines so much of our financial lives – everything from taking out a car loan to getting a mortgage for your first home. That’s why it’s so important to start building credit as soon as a person can. Years of responsible spending on a credit card can establish a person as a trustworthy candidate for future loans for bigger things like cars and homes.
For people with little to no credit history, like the young person you mentioned in your question, secured cards can be a great way to start building credit. Essentially, the way secured credit cards work is that you put down a deposit — let’s say $500 — which then becomes your credit limit for that account. Because your limit comes directly from a deposit you put down when opening the account, there’s virtually no risk to the bank — which means almost anyone can get approved.
Secured cards can be great for those just starting their credit journey, but the young person you mention should aim to upgrade to a traditional credit card after they’ve established a track record of a year to 18 months of on-time payments. Find tips for shopping around for one, here. |
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