Successful retirement planning requires many steps — estimating how much you’ll need, planning for healthcare costs, managing your portfolio, estate planning, and more. But there’s an essential step that tends to get
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Several years ago, when New York Times personal-finance writer Ron Lieber was furloughed for a few days, he responded in true personal-finance expert fashion. By devoting one of his unpaid days off to taking care of a list
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Of all the things a kid (or we adults, for that matter) can do with money, saving it may be the most boring. Spending, of course, is fun. Investing and giving can be exciting as well. But saving money is all about setting
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[Matthew was a member of the SMI team for 10 years before departing to pursue his passion for fitness. His first book, The Body Tithe Devotional, is designed to encourage Christians through a 90-day fitness or health
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Does the word “budget” still make you cringe? For many, the word conjures up images of a ball and chain strapped to their ankle, a heavy weight putting a drag on their finances and fun. But people who use a budget usually
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If you’re not crazy about the idea of using a budget, you’re not alone. Many people think of a budget as something you go on like a diet. Or they think of it as being about less—obsessively spending less on everything, and
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We're still working busily trying to "settle our new home" following last week's transition to the new SMI website. Hopefully everyone saw the Dyanamic Asset Allocation and Sector Rotation updates on Friday, and received
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You are a very unusual person. You saw the word "budgeting" in the headline and yet kept reading! To reward you, we present six ideas for getting the most from this powerful—yet much maligned and misunderstood—personal
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During an enjoyable dinner with my wife and some good friends the other night, I glanced beyond our dining room through the windows in our kitchen and was surprised to see the sky turning ominously dark. It had been a
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It's been roughly 18 months since SMI last looked at the ins and outs of refinancing a home mortgage. But some things have changed since then that merit taking another quick look at the issue. What's changed?
Interest
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