Author: Staff Writer

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Financial Savings

The Advantages of Investing in Your 20s

The Advantages of Investing in Your 20s

Some people may think an investment is a lifetime achievement while others take it as a way to secure money. However, both types of people wonder what the right age for investment is.

For budding young adults, the investment seems appropriate when they are stable, financially. And usually, this is rarely the case. There are others who start investing early for getting the advantages as early as possible.

The 20ish age bracket looks like the right time for you to start making investments, and you will notice its advantages during your retired life. How? Well, we will explain the reasons, to boost your confidence for an early investment.

Time and Investment

Early investment means, to start at an early age. Remember that earning opportunities and money may not be enough for young adults at an early age. However, they have one thing in plenty: time.

The timely investment can have benefits for investing $10k at age 22 that will grow to $80k by the time you reach 60 years. The same investment at age 30 will get you only $43K by the time you are 60. See, how time can affect your investments in a big way.

So, the longer time you invest money, the more benefits you can get from it. The mantra is, earlier the better.

Once you invest and the money kicks in, then you work to grow an investment by re-investing the earnings.

Take Risk

Young people, for example, who have a longer time span, have the potential to take on risk. Simple, most likely they won’t need the money for several years. Having more time means they can re-shuffle or re-invest their savings if any of their investment plans go wrong.

As the people grow, they limit their options by going for low-risk or risk-free investments, like bonds and certificate deposits, etc.

Longer Terms Plans

The long-term plans you may well start in the early 20s to get the best results at a later age. For example, Dow Jones fell over 50% in the 2008 recession. It started making gains by reaching a pre-recession position in 2013. The young investors waited for its recovery as they had time in hand.

Young investors can absorb such events because of the time they have in hand and their sights on longer investment plans. If you’re 25 now and planning to retire at 65, then you have a time cushion of 40 years for the investment part. So, young ones by investing at an early age can gain at a later age, the way it should be.

Experiencing

Young investors have everything on their side to get a first-hand taste of success and failure.

Investment plans and their management is not simple, it needs patience for understanding. Youth can overcome their investment mistakes because they have time to recover. 

Young age investments and their benefits will give you a better, retired life.

Technology and Right investment

The young generation has all the know-how, information, and knowledge to study, research and go for investment. Online trading hubs are providing all information and business data for such investments.

However, you can check that what investment will make you pay $190 per month now, and get its reward to a sum of $1 million in 40 years. The earlier you invest, the better you stay.

Conclusion

It does not mean investments are for retirement age alone. There are other investment plans like dividend stocks that provide support of the income stream throughout the investment span. 

20-something investments have definite benefits, and you should plan to make an early one, even if it is a small amount.

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Bankruptcy Debt Financial Legal

Can I File For Bankruptcy Online in 2021?

Can I File For Bankruptcy Online in 2021?

The internet is the height of convenience. Despite all the complaints we might have about technology, one thing we can admit is that being able to handle all of your expenses from the comfort of your desk is no small luxury. But can you make a big financial like bankruptcy online? Is it possible to file for bankruptcy over the internet?

In this article, we’ll discuss what your options are when considering whether or not you can file for bankruptcy online. By the time we’re done, you’ll hopefully have all the info you need to make the right call.

Can You File For Bankruptcy Online?

For the most part you can file for bankruptcy online. There are a few caveats, as there are with really any big decision, but you likely won’t have trouble finding ways to make such a difficult decision with at least a little bit of comfort and confidence.

With your computer, you can do a number of things related to bankruptcy. For one, you can, in fact, receive bankruptcy filing forms and any local documentation relating to your application for bankruptcy. This takes a lot of the stress of gathering documents and filing papers out of the task.

You will also be notified about the progress of your bankruptcy case over the internet. Your bankruptcy court will send you email updates stating the important facts of your bankruptcy case. This will help you track your financial situation and get a hold on where you are.

After your bankruptcy is filed, you may also be able to check on how your repayment plan through the internet. While this feels more like a chore than a privilege, it will help in the necessary budgeting process that will come during your recovery phase.

You Cannot Do the Actual Filing

Unfortunately, most of us will have to do the actual, physical filing part of filing for bankruptcy in an actual, physical setting.

There may, however, be places where the filing process can be done completely online. This will depend on the district your filing in and the rules and regulations it has decided upon in the past.

If you’re unsure of the rules in your district, it might be good to consult a financial professional. The may be able to help you jump through all the hoops when filing bankruptcy and advise you on recovery afterwards.

Trustees also might not be so hospitable to the idea of going paperless. While many districts have discussed moving in a more electronic direction, the trust that floats around the idea of the hard copy filing process is just too big to overcome for most trustees. This is why hard copies may still be required here.

Any fees related to court filing are also usually not offered on an online basis.

Thus, there’s a lot of the process you can do online, and a lot that you can’t. You will be able to do a lot of the filing documents electronically, but submitting them and onward will be a physical process.

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Career & Education Education Financial Loans

Understanding Student Loan Forgiveness

Understanding Student Loan Forgiveness

When tough times fall, some people are left with no way to stand up to the challenge of their financial obligations. Whatever the reason for these hardships, it’s good to know that there are some ways out of the mire. Student loan forgiveness may be one of these ways.

These days, the necessity of high education is as high as it has ever been. Unfortunately, the cost of higher education is just as high, which leaves some people having to take out expensive student loans- loans which they may eventually have trouble paying.

What is student loan forgiveness? Might you qualify? In this article, we’ll talk all about getting forgiven for your student loans- what it means, who qualifies, and what it will entail for your financial life.

What Is Student Loan Forgiveness?

When people can’t repay a loan, they have a number of options. So, in the case of student loans, you may be able to get your loans forgiven.

Student loan forgiveness essentially means that you are no longer required to pay some or even the entirety of your student loans.

This means that the debt you owe may not end up completely disappearing, and whatever you still owe on the end of everything else will persist. You will still end up having to pay the leftover debt, but the chunk forgiveness takes off may help enormously.

What Kinds of Forgiveness Are There?

Student loan forgiveness comes in many forms and is not homogenous across the board in any sense. This means that there are different types of loan forgiveness may occur under different circumstances. Here are a few of those circumstances:

Teacher Loan Forgiveness

To encourage people to teach primary school children, despite the low-paying salaries, oftentimes teacher loan forgiveness will be offered.

Under the terms of teacher loan forgiveness, those who teach five consecutive and complete academic years are eligible for student loan forgiveness of up to $17,500. This means that if your federal student loans tallied up to $30,000, you would have over half of your loans forgiven.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Working for a government or non-profit organization may also qualify you for loan forgiveness. After ten years of payments, or 120 qualifying payments, you may benefit from Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

Military Service

Military service may also qualify you for special benefits and repayment plans. These may include interest rate caps and other forms of special loan assistance.

AmeriCorps Benefits

Completing a term of service in AmeriCorps may also qualify you for Segal AmeriCorps Education Award. So, this may help you to repay some of your student loan debt.

Income-Driven Repayment Plans

Under these plans, those under a repayment plan that is based on their income may qualify for forgiveness on any remaining balance on their loans. After you make a certain number of repayments over a certain period of time, they may offer this.

Other Forms of Forgiveness

Other forms of student loan forgiveness may be found on the FSA’s Student Loan Forgiveness page.

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Bankruptcy Legal

Bankruptcy: The Ultimate Guide

The Ultimate Guide to Bankruptcy

When disaster strikes and you suddenly find yourself unable to meet your financial obligations, there may be ways to alleviate some of the pain. Of course, they won’t be painless in themselves, but they might just be a better decision than choosing to trudge onward with your current obligations. Bankruptcy is one of those ways.

Bankruptcy is a way for people who can’t meet their obligations to start to dig themselves out of the circumstances they find themselves in. It’s not a beneficial move in itself, and it certainly won’t feel good, but plenty of people find it to be their next best option.

So, how do you go about filing bankruptcy? When should you do it? In this article, we’ll talk all about how you should approach bankruptcy- a difficult topic indeed.

When to File

If you’re considering bankruptcy, but don’t know if your circumstances are dire enough to file, consider just a few recommendations.

Those considering bankruptcy should be unable to mee their financial obligations. When you can’t meet your debt, you may start to fall behind. This could put you in a hole you might not be able to find a way out of.

Some of these debts might be unsecured debts, which may mean that your home is in danger. Bankruptcy may help you maintain the equity you have placed in your home.

Bankruptcy is for times when finances go into a tailspin. If you see any semblance of a way out, it might not be so good to go the bankruptcy route. Keep in mind- many times average people’s judgements aren’t so finely tuned for financial matters. You should consult a professional if your circumstances are in such dire straits.

Possible Penalties

Unfortunately, the penalties for bankruptcy are significant, and should be considered closely before any commitment is made. Bankruptcy is not a thing you enter into lightly.

If you declare bankruptcy, that stain with stick with you for at least a good ten years- or one eighth of the average person’s entire life! The information on your bankruptcy will go to credit bureaus and will be taken into account for future dealings.

Not only will your bankruptcy reflect in your credit score when you attempt to pick up new debt, but you will also not be able to file bankruptcy for another 8 years. This means that whatever deals you make, you’re going to be stuck with.

Recovering From Bankruptcy

If you’ve had to file bankruptcy and suffer the penalties, there are ways to recover. For one, make sure you listen to any advice you receive in credit counseling sessions. These institutions are in place for a reason, and you can learn a lot about getting back on your feet.

You should also get your financial life in line. It’s a hard pill to swallow, but going credit-free and establishing money management strategies will put you far ahead of the game and could even put you on the path to as much of a financial recovery as you can make.

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Bankruptcy Legal

Why Should I Hire a Bankruptcy Lawyer?

Why Should I Hire a Bankruptcy Lawyer?

When you’re facing bankruptcy, you’re likely going to have more than a few doubts about the situation. How do you do it? Are there any other options? Is it just a matter of filing and getting on with life, or is the process continual?

But for all of your doubts, you still might be on the fence about getting a bankruptcy lawyer. This is understandable, especially considering the reputation lawyers usually have for being expensive. In a time like this, you’re going to want to pinch all the pennies you can. But can you really afford to skimp here?

In this article, we’ll talk all about what kinds of benefits may compel you to hire a bankruptcy lawyer, as well as what kind of investment a bankruptcy lawyer is and why it might just pay off in the long run.

Think About Your Options

The funny thing about considering bankruptcy is that about 50% of the process is about considering other options. Bankruptcy is a big- no- possibly the biggest financial decision a person can make, and people make it pretty regularly. That’s why you want to have everything in line and understand all your options.

For normal people, this can get a little complicated. Is there a way out that doesn’t involve bankruptcy? How can you tell its for real and feasible? What if you decide to go another route an it doesn’t work out? All these questions might be plaguing you.

Since the internet can only take us so far, it’s good to have a base of professional knowledge. And since we can only absorb so much of this professional knowledge, it’s even better to have dedicated professionals who can help us figure out the specifics of how this information applies to our situation.

Bankruptcy lawyers are just these professionals. They help you figure out what type of bankruptcy to file, whether or not you need to file bankruptcy in the first place, and what you need to do to prepare to file for bankruptcy. Having all these things handled and out of the way will bring greater peace of mind in a stressful time.

Bankruptcy lawyers have been working in their fields for years, and will have encountered hundreds of different bankruptcy situations. Your specific situation will be easily understood by a lawyer with such broad experience. This isn’t a the lawyer’s first rodeo.

Why Make the Investment in a Bankruptcy Lawyer?

An investment is a big ask when you’re filing bankruptcy. Considering the way things have been going financially, you might be tempted to put down the checkbook and start handling things yourself. This, however, may be one of the most beneficial things you do during the whole process.

Bankruptcy lawyers will notice if things go wrong during the process, and will be able to handle bumps in the road quickly and efficiently. Navigating this rocky sea yourself may take you for a pretty confusing ride. It’s good to have a professional on your side.

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Career & Education Education Financial Loans

Student Loans: How Long Does It Take To Pay It Off?

How Long Does It Take to Pay Off Student Loans?

With the costs of school steadily rising and the necessity of a college education growing even more ruthlessly, many people are choosing to take on student loans. These loans- designed to help people who can’t pay out of pocket get access to education- are a godsend to some.

Still, having a loan hanging over your head is no one’s idea of a fun time. For one, loans tie you to an institution and limit your freedom. You might also feel more vulnerable to things like market instability if your loans are high and your funds low. So, how long will that loan be with you? How long does it take to pay off a student loan?

What Is The Size Of Your Loan?

To figure out how long it might take you to pay off your loan, you should first consider how big your loan is going to be and how much you’ll be able to pay monthly.

Loans are paid off in small installments, with interest and possible fees tacked on. This means that if you have a loan of $30,000, you’ll be paying in small increments of that loan for a period of time.

If you can pay more per month, you’ll end up with a shorter time to repayment. This will also help you in other sectors of your financial help. Student loans may come with different terms and different interest rates, meaning that your loan time might vary depending on who you get it from and what kind of contract you sign onto.

Overall, if you’re able to make larger monthly contributions, your loans will dissipate much faster. Choose to pay them piecemeal, and you could be stuck with them for a much longer period than if you chose to take off big bites.

What Is The Term?

A loan term designates how long you will be taking to pay off any given loan. If your loan has a term of, say, 15 years, that means that your bank has set up your payments so that you will have paid off your loan in that among of time- plus interest.

Many student loans come with a term of about ten years. This means that students who start college in 2022 will optimistically finish off their loans somewhere around 2032- or when they’re 28 years old.

But this estimate doesn’t always pan out. Loan recipients often take 20 years or more to finish paying off their loans, which, again, will depend on how much they’re willing to pay and how much they can spare for their bank or loan service at the end of the month.

So, if you’ve got a loan of $30,000 with a term of ten years, you’ll be paying big parts of that loan every month- plus interest. If you’ve got the same loan with a term of 20 years, you’ll be paying much smaller rates- half as much.

Thus, how long a loan will last is a combination of term length and how much a debtor can pay.

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Credit Financial Tech & Media Technology

Apple To Introduce Card Sharing

Apple To Introduce Card Sharing

To allow customers to share the benefits of a single line of credit, Apple has introduced card sharing. The system would allow multiple customers to use the same Apple credit card, thus benefitting from one shared credit record.

Explained

This is the first time Apple has done something like this, but the move is not unprecedented. Apple has long focused on building a more equitable and flexible credit program. This is why they have a low-fee credit on its Apple Card along with no annual or late fees.

The program will also allow parents to have children over the age of 13 on the Card with them. This means that they would be able to track their children’s spending. This is a great way to get children learning about credit within the confines of a safe, parent-supervised system.

According to Apple, the card was created in an attempt to overhaul the way spouses and family members share credit cards and build credit. In particular, it would like to tackle the problem of uneven credit divisions. Normally, the primary account holder gets the benefits of a shared credit card and credit history. However, the Apple Card Family program would allow credit sharing.

Who Can Get The Card?

The Apple Card sharing program is not only open to members of a family, either. According their announcement, the program will allow the card to be shared with any eligible customer over the age of 18. This means that convenient single monthly bills could be split between not only family but friends as well.

The sharing program would not keep financial matters private however. Instead it opts to give members of the shared card a significant level of transparency in being able to see who spent what. The graphic Apple provides on their website shows a program with graphs and metrics. It’s somewhat like the Screen Time section of settings, but with money instead of minutes.

How It Works?

Theoretically, customers sharing an Apple Card could tally up their spending, divide them into percent payments, and make payments fairly and according to their overall spending. This means that a member who barely used the card would not have to pay as much as a member who overused.

Credit history will be shared among all the members of the shared card program. This means that if an account’s credit history sheds a positive light on the participants’ worthiness, it would be reported to credit bureaus and used as part of each member’s credit history.

The possible downside to this program is that negative credit history will go on the accounts of all members. So, regardless of whether or not they spend responsibly and pay bills elsewhere, their credit could still be affected. Credit history will be shared across the entire card-sharing group.

Conclusion

According to Apple, the program is meant to help all cardholders achieve a healthier financial life through its transparency. Hypothetically, a card-sharing group could track one another’s payments, and make plans and adjustments accordingly, talking to one another and discussing spending to come to better financial decisions.

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Financial Savings

6 Questions To Ask Ensure a Successful Investment

6 questions to ask before making an investment

Going into an investment is no small decision. You want to have some idea of where the firm you invest in might go, what kinds of resources they have to go there, and what confidence they have in their ability to reach their goals. After all, it’s your money, and you don’t want to go throwing it in a hole.

For this very reason, it’s essential that you have a few questions at the ready before making an investment. Ask these questions, and the investment decisions you make may turn out sounder and more profitable.

1. Do I Know How to Pay My Taxes?

The good part about an investment isn’t necessarily watching your money grow. Taking it out and spending it will also be part of your reward for successful investing. But, you’re going to want to watch how much you spend and how much you save. The IRS will be wanting some of that money- and a good chunk of it.

Make sure you know the tax landscape around capital gains before you start throwing your hard-earned money around.

2. Does This Homogenize My Account?

Having a diverse portfolio is step one of investing. From day one, successful investors learn that having a diverse range of investments, spread across a number of industries, is one of the keys to having an account that trends upward. When a wave of bad days washes across one industry, you want to have a few more that are still gaining. So ask- does this help me diversify?

3. How Confident Am I in Growth?

A growing investment- those two words go together just as essentially as cold beer or hot apple pie. That’s why you need to be 100- no- 200% sure of eventual growth before investing in anything. If it won’t return, don’t waste your money.

4. What’s My Overhead?

When you’re dealing with investments, you’re going to want to have a little room for defeat. Of course, success is the great motivator when it comes to investments, and everyone wants to make money. But having a little bit of a buffer is great. Bend, don’t break, and your account will be able to weather any financial storm that might come its way.

So, the product looks great, and the company even better. They’ve got a strong plan, good resources, and seemingly, a lot of confidence and competence. But when the government comes knocking on the door, will they know what they’re doing?

Make sure any products you invest in are registered with the SEC and other state agencies before making your investment.

6. Will It Help Me Reach My Goals?

Ask yourself- what are my goals when I’m investing? Do I want to make money quick, or leave it for the long term? What kinds of returns do I want to see, and what do I want my portfolio to look like? These questions and more will help you decide whether or not an investment is right.

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Health & Home Media Recreation & Leisure Tech & Media

15 Binge-Worthy Podcasts for your Summer Trip

15 Binge-Worthy Podcasts for your Summer Trip

As much as we look forward to summer trips, especially road trips, the long hours of travel can drive us insane. But not anymore, thankfully.

Here are top 15 binge-worthy podcasts that will make your summer trips a lot more fun.

1. Ologies

Alie Ward is the host of this podcast and is a science correspondent as well as a writer. She interviews people from all professions and every podcast packs tons of humour, entertainment and information. You will find a range of topics to entertain you every moment of your trip.

2. Accused

Who doesn’t enjoy a spookiness factor in an adventurous trip? We all do and this podcast is sure to satisfy your yearnings for an exciting crime story.

3. The Habitat

This is a giant from the podcast world and you cannot find more binge-worthy podcasts for your trip. These podcasts are the auto diaries of six people that NASA chooses to stimulate life on Mars. Of you want a taste of just how human life would feel on Mars, let this podcast be your guide.

4. The Thing About Pam

This podcast features a nail-biting mystery. The story dates in 2011 when Russ Faria finds his wife stabbed to death on returning home, two days after Christmas. The story makes you sit on the edge in anticipation each moment as the husband faces the murder charge typically and have to prove his innocence while avenging his wife.

5. Ear Hustle

This is a non-fiction podcast featuring the life inside a prison. You will enjoy a range of humorous, funny, intimate and heart warming stories in this one.

6. Uncivil

Uncivil dissects the civil wars are journalists Chenjerai Kumanyika and Jack Hitt take us back to where the division began in America.

7. Travel Tales by AFAR

This podcast is a fun compilation of stories of people who took trips around the world and came home transformed from the journey. Who knows, you might find some inspiration for your trip too.

8. Limetown

This podcast is a narration by Lia Haddock who explores a nerve-wracking mystery in a tiny town of Tennessee.

9. Outside Podcast

This is a weekly podcast that features a world of stories relating to endurance athletes, epic rescues and the science of survival.

10. You’re Wrong About

Two journalists host this podcast, diving deep into people and events of the past, how they were presented or misrepresented to the world.

11. Office Ladies

This podcast is a rewatch ride of the famous sitcom, The Office.

12. To Live And Die In LA

An author and journalist host this podcast and takes you through the mystery disappearance of Adea, a 25 years old actress.

13. Running From Cops

The main character in this podcast dives into the longtime fandome of his famous reality shows ‘COPS’.

14. Dying for Sex

This podcast features a conversation between two best friends about friendships, relationships, sex and even death. You will surely experience and endorphin rush with this one.

15. TED Radio Hour

This podcast is an exploration of the big ideas of TED speakers.

Categories
Children Family

4 Things I Learned From My First Year as a Mom

6 Things I Learned From My First Year as a Mom

Every mom will surely agree that the first year of parenthood is a roller-coaster ride of highs and lows. From taking your precious child for the first time in your arms to enduring nights of feeding, diaper changes and whatnot, there’s a world of education that unveils in the first year as a mom.

Here are four things that I learnt in the first year as a mom.

1.    Listen to Other Mom’s Experience

We tend to brush off advices as clichés but sometimes, it is good to pay heed to them, especially if you’re a first mom. You never know when an experienced mom’s advice may come to your aid, especially in terms of your baby’s diet, the process of teething, and a thousand things in between.

Also, while you may feel flustered and frustrated at all times, but when someone tells you to enjoy each moment of it, pay attention. Before you know it, your baby is all grown up and if you’ve spent their special moments complaining about having too much to do, you’ve missed their important developmental stage.

2.    Speak up

As a first mom, I always thought I had to pretend to be happy at all times because really, what can be a bigger joy than becoming a mom? While that is certainly true, it is also a proven fact that feeling overwhelmed in early motherhood is natural and normal.

If you feel cranky, angered, are having mood swings or just need everyone to give you space as a new mom, do not hesitate from speaking up. It will prevent a massive break down or emotional explosion from occurring later.

3.    Use your Discretion

Yes, I know I told you to pay attention to clichés. This may mean listening to tales of every mother in your circle and it’s good to do that. But when it comes to nurturing your child, you must use your discretion and not rely solely on the experience of others, even if it’s your own mom or mom-in-law.

Every child is born unique and a mother understands their needs best. Hence, if a certain advice is not working well for your child, adapt things to what works for the two of you.

Take pieces of advice that will serve you from the stories other moms share, but what is not helpful you can happily trash out.

4.    As a New Mom, Ask For Help or Take it if Offered

As moms, I know we all believe we have to be super humans and we have to do EVERYTHING. But you can be taking out the garbage on time, keeping hot meals ready at the table for the family, remembering schedules, decoding cries and figuring why the rash is happening, all on your own.

If your partner or other family members are willing to help or you think will gladly pitch in, ask for it. It doesn’t matter if things are not done how you want them for a while; remember, once you are past through the difficult early motherhood days, you can resume your duties completely.