We talk a lot about not overspending during the holidays—but that’s hard to control if you don’t really know what you can afford to spend in the first place. Here are five guidelines that can help you avoid moving into the overspending zone.   Your spending shouldn’t require use of …

  Life Insurance Awareness Month   September is Life Insurance Awareness month and at Financing Your Life, we want to use this as an opportunity to spend a few weeks talking about how life insurance impacts people of all ages—from college students to middle-aged professionals, from people with kids to …

This week is National Estate Planning Awareness Week. Wait—don’t leave this page yet! I know that a lot of our readers think they’re too young to worry about estate planning, but that’s a misunderstanding that’s going to hurt your family if you don’t snap yourself out of it. Each and …

    Tell me if any of these statements sound like things you’ve said or thoughts you’ve had recently:   I’ll opt into the 401(k) after my next raise. I’ll start contributing to an IRA once I make more. Sure, I’ve got a little debt now, but eventually I’ll be …

This month is Long-Term Care Awareness month. For most of our readers, the purchase of a long-term care insurance policy is a long way off. However, many of you are caring for loved ones as they age and may need some guidance in helping give your loved one the best …

Three Ways to Start Saving for Retirement This Month Earlier in the month we celebrated National Save for Retirement Week. That means it’s a good week to touch on the kinds of concerns faced by people who are two or more decades away from retiring. Why? Well, because they have a …

The Problem With Payday Advances and Title Loans   The holiday season is fast approaching and, for most of us, that means we are facing higher expenses over the next few months. While some individuals spent the first part of the year saving up to ready themselves for this higher …

The Pros and Cons of Term and Permanent Insurance   One of the biggest decisions you make when you finally start shopping for life insurance policies is deciding between a term and a permanent policy. Neither of these policies is objectively better than the other. They each have pros and …

How Life Insurance Fits Into Your Retirement Plan   When you read an article about retirement planning, you expect to see terms such as IRA, 401(k), bonds, CDs and so on. What you might not expect to see is information about life insurance.   Life Insurance for Postretirement Income   …

Every year, the holidays threaten to ruin your budget and sink you further into debt while pulling you farther from your savings goals. This year, there are some steps you can take to make sure your spending stays in check.   Review Last Year’s Spending   There are two things …