Category: Financial Security for All

Posted on

Useful Financial Analogies

Useful Financial Analogies

Barbara O’Neill, Ph.D., CFP®

Extension Specialist in Financial Resource Management, Rutgers Cooperative Extension

oneill@aesop.rutgers.edu

 

Research studies have found that people understand food portion sizes better when they are compared to commonly used objects called “portion size measurement aids.” For example, 3 ounces of meat is equivalent in size to a deck of cards and a cup of rice or pasta looks similar to a baseball. Similarly, financial concepts can often be better understood with the use of …

Posted on

How do I take on a new cost for health insurance when I can barely pay my bills now?

A spending plan is just exactly that, a plan for how you will spend all the dollars your earn and those given to you (including, hopefully, directing some to savings). To make a change in your spending plan such as adding in health insurance costs or taking on a new car payment, it helps to be as inclusive as possible when calculating all of your monthly expenses. In other words, don’t write in only the premium cost, but include some …

Posted on

Personal Finance Webinars

Man watching webinar on a laptop computer

Join us for free webinars featuring experts in personal finance. During our upcoming live webinars, you can interact with presenters and pose your own questions. Or you can watch a recording of any of our archived webinar presentations. Most webinars are 90-minutes in length.

To participate in an upcoming or archived webinar, simply click on the title of the webinar session, below.

Accredited Financial Counselors can earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs) from AFCPE for participating in live or archived …

Posted on

How to Obtain Continuing Education Units for Military Families Personal Finance Webinars

The Military Families Learning Network Personal Finance team offers 1.5 continuing education units to AFC-credentialed participants for live and recorded personal finance webinars.

Procedures for obtaining CEUs via live webinars

  • AFC-credentialed participants can earn 1.5 CEUs by attending 90-minute online Personal Finance webinars that are presented online with a live speaker.
  • A link to an online evaluation is shown at the end of the webinar. Visit this link and complete the evaluation.
  • At the conclusion of the evaluation, a second
…
Posted on

How much will a $3,000 cash donation to a charity save me on my income taxes?

Assuming that you can itemize deductions because the sum total of all of your itemized deductions, including the $3,000 charitable contribution, exceeds the standard deduction for your tax filing status (e.g., single, married filing jointly), there will  be a tax benefit to making this contribution. To determine the savings on your federal income tax, multiply the amount of your charitable donation by your marginal tax bracket. For a list of federal income tax rates by filing status and income, see …

Posted on

How much does an extension cost a home buyer when pushing back a house closing date?

It depends. Key factors will be the cause of the delay, changes in interest rates during the time of the delay, and the terms and conditions of your mortgage approval process and the contract with the seller to buy the house. Check with your real estate attorney and/or mortgage lender for an answer based on the specifics of your situation. Increased interest rates, possible rent payments (to the seller), and/or penalties may apply.

We would like your feedback on this …

Posted on

How are health insurance and car insurance similar and different?

Car (automobile) insurance is similar to health insurance in a very important way: both types of policies provide protection against financial losses. 

Automobile and health insurance both help policyholders cover large costs that could financially devastate the individual or the family, like those experienced in unexpected car accidents or major medical procedures such as surgery, chemotherapy, expensive tests, or hospital stays. 

Health insurance generally provides a wider range of benefits than car insurance. Car insurance, for example, will not pay …

Posted on

Is my FERS federal retirement pension considered taxable income?

Much of a federal government worker’s CSRS or FERS pension benefit will be taxable on a federal income tax return. State income tax laws with respect to pension income vary. You will receive your already-taxed contributions back without having to pay any more tax on them. However, you will receive this money back gradually over your life expectancy. The bulk of the pension you will receive consists of contributions made by your employer (i.e., a federal government agency) and earnings …

Posted on

Merit-based college scholarships status and financial behaviors among college students

 

Goetz, J. W., Mimura, Y., Desai, M. P., & Cude, B. J. (2008). HOPE or no-HOPE: Merit-based college scholarship status and financial behaviors among college students.Financial Counseling and Planning, 19(1), 12-19.

Brief Description: This study explored differences in financial behavior between college undergraduates who retained the merit-based HOPE Scholarship and those who lost it. Students who initially had scholarships but lost them were less likely to use recommended financial practices and had higher credit card debt and student …

Posted on

What happens if you can’t pay your timeshare maintenance fee? Selling is not an option because there is no market.

This document from the Timeshare Council provides a detailed analysis of options available to timeshare owners who are unable to make their payments: http://timesharecouncil.net/selling/walk-away-from-a-timeshare/.

Bottom line: In good times and bad, timeshare owners who want “out” generally need to sell their timeshare for less than its original purchase price. As the article notes, selling a timeshare is tough, and you will be lucky if you sell it for half of what you bought it for. Perhaps you may want …

Proudly powered by WordPress