How To Easily Pay Down Debt

Whether in the global economy or your personal economy the picture shown here is true.  We as Certified Financial Planner Practitioners (tm) are regularly asked to make recommendations regarding college savings.  We also see student debt as liabilities for some clients years after entering the workplace.  It occurred to me how college debt could be compared to government debt as an example of how income growth makes paying down debt SO much easier.

Why Mandatory Social Security Makes Sense

NO--that is not a picture of the neighborhood in which I live.  However, a few years back I was blessed (read tormented) to serve as president of a neighborhood with 1600 or so homes that did not have a mandatory homeowner's association (HOA).  This neighborhood is very nice but only about half of the homeowners choose to pay the voluntary dues ($300/yr) that pay for common area  maintenance, security patrol and regular events.

Whose Money Is It Anyway?

In the past few years Credit Unions have offered interest rates on savings that are quite compelling.  HOWEVER,  hoops abound through which one must jump in order to achieve these higher rates.  Below is an annual notice regarding some of the hoops and "costs" of the good interest rate shell game  

Pain in the Back

The perfect follow-up to the last blog post on disability.  In the most recent Economist magazine this insert--sourced from the Lancet--shows the results from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation study on the burden of disability on countries.  The legend is as follows:

Disability "Insurance"--the REAL Thing

In the dental business--according to insurance companies--the number one cause of disability insurance claims is due to neck and back issues. Just imagine that you spend your entire day seated and leaning over a patient with at least a little tension in the room;-)  That seems like a prescription for some sort of physical therapy to counter the long-term potentially negative effects.  However, in my 33 years in business the most common solution is to buy disability insurance--which is more expensive than ever and not nearly as good as it used to be.  Recently, a dentist client asked