Tackling debt can feel like climbing a mountain, but with the right strategy, you can reach the debt-free summit faster than you might think. Whether dealing with credit cards, student loans, or other forms of debt, implementing a structured approach can save you thousands in interest and free you from financial burden sooner.
5 Spring Clean-Up Tips for Your Finances
How to Understand and Maintain a High FICO Score: Tips for Better Credit Health
Your FICO score is critical in determining your financial opportunities, from securing a mortgage to getting the best interest rates on loans. A high FICO score can save you thousands of dollars over your lifetime, while a low score can limit your options and cost you more in interest. In this guide, we'll explain a FICO score, why it matters, and how to maintain a strong credit profile.
Making Your Money Match Your Values: A Financial Planning Guide for the New Year
Choose Collaboration Over Conflict: How Mediation Empowers Better Solutions
Mediation offers couples a dignified, collaborative path forward when life circumstances require critical legal decisions about their future. As a trained family law mediator, Zoe Cassotis guides New Jersey families through productive conversations that lead to thoughtful, mutually beneficial solutions. Her confidential mediation approach helps people maintain control of their decisions while saving time and money, creating positive outcomes that respect both parties' needs and values.
Understanding the CDFA® Designation: Your Financial Ally During Divorce
Anyone who has gone through a divorce knows how emotionally challenging and financially complex it can be. While attorneys handle the legal aspects, a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® focuses specifically on the financial implications of divorce. This specialized designation equips professionals with the expertise to guide clients through the intricate financial aspects of divorce proceedings, ensuring better outcomes for their financial future.
Should You Keep the Marital Home After Divorce? Key Financial, Practical, and Emotional Considerations
Deciding whether to keep the marital home after a divorce is one of the most significant financial and emotional decisions newly independent women face. While it may seem logical to hold onto the house, there are numerous factors to consider—financial feasibility, practical living conditions, and the emotional impact on you and your children.
Avoid the Post-Divorce Money Trap: 3 Essential Tips to Protect Your Financial Future | Ep. 6
Discover the hidden financial dangers many newly independent women face after divorce. In this video, Certified Financial Planner™ Joe Goldy shares three vital strategies to prevent overspending, manage your finances, and secure your future. From creating a "fun money" account to working with a CFP®, learn how to navigate your new financial landscape confidently. Don't miss out on these expert tips—subscribe for more insights!
How You Buy and Sell a Home is About to Change
The recent settlement between the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and various plaintiffs marks a significant turning point in the real estate industry. This agreement, which resolves allegations of anti-competitive practices, took effect on August 17th and could substantially change how homes are bought and sold across the United States.
Finding Your Why: A Path to Career Clarity
Many people find themselves at a career crossroads in the aftermath of divorce. As a career coach specializing in helping women navigate this transition at her firm, Next Stage Career Success, Shauna Licciardi has seen the transformative power of rediscovering one's purpose. From her experience as a human resources director and career coach, Shauna explains the importance of finding your "why" when charting your next career move post-divorce.
Avoiding the Overspending Trap After Divorce
Going through a divorce can be an incredibly stressful and emotionally draining experience. In addition to dealing with the end of a marriage, there are practical and financial implications to navigate. One potential pitfall many divorcees find themselves in is overspending to cope with the changes and upheaval in their lives.
Essential Financial Planning Steps for Newly Independent Women: Updating Beneficiaries
In this installment of our video series on financial planning for newly independent women, we delve into updating beneficiaries across key financial documents and accounts. Whether you are navigating the aftermath of a divorce or coping with the recent loss of a spouse, it is essential to review and revise your estate documents, life insurance policies, and investment accounts to reflect your new circumstances. Additionally, we'll explore health insurance options that are available to you during this transition. These steps ensure your financial future is secure and your assets are distributed according to your wishes.
The Return of Brood XIII: What Cicadas Can Teach Us About Financial Planning
After spending 17 years lying dormant underground, a new generation of Brood XIII cicadas will soon emerge across large swaths of the eastern United States. This phenomenon is one of the most remarkable examples of cyclical events in the natural world.
It's fascinating to think that the last time Brood XIII was about to turn in for its 17-year slumber, Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone to the world for the first time. A year later, a mysterious person named Satoshi Nakamoto wrote a paper describing something he called Bitcoin, which began trading for less than a penny.
Unlocking Financial Freedom: The Power of Organized Financial Documents
In our series on empowering newly Independent Women to achieve financial security, we delve into the often underestimated importance of organizing financial documents. Join Joe Goldy as he uncovers the three significant benefits of maintaining well-organized financial records, offering insights into financial transparency, legal compliance, and emotional closure. Discover how this simple yet powerful practice can advance financial Independence and peace of mind.
The Surprising Benefits of HSA Accounts for Divorcees
When going through a divorce, there are a million things to think about and plan for - division of assets, child custody arrangements, updating beneficiaries, and more. One aspect often overlooked is what happens to your health insurance and how to manage medical expenses best going forward. This is especially important for divorcees as they will now be managing their own healthcare costs independently rather than on a family plan.
The Importance of Cash Flow in Financial Planning
In this video, Joe Goldy from Highland Financial Advisors discusses the significance of cash flow as a critical tool in financial planning, emphasizing its universal application for all clients, particularly divorcees. He distinguishes cash flow from a budget and outlines its three main benefits: providing peace of mind by showing clear income and expenses, being a reusable tool for various financial scenarios, and aiding divorcees in accurately filling out the Case Information Statement.
Understanding the Pros and Cons of Rental Property Ownership
A Challenging Time for Divorcees Who Keep the Marital Home
I recently read an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal about how anyone with a low-rate mortgage may not realize the actual value of their asset. In the current world of 7%-8% mortgage rates, anybody with a sub-4% mortgage rate owns a precious asset. Viewing a loan that needs to be repaid as an asset is counterintuitive. But any loan from a bank at 3.5% when rates on Treasury Bills and CDs are at 5% has significant value. By the Journal author's estimate, some $1 trillion in value has passed from banks and bondholders to homeowners.
Is There a Season for Divorce?
Is there a divorce season?
According to a study by associate sociology professor Julie Brines and doctoral candidate Brian Serafini of the University of Washington, the answer is yes, and they boiled it down into a simple formula...
