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.
Home Ownership — The Comeback of a Dream
Home buying has been out of favor since the mortgage crisis of 2008-2009. That’s when everyone learned the dangers of being overextended with mortgage debt — and with credit card debt used to furnish a house and maintain a lifestyle. By 2016, the U.S. homeownership rate had sunk to 62.9 percent — a level not..
Dealing with the Debt Epidemic
Too many Americans are living on the edge, burdened with debt that grows like a cancer and made vulnerable by a lack of savings to deal with emergencies. And this sad situation coincides with the longest period of economic recovery — starting in June 2009 — in postwar history. Unemployment is near record lows and..
Dealing with Student Loan Debt
The $1.5 trillion dollar student loan burden weighs heavily on graduates, their parents and the economy. Here are some resources to help you deal with this debt starting immediately after graduation and before you go into default. Remember, there is no way to escape student loan debt! The place to start your search for information..
Employers Help Pay Student Loans
The best new benefit that companies are offering employees is help in paying down their student loans. It’s a growing trend among employers seeking to attract and keep talented young workers. Many firms will pay $100 a month, or more, directly to the student loan servicing company if the employee is also making regular payments...
Online Money Management Tools
The first step toward reaching your financial goals is knowing where you stand now — and at all times. And there’s nothing like personal finance software and apps to give you that kind of power over your money. The best-selling money management program on the market is Quicken (www.Quicken.com). The company has moved to an..
Taxes: To Itemize or Not?
Have you noticed that one part of the federal government that isn’t shutting down is the Internal Revenue Service? While employees are being forced back to work without pay to process refunds, they are also there to collect your taxes. It reminds me of the old saying about the only certainties in this world..
Learn to Trade
There’s a vast difference between traders and investors, although both have the same goal: to make money in the markets. An investor typically has a longer-term perspective when she or he makes basic judgments about the growth opportunities. By definition, a trader takes a much shorter-term view of investment opportunities, sometimes getting in and out..
Gold, Again?
Is this the time to hedge your financial bets and buy gold? It’s always important to have some price perspective. As of this writing, gold is trading at $1,291 per ounce, far below its all-time high of $2,000 per ounce made in the late summer of 2011. In the past year, the price of gold..
Starting Over in the New Year
Don’t look back! If the calendar can start over, so can you. In every aspect of life — but particularly our financial lives — if we keep looking backward we will find ourselves headed in the wrong direction. What will you do differently in the year ahead when it comes to money management? Here are..
Savage Truths About the Market
This is a perfect time to reflect on some Savage Truths that sadly must to be relearned in every economic and stock market cycle. —Perspective is essential to investment success. And it’s almost impossible to gain perspective in the midst of a crisis. At the top of a bull market, everyone has forgotten about previous..
Balance Transfer Cards: Denting Debt
One steep recession and 10 years later, Americans are once again buried in credit card debt. The latest Federal Reserve figures show that there is now nearly $1.3 trillion in credit card debt outstanding — surpassing the peak reached in 2008. According to CreditCards.com, the average balance owed is $5,839 per cardholder. (This is one..
Chicken Money Now!
“Chicken money” is money you can’t afford to lose. It’s that simple. The amount of chicken money you need depends on your overall financial situation, stage in life, and risk tolerance. Just about everyone needs some money that is not intended for ordinary spending and not part of your investment program. Chicken money should be..
Year-End Tax Tips under New Tax Law
Thinking about income taxes is different this year because of the new tax laws. For some people, tax time will be easier and less costly. They will get a $12,000 standard deduction for an individual return or a $24,000 standard deduction on a joint return. If their charitable contributions and state income taxes and property..
Holiday Gifts for Kids – 2018
Every year at this time I write a column suggesting money smart holiday gifts for children. The goal is to find entertaining and educational gifts that won’t be broken or forgotten in a few weeks but will generate a life-long interest in and competence about the subject of money. This year’s gifts range from allowance..
Give Generously — and Wisely
Did this year fly by faster than ever? The holidays are here again. And now that we have expressed our thankfulness, we enter into the season of generosity. Despite changes in the tax code that make it less beneficial to donate to charities, this is the year to give more, not less. Almost every charitable..
Fix Your IRA and 40l(k) Now
Here are three things you must do now to make sure your IRA or 40l(k) accounts don’t get caught in the year-end crunch — and that you’re well prepared for 2019. A few weeks ago, you received your third quarter statement of performance for the year. Or you can go online to check not only..
Bright Start is “Golden”
Morningstar has assigned its top Gold rating to the Illinois Bright Start 529 College Savings plan, for the second year in a row. Only four 529 plans were given the gold designation, out of 62 plans rated by the Morningstar analysts. It is truly a high honor – and represents a dramatic change in fortune..
TIPS Tackle Inflation
We shouldn’t be surprised when inflation returns to impact our lives — both in our spending decisions and in our investment decisions. After all, the conditions are ripe. First the Federal Reserve created an unprecedented surge in liquidity to stave off financial collapse in 2008-2009. That money sat quietly until a massive corporate tax cut..
Time to Take Stock
If your retirement funds are invested in the stock market, you simply can’t afford to ignore the signals the market is sending. Any decisions about selling, or buying the dips, must depend on your own risk tolerance, time horizon and overall financial situation. But the time to consider those things is now — at what..
Open Enrollment for Medicare & Part D
Medicare now has about 60 million enrollees, split roughly two-thirds in traditional Medicare Parts A and B (plus Part D and supplements) and one-third enrolled in the more comprehensive Medicare Advantage plans. Every Medicare participant should be reviewing his or her options right now during Medicare open enrollment period, which began October 15 and runs..
