Finance

By Linda T. Cammuso A Durable Power of Attorney (DPOA), sometimes called just a “Power of Attorney,” is a legal document that allows you to...

But as many boomers have lost their jobs and faced long-term unemployment in the Great Recession, career change has been difficult.

Even the most financially savvy individuals encounter and sometimes let personal finance myths influence how they manage their money. Some of these misconceptions are rooted in faulty information right from the start.

“I started thinking about all the money that had run through my hands over the years, millions of dollars,” says Kari Block, owner of Earth-Kind.

 By David A. L’Ecuyer In order to be eligible to join a credit union, the potential member must fit into the Field of Membership (FOM)...

If you are in your 50s or 60s, you most likely are at that stage of your life where college bills and mortgage payments, while perhaps not quite a thing of the past, are well on their way to being just that. You probably are not yet ready to retire, but for many it is closer than ever. Although people are living longer, however, the expenses of life are not declining. And, according to the National Council on Aging (NCOA), over 23 million older adults are economically insecure, either living at/below poverty or one financial crisis away.

If you’re approaching retirement or hopefully enjoying retirement, there may be a nagging concern of have you done everything possible to minimize your financial risks?  Whether you have professional advisors, do your own planning - or perhaps worse, ignore the entire topic - below are economic areas that can affect your quality of life once you stop working:

We haven’t saved enough, too many of us retire without financial security, and we may need to work longer to achieve it — assuming we can hang onto our jobs or find new ones. No wonder that workers and retirees are more pessimistic about their future prospects than they’ve been in years.

I was recently at a local charity event and invariably people asked what I do? My answer is always “I save financial lives by educating people about reverse mortgages and, when appropriated, arrange them.” That’s usually followed by a polite sigh and then the person stating: “Aren’t those bad? Doesn’t the person lose their home to the bank or government? Don’t the kids lose their inheritance? Don’t you have to have no mortgage? Isn’t a reverse mortgage a last resort?” In other words, they’re really asking “Aren’t you just taking advantage of old people?”

Many of us are like Bill Murray’s weatherman in the movie Groundhog Day, when it comes to managing our own money. We’re searching for a way to break through repeating the same financial mistakes and reckless habits.