Freezing Your Credit: Five Key Things to Know
In 2017, after the Equifax hack affected over 145 million people, I froze my credit. At that time, I remember thinking that I was “done” and would never have to unfreeze it because I...
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Fifteen 2019 Personal Finance Events, Facts, and Trends
Irecently co-authored a journal article in the Journal of Financial Planning and conducted a webinar for the Military Families Learning Network titled 2019 Personal Finance Year in Review. Both discussed recent events, facts, and...
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Don’t Set Resolutions- Create Good Habits
It’s Resolution Time- At the start of each year, some people set New Year’s resolutions and there is a lot of media coverage about them. Common resolutions are healthier eating, increased physical activity, saving...
The SECURE Act: What You Need to Know
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act was enacted as part of a year-end budget appropriations bill that passed the U.S. Senate on December 19, 2019. It was subsequently signed by...
Trends in Personal Finance: 2019
I recently attended a webinarabout 2019 trends in personal finance sponsored by Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF) and presented a webinar of my own. Below are five 2019 statistics and trends that caught my...
My Take-Aways from the 2019 NJCFE Symposium
I recently attended the 2019 New Jersey Coalition for Financial Education (NJCFE) Symposium. Below are some key take-aways about personal finance topics and financial education: ¨ Financial author Beth Kobliner recommended that parents have...
My Take-Aways from the 2019 AFCPE Symposium
I recently attended the 2019 Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education Symposium. Below are some key take-aways about personal finance topics and financial education: ¨ FINRA has a useful online calculator to determine...
A Personal Finance Gratitude List
On Thanksgiving Day, people express gratitude for good things in their lives including family members, friends, financial security, and good health. It is also a great time to reflect on positive trends in the...
What is a Stock Market Index?
Earlier this week, I taught my Rutgers Personal Finance class about stocks, stock indexes, and index funds. You have probably heard the Dow Jones Industrial Average (a.k.a., “the Dow”) index reported during evening news...
Red Flags of Investment Fraud
This week, I taught my Rutgers students about investment frauds like Pyramid and Ponzi schemes. Each year, thousands of consumers lose billions of dollars to fraud. Con artists use chat rooms and social media to...
My Take-Aways From the Jump$tart National Educator Conference
Last week, I attended the 2019 Jump$tart National Educator Conference which contained inspirational messages and personal finance updates for personal finance teachers. Below are six of my key take-aways. ¨ Personal Finance is Constantly...
Ten Indicators of Financial Stress
President Calvin Coolidge once said “There is no independence quite so important as living within your means.” Unfortunately, debt problems often creep up on people gradually until they get to a point where it...
Take-Aways from FPA
Last week, I attended the 2019 Financial Planning Association (FPA) conference which contained inspirational messages and personal finance updates for financial advisors. Below are six key take-aways for consumers: ¨ Prepare Yourself to Succeed-...