Top 10 Threats To Your Investment Portfolio

Does the "Sell in May and Go Away" philosophy for investing considered to be superstitious or does this theory actually have any legs? 

Property taxes are typically your largest homeownership expense after paying your mortgage. Any way to save on your property taxes can be a big win for your budget!Homeownership can be a true joy. The thought of holding your very own keys in your hands and being able to point and say “That’s my house”.That’s until it’s time to pay property taxes. The average property tax in California is $4,694 per year whereas in places like New Jersey and Connecticut, it ranges from $6,400-$9,300 per year. This is undoubtedly not one of the joys of home ownership.Now of course, we all want to be great citizens and do our due diligence to help with infrastructure and projects that benefit our communities. However, there is no reason to be overpaying your property taxes.There are ways to legally reduce your property tax bill - let's dive in.

Bad credit can limit your ability to do a lot of things, including purchasing a car, home, getting a credit card, and in some cases, even a job. Being creditworthy certainly has its advantages.If you don’t have good credit, there are steps you can take to fix it. The process is called credit repair. You can do it by yourself or have someone help you, for a fee of course.We break down your options here!

The PSLF Buyback Program allows you to "buy" missing payments that would have allowed you to qualify for loan forgiveness.To qualify for the Public Student Loan Forgiveness, you must have 120 months of qualifying payments made while employed in a qualifying public service job. Here's what you need to know.

When you’re unemployed, it’s hard enough getting out of bed in the morning, let alone searching for a job. Add to that the stress of dealing with your student loans and it’s a wonder you can get out of bed at all. Student loan debt and unemployment is not a fun combination.We wish we could snap our fingers and make your student loans disappear when you can’t pay them (and even when you can). Instead, we’ll have to settle by giving you some advice on how to deal with them while you’re unemployed.Before we go into it, the first thing you should do when unemployed is apply for unemployment benefits, if you’re eligible. Any income is a step in the right direction when you have bills you need to pay. Look up your state’s unemployment requirements to see if you’re eligible and how much you can get.After that, you need to make sure your budget is in order and you're still handling your student loan debt.Here's our advice that will hopefully get you on the right path so you can focus on your job search.

In its nearly 250-year history, the U.S. has experienced more periods of inflation than deflation. The last big period of deflation occurred during The Great Depression.There was another smaller period during the Great Financial Crisis. Both coincided with a recession. During a recession and deflation, people lose their jobs, demand drops, and with it, prices.But for those who are able to hang on to their jobs and have investments, what should they look at for some of the best investments during a deflationary period? In this article, we'll explain how deflation works and offer a few strategies for defending against it.

Around 80% of mortgage borrowers in the United States have an escrow or impound account. In fact, these accounts are required by some lenders.These accounts hold money on behalf of the buyer to ensure certain payments are made on time - typically homeowners insurance and property taxes. This can help reduce liability and risk lenders take on, giving buyers access to better financing options.What is an escrow or impound account? Is it required? More importantly, how do you cancel an escrow or impound account if you don’t actually need it? This article will dive into all of those questions to help you figure out whether or not an escrow account is a good move for you.

When you think of financial scams, you may think of Bernie Madoff and Nigerian Princes. But if you listen to enough “financial experts” on YouTube and TikTok, you may hear that the humble 401(k) is a scam.A 401(k) is a tax-advantaged retirement investment account offered by many employers. It's an account so basic that it may be a victim of its own success. Has the 401(k) scammed aspiring retirees out of their hard-earned money? We don’t think so, but we will explain why the account is being so harshly maligned.

Choosing the right school for you can be difficult. Not only does the decision come while you’re still fairly young, but it can also be heavily influenced by external factors that end up not aligning with what you want. Take it from someone who’s been there.In fact, about one-third of college students transfer schools at some point before finishing their degree. And total transfers represented over 13% of all continuing and returning undergraduates last year.This article walks through the top reasons students choose to transfer, how to identify when the time is right, and what to do to set yourself up for success at a new school.

The tax deadline is almost here! Here are some last minute tax reminders if you're still working on filing your taxes.Although it might not be the most enjoyable financial task, it's a necessary obligation that we each undertake every year. And if you use great tax software, filing taxes doesn’t take as much time as you may dread.But tax filing time isn’t only about filing returns. There are things you can do today to help you save money on your tax bill, and help you save time on filing.Here are the best last-minute tax tips to consider this season.