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Savvy Ladies Get Prepared! Do You Have the Right Legal Documents?
It makes sense to want to exercise control over decisions about your health care even when you are physically or mentally unable to do so. But how can a Savvy Lady do that exactly? The best way for Savvy Ladies to accomplish that control is with the combination of a...
Investing 101
by Stacy Francis, CFP®, CDFAIf you're a novice investor -- or you're looking to brush up on a specific investing concept -- this is the article for you. Savvy investing requires knowledge of several key financial concepts as well as an understanding of your personal...
Stop Flirting With Disaster
by Stacy Francis, CFP®, CDFANobody likes (or needs) to spend much time thinking about a possible future disaster. But sometimes an ounce of prevention is worth a lot more than a pound of cure. Losing precious documents to disasters such as theft, fire, earthquake or...
Buying a Home When You’re Female and Single
by Stacy Francis, CFP®, CDFAAre you thinking about buying a home? Here's some expert adviceA lovely little house with a white picket fence and a husband to buy it for her used to be the average little girl's fantasy, or so goes the stereotype. But these days, the...
College: An Affordable Luxury?
by Stacy Francis, CFP®, CDFAThousands of young people will enter America’s colleges and universities this fall. Will your child be able to afford to go to school? With the skyrocketing cost of college many parents consider college tuition a luxury they cannot...
The New Ozzy and Harriet – Financial Tips for Unmarried Couples
by Stacy Francis, CFP®, CDFAA sharp rise in the number of opposite-sex, unmarried couples moving in together this year may be less about romance and more about surviving in a struggling economy, according to a new report by the U.S. Census Bureau.The share of couples...
Do You Know Where Your Investments Are?
by Stacy Francis, CFP®, CDFAA survey of those who own mutual funds found about 40 per cent didn't know the names of the funds they bought. Even if you are a pro when it comes to rattling off the latest mutual fund you purchased, you still may not have a clue about the...
Savvy Ladies Celebrates Labor Day
by Stacy Francis, CFP®, CDFANow that Labor Day is right around the corner you might be planning to spend that weekend relaxing at some oh-so-swanky resort in the Hamptons or that cute mountain hideaway in the Poconos. But have you ever really thought about why we...
Helping the Medicine Go Down – Medicare and You
by Stacy Francis, CFP®, CDFAMost people get Medicare when they turn 65. You qualify for it automatically if you're eligible for Social Security or Railroad Retirement benefits. Or you may qualify on a spouse's (including divorced spouse's) record. Others qualify...
An Emergency Fund: Your First Line Of Defense
by Stacy Francis, CFP®, CDFAIf you don't have an emergency fund, it's time to get serious about building one.The purpose of the fund is to sock away a minimum of three to six months' living expenses. But this money could also be used when you're staring at major,...
Catch Up with Your Cash
by Stacy Francis, CFP®, CDFAMost folks get down to serious money-making much later in their careers than they'd like. If this is you, and you are trying to make up for lost time with your savings, there are a couple strategies that can help you get back on track and...
How Smart Investors Blow It
by Stacy Francis, CFP®, CDFAGoing back to the early 2000s, our friends at Dalbar have been conducting a study to determine whether investors’ investment decisions impacts their investment performance. Unfortunately, it does. In a BIG way. As with every year’s study so...
Top IRA Trouble Spots
by Stacy Francis, CFP®, CDFAIndividual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) now hold more assets than any other retirement savings vehicles, but many people do not understand how they work and many IRA owners make critical mistakes that can cost them money. Here are some ways...
Mid- Year New Year’s Resolutions for the Savvy Lady
by Stacy Francis, CFP®, CDFAIt’s halfway through the year and it’s time to make some changes. So what’s it to be? If you are REALLY serious about saving money and are willing to make a few changes in your spending habits, then read on.1. Set goals and have fun The key...
Make Sure Your Cash Works as Hard as You Do
by Stacy Francis, CFP®, CDFANot ready to put your cash in the stock market? Feeling like you are not getting anywhere making 0% on your extra dough? We have the answer for you.One of the easiest ways to get higher interest rates on your checking and savings is to do...
Overreacting to the Market
by Stacy Francis, CFP®, CDFAIf you are developing a nervous twitch lately it may be a sign that you are a market over-reactor. While there will always be an economist that preaches doom and gloom, be assured that while the economy may have slowed, it hasn't fallen off...
Should You Be on the Field or On the Sidelines?
by Stacy Francis, CFP®, CDFAWhen the market is in transition, it's tough to decide whether to be in the game or on the sidelines. In order to know the answer to this question what we really need is a crystal ball. Since neither you nor I have access to a crystal ball...
Does Your Head Hurt? How To Choose a Mutual Fund?
by Stacy Francis, CFP®, CDFAThere are so many different kinds of mutual funds, does your head hurt? How do you pick one that's going to make you a ton of money? There are now funds that specialize in so many different parts of the world and so many industry sectors....
Asset Allocation Made Sexy. Where Should You Put Your Money?
by Stacy Francis, CFP®, CDFAAchieving a secure financial future has less to do with picking the right stock or mutual fund and more to do with the method in which you divide or diversify your investments. Studies show that asset allocation will account for about 90%...
Financial Fitness for Newlyweds
by Stacy Francis, CFP®, CDFALet’s see, you’ve got the wedding chapel and the caterer booked, the dress selected, the cake designed, the wedding invitations mailed, vows written, finances talked about - oops, didn’t do the last one yet?Money conflicts are a leading...
Mars and Venus – Women, Men and Money
by Stacy Francis, CFP®, CDFAMars may not be so far from Venus when it comes to money. According to a recent Redbook-SmartMoney Survey, most couples aren't wasting time arguing over finances and they have few clashes over cash.One of the most revealing survey questions...
