Terry Savage’s Archives
Below you will find the columns terry has written by date.
Below you will find the columns terry has written by date.
Secure Act Changes IRA Rules
In its year-end rush to pass a bill that funds the government, Congress included a significant revision of the rules that apply to company 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts. Some of the provisions of the SECURE Act will make it easier for employers to offer retirement plans at work, as well as increase contribution..
Bored Today? Do this!
This year, the mid-week holidays create a nice opportunity to take some time off and focus on your finances. Instead of wasting that time watching Netflix, here are a few ideas to jumpstart your finances in the New Year. —Figure out what’s inside your 401(k). It’s easy to check your account balance online, and this..
New W-4 — What For?
The federal government wants to make sure you pay your taxes in full and on time. So it has designed a new W-4 form to “help” you (and your employer) through the process. It should not come as a surprise that the new form is complicated and invasive, and it even requires an online app..
Give Yourself a Present This Holiday Season
If you’ve made your list and checked it twice, and done at least some of your shopping either online or in store, it’s time to take a calm moment and consider what present would be appropriate for you to give yourself this holiday season. Here are some suggestions: —The gift of a goal The best..
Giving Tuesday — All Year Long
No matter how much you shop on Black Friday or Small Business Saturday or Cyber Monday, be sure to save some of your money for Giving Tuesday — December 3 this year. Giving will soothe your conscience and help needy people and good causes — even if you no longer itemize your charitable giving on..
2019 Children’s Holiday Gifts
It’s time for my annual suggestions for holiday gifts for your children and grandchildren. You might prefer to give them the latest toys or fashions, but where will those presents be a year from now? If instead, you make at least part of your gift a teaching opportunity about money, your gift will last a..
College Counselors Can Help — Legally!
The headlines about college admissions and the parents who cheated have caused concern among college admissions counselors — including those who work for high schools and those who work as private consultants. Private college counseling a surprisingly large and diverse profession. The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), founded in 1937, has more than..
Medicare Open Enrollment
For the more than 53 million Americans age 65 and older who are covered by Medicare, there are some important decisions to be made right now. Medicare’s open enrollment period is underway and runs through December 7. And even if you are completely satisfied with your current Medicare coverage, there are a two things to..
Open Enrollment
Now is the time to select your health insurance for 2020. It’s open enrollment season, and no matter what your income or job situation, you must make some important – and expensive – choices about your insurance for the year ahead. There are basically six ways most Americans can get health insurance coverage. Health insurance..
New Edition of The Savage Truth on Money!
I'm excited to announce that a completely new edition of The Savage Truth on Money has just been published by Wiley. It's available on Amazon, or you can get an autographed copy by clicking on the link for a personalized copy on my home page at TerrySavage.com. (Think holiday gifts for your children -- or..
Fighting Elder Fraud
One of the saddest statistics of aging is the growing amount of elder financial abuse. It’s estimated that seniors lose $37 billion a year to fraud. Even worse, seniors are often the victims of their own adult children or caregivers. As the huge baby boom generation ages, and lives longer, the opportunities for elder fraud..
Boosting Retirement Income
If retirement is on the nearby horizon, it’s time to reorganize your thinking about managing your money. Until now, you were focused on how much money you would need to retire comfortably. Now it’s time to figure out how to make your money last your lifetime. Here are some of the key factors you should..
FAFSA Time, Again
It’s FAFSA time again. On October 1st, students and their families who are hoping for Federal student aid for the 2020-2021 college year, can file this essential form. Procrastinators lose out, because many schools offer their pool of merit-based aid on a first-come, first-served basis. And they look at FAFSA to get the entire financial..
Reverse Mortgage Rules
If you’re a senior looking for more income, you may have to look no farther than your own home. A reverse mortgage could be the perfect solution to the need for more income — if you plan to stay in your home for at least 10 years. You can withdraw either a lump sum or..
The Fed and Interest Rates
The entire world is holding its collective breath, waiting to see what the Federal Reserve will do about possibly cutting interest rates at its next meeting on September 17 and 18. But as of this writing, the global bond markets are pricing in a cut of 50 “basis points” — or one-half of a percentage..
Social Security Decision
The decision about exactly when to claim your Social Security benefits is roiling households of baby boomers across the nation, as they are faced with making a choice that will have lifetime implications. Ever since the full retirement age (FRA) has gradually increased from the traditional 65 to the current 66 years and 2 months..
Small Biz Health Insurance Deal
If you work for a small business that does not offer health insurance, this column is for you. It falls under the “amazing but true” category: You can have a health insurance plan equal to the best offered in your state, at no cost to your boss, and on a pre-tax basis (meaning premiums are..
Measuring Up
You’d think that, in a world where so much information is readily accessible, people wouldn’t need much help gaining perspective on all their financial activities. Yet I’ve noticed a surge in financial press releases offering surveys designed to serve as a benchmark for ranking your own situation. Here are just a few headlines and key..
Sell Down to the Sleeping Point
My recent column on investors seeking safety resulted in many questions on my Ask Terry blog at TerrySavage.com. Obviously, many of my readers are not sleeping well, thinking about the stock market. The questions were more revealing than any answers I could give. After all, a good answer would require knowing a broad range of..
Stock Market Panic
Worried about the stock market yet? Perhaps you should be. The price of stocks always reflects both the current business economy – and the outlook for future growth. Now that outlook has changed. The possibilities of a global economic slowdown – recession – just increased dramatically as the trade wars took a more dangerous turn...
