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Investing has much more of a “Wild West” flavor these days, what with $0 commissions, online message boards and so-called “meme stocks” posting four-digit percentage gains over a short period of time. But the underlying principles behind successful long-term investing remain the same. First and foremost among those is the importance of having an investment plan. Just like you wouldn’t take a journey without a road map — or at least Google Maps or Wyze — you shouldn’t take an investment journey without planning where you want to end up....

According to the Federal Trade Commission, more than 393,000 of the almost 1.4 million reported cases of identity theft in 2020 involved credit card fraud. It happens at restaurants, at gas stations, on smartphones and over coffee shop Wi-Fi. Some criminals make purchases that the cardholder never winds up having to pay for. Others open accounts using their victims’ identities, pilfering and plundering in their names, and leaving their credit in smoldering ruins along the way....

Are you familiar with the “bucket” retirement strategy? According to the Wall Street Journal, the term “buckets” was first used by financial planners in the mid-1980s to help investors visualize the process of generating income in retirement. By Heather Taylor Read: 10 Reasons You Should Claim Social Security EarlyLearn: 20 Best Places To Live on Only a Social Security Check Let’s take a closer look at how the bucket strategy works, the types of investments necessary for these buckets, and if investors should utilize this strategy more than 30 years after it was introduced for their own retirement needs....

Chicken wing prices have been surging in the U.S. A favorite for many Americans, wing prices are higher than ever, creating a price crunch for the entire industry. While the pandemic is a big factor, it’s not the only reason for the higher prices. By Bob Haegele These higher prices are felt more by suppliers and restaurants than by consumers. Thus, the industry is pushing cheaper alternatives that are not quite so in-demand....

Moderna recently ruffled feathers by announcing it has no plans to share the recipe for its COVID-19 vaccine, as they believe that scaling up the company’s own production is the best way to increase global supply. By Georgina Tzanetos Find Out: Merck Requests Emergency Use Authorization for First Oral COVID Antiviral Pill – Did it Boost Their Stock?Learn More: WHO Touts New Malaria Vaccine as ‘Historic’ — Is It Worth an Investment?...

Treasury and White House officials along with Code for America announced yesterday their collaboration and launch of the new Child Tax Credit sign-up tool, GetCTC.org. By Georgina Tzanetos See: Just Four More Child Tax Credit Payments Are Arriving This Year – Here Are All The Important Dates Find: July’s Child Tax Credit Cut Child Poverty Rate 25% Which Makes Compelling Case for Extension The new tool is separate from the two sign-up tools provided by the IRS....

Congress passed the $858 billion National Defense Authorization (NDAA) on Dec. 15, and the bill is now headed to President Joe Biden’s desk. By Yaёl Bizouati-Kennedy Government Shutdown: Framework for 2023 Spending Bill In Place Ahead of Friday DeadlineDiscover: 5 Things You Must Do When Your Savings Reach $50,000 One of the major components of the bill is that it includes a 4.6% pay raise for service members, according to the text of the bill....

Teachers work long and hard to educate and enlighten young minds. While the pay is arguably inadequate for the work they put in, teachers often reap the benefits of their career choice in retirement. They often have attractive retirement benefits, but setting yourself up to maximize them, both while you’re working and after you’ve stopped, is critical. By Karen Doyle Before Retirement At Retirement During Retirement Here’s what you need to know about how teachers can retire well....

Social Security cardholders can now self-select their sex on their Social Security number records following a policy change the agency announced on Oct. 19. By Vance Cariaga Social Security: Women Get $354 Per Month Less Than Men — Here’s WhyFind: 20 Best Places To Live on Only a Social Security Check The change is part of the Social Security Administration’s Equity Action Plan, which is designed to advance equity, civil rights, racial justice and equal opportunity....

Some of the world’s largest companies are banding together to fight climate change. Stripe, Alphabet, Shopify, Meta and McKinsey Sustainability, announced they are committing an initial $925 million to accelerate the development of technological carbon removal. To that end, the companies created Frontier, an advanced market commitment (AMC) to accelerate the development of carbon removal technologies, according to an announcement. By Yaёl Bizouati-Kennedy See: 9 Bills You Should Never Put on AutopayFind: 50 Ways You’re Throwing Money Away...

In its final 2022 Filing Season Statistics report, the IRS stated that it has processed more than 140 million individual income tax returns, including more than 96 million refunds for a total of over $282 billion, with an average refund of $3,039. By David Nadelle Know: Stimulus Check Updates To Know for July 2022Learn: Will We Ever Receive Stimulus Checks Again? Ninety-seven percent of the total returns received have been processed, and while that percentage makes it seem like tax season is nearly done and dusted, there is still a large number of manual tax returns that need processing and a large number of taxpayers that are still awaiting their refund....

Being frugal is admirable. Being cheap is not. When you’re frugal, you make wise and careful decisions with your money without painful sacrifices. When you’re cheap, you’re willing to sacrifice things like quality, taste, enjoyment — and even your health and well-being — just to save a buck. By Cynthia Measom Unfortunately, being a cheapskate can come at a big cost. Here’s how it can backfire, and what you should do to save money instead....

Traveling often comes with a lot of extra fees that aren’t included in the base price — for example, we’ve all gotten used to paying $70 for checked bags on flights or $40-plus resort fees. But airlines, hotels and rental car companies can sometimes charge outrageous fees that you could never have anticipated — and even pro travelers often fall into these fee traps. By Gabrielle Olya Explore: Your Biggest Money Etiquette Questions Answered See: If Your Credit Score Is Under 740, Make These 4 Moves Now...

When it comes to shopping at big-box corporate stores, you might think they are all pretty much the same in their pricing. Can there really be much of a difference between Kohl’s, Target, Walmart and so on? Well, according to Joanie Demer, co-founder of the Krazy Coupon Lady, “When it comes to the lowest prices almost nobody beats Walmart,” she told CNBC. By Jordan Rosenfeld It turns out Walmart does corner the market on some cost savings....

Have you officially “made it“? While there is no universal definition of this idea, a good indication is when you are less concerned about keeping costs low and more about preserving (and passing on) your wealth. Another sign is when your biggest concern is having high-quality schools and, overall, an exceptional quality of life. By Bob Haegele Explore: Your Biggest Money Etiquette Questions AnsweredMore: How To Invest In Precious Metals To Protect Your RetirementNext: 25 Sneaky Car Dealership Tricks To Avoid at All Costs...

Despite 2021 having been a wild ride for cryptos — and Bitcoin finishing the year lower than expected — the crypto outperformed both gold and the stock market for the third year. By Yaёl Bizouati-Kennedy See: 8 Best Cryptocurrencies To Invest In for 2022Find: These Are the Stocks Warren Buffett Bought and Sold in 2021 Bitcoin, hovering around $48,000 today is up 70% year-to-date, according to Seeking Alpha. The crypto reached an all time high of $69,000 in November....

Chase is the largest financial institution in the U.S and offers a wide variety of travel and cashback credit cards. Some of its most popular cards include the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Freedom Unlimited. Chase typically requires a good to excellent credit score to get approved for one of its card products. By Cynthia Bowman What Is It Who Should Call Reviewing Application Status Requesting a Reconsideration Does It Work While Chase typically offers an approval moments after you apply online, there are times you may be denied, even with a positive credit history....

When scoping out your credit card options, your credit score will come into play. A good credit score will open up doors, while a bad credit score might eliminate some credit cards from your list of opportunities. One popular credit card is the Chase Freedom Flex. If you are considering this credit card, keep reading to find out whether or not your credit score puts you out of the running....

Tight commodity markets and unrelenting inflationary pressures are forcing China to let go of its copper, aluminum and zinc surpluses in order to stabilize prices. By Georgina Tzanetos See: JP Morgan’s Jamie Dimon Makes a $500 Billion Dollar Bet Inflation is Here to StayFind: What Should Americans Expect With Inflation in the Coming Months and Years? Prices for metals have hit a 13-year high and are contributing to global fears of inflation....

Instacart has announced a new feature that allows users to add items to their grocery orders from multiple retailers without paying an extra fee. The company stated that the new feature — called OrderUp — enables users to complete their shopping in a single delivery trip. By Josephine Nesbit Explore: Costco and Other Superstores That Accept Instacart OrdersLearn: Why Doesn’t Every Grocery Store Accept SNAP EBT Food Stamps? “You can now do more on Instacart while paying less by getting everything you need from your local retailers delivered to your door in as fast as an hour, with only one delivery fee,” Instacart said in a blog post....