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The Debt-Free Spending Plan
by Joanneh NaglerAnyone suffering under the crushing weight of debt knows how impossible it can seem to find a way out. It's overwhelming - and the more complicated the proposed solution, the harder it is to stick with it. That's why The Debt-Free Spending Plan is SIMPLE. It doesn't require sifting through chapters of high-minded financial advice or digging up your past spending history. It assumes you need help RIGHT NOW, and gives it to you.
You will learn to:
The plan is clear, easy, and takes just five minutes a day - and it doesn't matter if you make $14,000 or $14 million. With straightforward daily spending strategies and effortless expense tracking tools, you will soon find yourself on the road to financial freedom - all before the next billing cycle.
You Need a Budget
by Jesse MechamExperience a life free of financial stress and transform your relationship to money with this indispensable guide—the first book based on You Need A Budget’s proven method that has helped hundreds of thousands of people break the paycheck to paycheck cycle, get out of debt, and live the life they want to live.
No one should tell you what to do with your money—only you know what’s most important to you. Always guiding you back to your true priorities, Jesse Mecham will fundamentally change the way you think about your money and what it can do for you. His proven method—four, simple rules—will transform money management from a paralyzing burden to a powerful tool, putting you in total control of your life:
This tried-and-true system has changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people by teaching them how to take charge, adjust money habits, eliminate stress, and build the life they want to live. Don’t waste another month counting down the minutes until payday...
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
by Cara O'NeillAre you considering filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy? Use this plain-English guide to decide if a Chapter 13 case is right for you. Chapter 13 Bankruptcy explains how the process works, which debts will get discharged at the end of your bankruptcy case, how much you'll pay through your plan, and what you'll have to do to keep your home and car.
Also, this book provides the knowledge you'll need to:
The newest edition contains legal updates, state-specific bankruptcy charts, examples using the newly revised official bankruptcy forms, and more.
The Complete Guide to Credit Repair
by Bill KellyWith more and more people declaring bankruptcy and total debt in this country rising, the time is perfect for a book like The Complete Guide to Credit Repair. Not only will this book show people how to repair bad credit to stay out of bankruptcy, it will show them how to avoid bad credit in the future and what they can do to strengthen their situation.
Credit bureau information and other vital resources have all changed within the last few years. The Complete Guide to Credit Repair - written in a simple, straightforward tone - is packed with up-to-date information on a topic that millions of people face everyday.
Credit Repair
by Robin Leonard and Amy LoftsgordonBad credit can prevent you from getting a mortgage, car loan, credit card, apartment, or even a job. It can also mean paying a bundle in rates and fees for any loans or credit you do get.
Use this comprehensive how-to manual to rebuild bad credit and protect improved credit. Learn how to:
Credit Repair Kit For Dummies
by Steve BucciCredit card debt is the third largest source of household indebtedness.
This new edition covers: major changes with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) inquiry into overdraft practices and their effect on consumers; dealing with the effect of tightened credit markets on those with good, marginal, or bad credit; best ways to recover from mortgage related score hits or minimize damage after walking away from a home; updated Vantage Score information; updated coverage on reporting programs like FICO Score watch, etc.; what makes a good FICO score today; a new section on significant others (boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse) and credit/debt sharing; Debt Relief Act in a mortgage meltdown situation; the latest tips and advice on dealing with identity theft and annoying collection calls; and more. Online you'll find sample credit reports, forms, templates, and other helpful tools to help whip your credit into shape.
If you have mediocre credit and want or need to better manage it in order to get a job, reduce insurance costs, qualify for banking products, and more,
Your Score
by Anthony Davenport and Matthew Rudy&“Does a phenomenal job of pulling back the curtain and giving you a first-hand peek inside the hidden, often frustrating, world of credit scoring.&”—Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, New York Times bestselling author ofZero Debt A healthy credit score is essential for a healthy financial life. But the precise mechanisms used to determine our credit scores are shrouded in mystery. Consumers aren&’t usually told how their score is being used by all kinds of companies and banks to dictate financial terms that will strongly affect their daily lives. So when consumers interact with the world of credit, they do so from a position of weakness. With this revelatory guide, Anthony Davenport aims to change that. Finally, here is a consumer-friendly road map for understanding and navigating the secretive world of consumer credit. Davenport reveals where your credit score comes from, how to improve, maintain, or rescue it, and how to avoid hidden credit pitfalls. Your Score is an accessible manual designed to help you take control of your credit score and better navigate all the important financial decisions in your life. &“Anthony Davenport not only understands credit, but truly believes everyone should be empowered to understand it for themselves. You won&’t find this level of honest information anywhere else.&”—Tiki Barber, cohost of Tiki & Tierney and former NFL running back &“This is a masterful work . . . The time it takes to read this book will produce extraordinary returns.&”—Mark Gerson, chairman, Gerson Lehrman Group &“Davenport offers a handy, one-stop guide to understanding—and fixing—your credit score . . . A clearheaded, must-read guide for anyone looking to decode the most influential number of them all.&”—Publishers Weekly
How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out of Debt, and Live Prosperously
by Jerrold MundisThe classic guide, revised with up-to-the-minute information!
Out of the Red:
Whether you are currently in debt or fear you're falling into debt, you are not alone. Sixty million Americans--from doctors to secretaries, from executives to the unemployed--face the same problem and live under the same daily stress. Based on the proven techniques of the national Debtors Anonymous program, here is the first complete, step-by-step guide to getting out of debt once and for all. You'll learn:
This book is neither sponsored nor endorsed by Debtors Anonymous. A recovered debtor, the author is intimately familiar with the success of the Debtors Anonymous program.
House of Debt
by Atif Mian and Amir SufiThe Great American Recession resulted in the loss of eight million jobs between 2007 and 2009. More than four million homes were lost to foreclosures. Is it a coincidence that the United States witnessed a dramatic rise in household debt in the years before the recession―that the total amount of debt for American households doubled between 2000 and 2007 to $14 trillion? Definitely not. Armed with clear and powerful evidence, Atif Mian and Amir Sufi reveal in House of Debt how the Great Recession and Great Depression, as well as the current economic malaise in Europe, were caused by a large run-up in household debt followed by a significantly large drop in household spending.
Though the banking crisis captured the public’s attention, Mian and Sufi argue strongly with actual data that current policy is too heavily biased toward protecting banks and creditors. Increasing the flow of credit, they show, is disastrously counterproductive when the fundamental problem is too much debt. As their research shows, excessive household debt leads to foreclosures, causing individuals to spend less and save more. Less spending means less demand for goods, followed by declines in production and huge job losses. How do we end such a cycle? With a direct attack on debt, say Mian and Sufi. More aggressive debt forgiveness after the crash helps, but as they illustrate, we can be rid of painful bubble-and-bust episodes only if the financial system moves away from its reliance on inflexible debt contracts. As an example, they propose new mortgage contracts that are built on the principle of risk-sharing, a concept that would have prevented the housing bubble from emerging in the first place.
Thoroughly grounded in compelling economic evidence, House of Debt offers convincing answers to some of the most important questions facing the modern economy today: Why do severe recessions happen? Could we have prevented the Great Recession and its consequences? And what actions are needed to prevent such crises going forward?
Smart Couples Finish Rich
by David BachUpdated and revised for a new generation of couples, David Bach's classic money guide teaches couples how to build stable financial wealth that lasts.
David Bach, nationally renowned financial adviser and author of the bestselling Smart Women Finish Rich, knows that it doesn't have to be this way. After years of first-hand experience working with couples young and old, David Bach reveals that through communication and partnership, planning your finances together can be both fun and easy when you have the right tools. In Smart Couples Finish Rich, Expanded and Updated, David Bach offers couples a step-by-step guide to building and maintaining financial wealth that has been tailored to fit our current economy, but will last for years to come. Instead of avoiding each other when it comes time to balance the checkbook, you and your partner will learn how to come together and identify your core values and dreams, creating a spending and saving plan that reflects your values as a couple.
Packed with easy-to-use tools that will take you from credit-card management to long-term care, each chapter will guide you and your partner as a team toward a more rewarding financial plan based on the same overall financial objectives. The Smart Couples Finish Rich nine-step journey provides every couple with strategies for organization, communication, and smarter spending that you can put into action immediately.
This journey reveals:
A book for couples of all ages and all tax brackets, Smart Couples Finish Rich is the ultimate guide for creating a lifetime of wealth--both personal and financial.
Get What's Yours for Medicare
by Philip MoellerA coauthor of the New York Times bestselling guide to Social Security Get What’s Yours authors an essential companion to explain Medicare, the nation’s other major benefit for older Americans. Learn how to maximize your health coverage and save money.
Social Security provides the bulk of most retirees’ income and Medicare guarantees them affordable health insurance. But few people know what Medicare covers and what it doesn’t, what it costs, and when to sign up. Nor do they understand which parts of Medicare are provided by the government and how these work with private insurance plans—Medicare Advantage, drug insurance, and Medicare supplement insurance.
Do you understand Medicare’s parts A, B, C, D? Which Part D drug plan is right and how do you decide? Which is better, Medigap or Medicare Advantage? What do you do if Medicare denies payment for a procedure that your doctor says you need? How do you navigate the appeals process for denied claims? If you’re still working or have a retiree health plan, how do those benefits work with Medicare? Do you know about the annual enrollment period for Medicare, or about lifetime penalties for late enrollment, or any number of other key Medicare rules?
Health costs are the biggest unknown expense for older Americans, who are turning sixty-five at the rate of 10,000 a day. Understanding and navigating Medicare is the best way to save health care dollars and use them wisely. In Get What’s Yours for Medicare, retirement expert Philip Moeller explains how to understand all these important choices and make the right decisions for your health and wealth now—and for the future.
Get What's Yours
by Laurence J. Kotlikoff and Philip Moeller and Paul SolmanGet What’s Yours has proven itself to be the definitive book about how to navigate the forbidding maze of Social Security and emerge with the highest possible benefits. It is an engaging manual of tactics and strategies written by well-known financial commentators that is unobtainable elsewhere. You could try reading all 2,728 rules of the Social Security system (and the thousands of explanations of these rules), but academia’s Kotlikoff, the popular press’s Moeller, and public television’s Solman explain the Social Security system just as comprehensively, and a lot more comprehensibly. Moreover, they demonstrate that what you don’t know can seriously hurt you: wrong decisions about which Social Security benefits to apply for cost individual retirees tens of thousands of dollars in lost income every year. (Some of those people are even in the book.)
Changes to Social Security that take effect in 2016 make it more important than ever to wait as long as possible (until age 70, if possible) to claim Social Security benefits. The new law also has significant implications for those who wish to claim divorced spousal benefits (and how many Social Security recipients even know about divorced spousal benefits?). Besides addressing these and other issues, this revised edition contains a chapter explaining how Medicare rules can shape Social Security decisions.
Many other personal-finance books briefly address Social Security, but none offers the full, authoritative, yet conversational analysis of Get What’s Yours.
Get What’s Yours explains Social Security benefits through basic strategies and stirring stories. It covers the most frequent benefit scenarios faced by married retired couples; by divorced retirees; by widows and widowers. It explains what to do if you’re a retired parent of dependent children; disabled; an eligible beneficiary who continues to work. It addresses the tax consequences of your choices, as well as the financial implications for other investments. It does all this and more.
There are more than 52 million Americans aged 54 to 69. Ten thousand of them reach Social Security’s full retirement age of 66 every day. For all these people—and for their families and friends—Get What’s Yours has proven to be an invaluable, and therefore indispensable, tool.
The 5 Years Before You Retire
by Emily Guy BirkenA comprehensive guide to planning your retirement before it's too late!
Even though half of all Americans put money aside for retirement, it isn't until they reach their sixties that many realize that they haven't saved enough. With The Five Years Before You Retire, you'll hone in on what you need to do in the next five years to maximize your current savings and create a realistic plan for your future. This book guides you through each financial, medical, and familial decision, from taking advantage of the employer match your company offers for your 401k program to enrolling in Medicare to discussing housing options with your family. Covering every aspect of retirement planning, these straightforward strategies explain in detail how you can make the most of your last few years in the workforce and prepare for the future you've always wanted.
Whether you just started devising a plan or have been saving since your first job, The Five Years Before You Retire will show you what you need to do now to ensure that you live comfortably for years to come.
Pensionless
by Emily BrandonGet the most out of your retirement!
If you're one of the millions of Americans without a pension plan, your retirement years might seem like a huge financial question mark. Pensionless, by U.S. News Senior Editor for Retirement Emily Brandon, addresses the retirement benefits that are available to you, how to use them correctly, and how to avoid potential pitfalls. Learn how to avoid surcharges on your Medicare benefits, how to increase Social Security and employer-sponsored benefits to help pay for retirement, and how to minimize costs and boost the value of your existing retirement benefits. And you'll learn how to tweak your lifestyle now so that you can live well in retirement without the security of a pension.
Inside you'll find ideas on how to get more Social Security by claiming benefits twice, ways to minimize fees and avoid penalties on retirement accounts, and how to inflate 401(k) balances. Featuring an analysis of the significant changes made to Social Security in the recent federal budget, Pensionless will help you enjoy those retirement years you've worked so hard for.
You Can Retire Early!
by Deacon HayesThe definitive guide to financial independence at any age! Retiring early is not limited to lottery winners or the super rich. In fact, with proper planning, we can all retire at a younger age than we ever dreamed—but only with the right plan.
Personal finance expert Deacon Hayes explains the practical, concrete steps you can take to start your retirement when you’re young enough to thoroughly enjoy it, including:
With Hayes’s guidance, you can achieve financial independence and enjoy an active, happy, and long retirement.
The Essential Retirement Guide
by Frederick VetteseRetirement planning is difficult enough without having to contend with misinformation. Unfortunately, much of the advice that is dispensed is either unsubstantiated or betrays a strong vested interest. In The Essential Retirement Guide, Frederick Vettese analyses the most fundamental questions of retirement planning and offers some startling insights. The book finds, for example that:
In addition, The Essential Retirement Guide shows how you can estimate your own lifespan and helps you to understand the financial implications of long-term care. Most importantly, it reveals how you can calculate your personal wealth target - the amount of money you will need by the time you retire to live comfortably. The author uses his actuarial expertise to substantiate his findings but does so in a jargon-free way.
Retirement Fail
by Greg SullivanEvery day, people just like you, people who have worked hard and saved carefully for retirement, make decisions that will eventually crack their nest egg. Just because you added to your 401(k) or IRA plan every year, invested wisely, and amassed significant savings, you are not necessarily home free. Ready or not, your decisions all along the retirement path can positively or negatively affect your financial future.
In Retirement Fail, top financial adviser Greg Sullivan shares the insights he has gained over his thirty-five-year career in wealth management to help you identify potential pitfalls and learn how to safeguard your hard-earned retirement assets. Because, contrary to what most people think, it is not poor portfolio performance that usually busts your retirement accounts. Rather, it’s the emotional decisions you make that can cause major problems. Whether it’s buying a vacation home that is beyond your reach, subsidizing your adult kids to a degree that is ill advised, or passing on the umbrella insurance your advisor recommended, the choices you make have an enormous effect on whether you’ll be able to enjoy the comfortable retirement you’ve dreamed about.
Retirement Fail:
The numerical side of financial planning is one thing—the far more difficult task is looking at the way the decisions we make impact our own future and those around us. Whether you are working with a financial advisor or are going it alone, Retirement Fail shows you the points you need to pay attention to and helps you figure out what your priorities are—and what tradeoffs you may have to make in order to achieve them.
IRAs, 401(k)s & Other Retirement Plans
by John C. Suttle and Twila SlesnickIf you have a retirement plan, IRAs, 401(k)s & Other Retirement Plans is your comprehensive guide to taking money out of it. Make sense of the complex tax rules governing when you can — and when you need to — take money out of your plan, and how much you can take out. Most importantly, avoid the penalties that many folks have to pay because they don't take their required minimum distributions.
In plain English, this book covers the most common retirement plans, including 401(k)s, IRAs, profit-sharing plans, Keoghs, pensions, and tax-deferred annuities. It helps you answer these questions:
Completely updated, IRAs, 401(k)s & Other Retirement Plans provides clear examples to guide you through the decision-making process and making calculations. Samples of tax forms required by the IRS are also included, as well as easy-to-follow instructions on completing them.
How Do I Get There from Here?
by George H. SchofieldNo matter how far or close you think you are to retirement, this book is your one-stop guide to help you plot your direction for the coming decades.Not long ago everyone knew what the word retirement meant--retire at age 65 after 40 years at the same job and coast through your golden years courtesy of a comfortable nest egg. But now, age expectancy is higher, savings are slimmer, and people change jobs more frequently. Clinging to this outdated concept of retirement only gets you a room in your kids&’ house. Your retirement is going to require an incremental approach to planning--and you must begin now. This requires conscious engagement, diverse interests, and the ability to adapt.In How Do I Get There from Here?, readers will first be directed how to review all their assets--both tangible and intangible--so they can get an honest assessment of where they are right now. Then a journey through self-reflective questions and exercises will:walk you through imagining your future,identifying skills you&’ll need,and learning how to prepare for inevitable twists and turns along the way.Stop clinging to an ancient and stereotypical idea of retirement. Decades of nonstop leisure is not only unreachable for most, it&’s not even truly desirable. Begin now charting the path for a unique, dynamic future you can look forward to!
Retirement Reinvention
by Robin RyanFor twenty years, Robin Ryan has been helping clients get the most out of their careers and their lives. Now, in Retirement Reinvention, she shatters the myths of retirement. The old model of retirement is changing. The majority of retirees today are seeking fun and meaningful ways to spend their time.
Full of practical advice, this thought-provoking guide offers readers a path for reinventing their own retirements, including step-by-step instructions for:
From starting a dream business to shifting to the nonprofit sector to volunteering, Robin Ryan will help you create a plan and pivot toward a future as vital as it is truly rewarding.
Social Security, Medicare and Government Pensions
by Joseph MatthewsYour complete guide to Social Security retirement and medical benefits.
The rules for claiming Social Security have changed. Find out if you still qualify to file and suspend benefits or to choose between your own benefits and spousal benefits before these strategies disappear. Learn this and more with Social Security, Medicare & Government Pensions--completely updated for 2018.
Retire on Real Estate
by K. Kai Anderson and Amanda HanThink beyond the nest egg . . .Do you know how you’ll fund your retirement? With pensions slashed, savings slim, and Social Security insufficient and unpredictable, most people won’t have nearly enough money to last them.
But a sustainable solution lies in plain sight: rental property. Retire on Real Estate helps anyone, of any age, take advantage of this often overlooked income generator. Written by a seasoned real estate investor and landlord, the book exposes the cracks in most retirement portfolios, opens your eyes to the benefits of rental income, and lays out a complete plan of action, including how to:
Whether you want to diversify with a single property or self-fund your entire retirement, real estate is an investment that pays you back for the rest of your life.
The Power of Zero
by Ed Slott and David McKnightThere's a massive freight train bearing down on the average American investor, and it's coming in the form of higher taxes.
The United States Government has made trillions of dollars in unfunded promises for programs like Social Security and Medicare--and the only way to deliver on these promises is to raise taxes. Some experts have even suggested that tax rates will need to double, just to keep our country solvent. Unfortunately, if you're like most Americans, you've saved the majority of your retirement assets in tax-deferred vehicles like 401(k)s and IRAs. If tax rates go up, how much of your hard-earned money will you really get to keep?
In The Power of Zero, McKnight provides a concise, step-by-step roadmap on how to get to the 0% tax bracket by the time you retire, effectively eliminating tax rate risk from your retirement picture. Now, in this expanded edition, McKnight has updated the book with a new chapter on the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, showing readers how to navigate the new tax law in its first year of being in effect, and how they can extend the life of their retirement savings by taking advantage of it now.
The day of reckoning is fast approaching. Are you ready to do what it takes to experience the power of zero?
Personal Finance For Seniors For Dummies
by Eric Tyson and Robert C. CarlsonAre you nearing (or already basking in) retirement? This helpful guide addresses the unique financial opportunities and challenges you'll face as you enter your golden years.
Personal Finance For Seniors For Dummies empowers you to chart your financial course for the decades to come, guiding you through the basics of creating a budget for retirement, investing accrued assets, taking advantage of governmental and nongovernmental benefits and planning for your family's future. You'll get trusted, practical information on reexamining investment strategies and rebalancing a portfolio, long-term care options, pension plans and social security, health care, Medicare, and prescription drug costs, and so much more.
Personal Finance For Seniors For Dummies is basic enough to help novices get their arms around thorny financial issues, while also challenging advanced readers to identify areas for improvement.
Personal Finance in Your 50s All-in-One For Dummies
by Eric TysonRetirement security is one of the most pressing social issues facing the world in the next 30 years—so if you’re approaching your golden years, it’s essential to have a secure financial future. Personal Finance in Your 50s All-in-One For Dummies provides targeted financial advice and assists soon-to-be or established boomers with making informed decisions about how best to spend, invest, and protect their wealth while planning for the future.
Retirement is an exciting time … but it can also be scary if you’re not sure that you have your ducks in a row. This hands-on resource arms you with an arsenal of beginner to intermediate personal finance and estate planning techniques for everything from spending, saving, navigating insurance, managing medical costs, household expenses, and even employment.
With the help of this all-in-one resource, you’ll get a succinct framework and expert advice to help you make solid decisions and confidently plan for your future.