by Rachel Christian, CEPF®Senior WriterA recession may be on the horizon.Gas prices are at a staggering $5 per gallon on average. Rents are soaring and inflation is at 8.6% — the highest it’s been in 40 years.The stock market is flirting with bear territory and bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies continue to crash.In response to soaring inflation, the Federal Reserve is raising interest rates — a move economists worry could slow
Real Answers for Life’s Money Challengesby Robin Hartill, CFP®Senior EditorI am a 27-year-old who still lives with her parents. I’m also a college dropout. I was never taught anything about finances, and I’m just now starting to learn. I have medical debt that I’m working on paying off and a car payment, and I can’t seem to save up any money. I live in a town where it’s nearly impossible to
by Larissa RunkleContributor Meal planning and food prep often feel overly complicated, but that doesn’t have to be the case, especially if your goal is simply to cut down on your weekly grocery bill. With the rising cost of food (which has gone up nearly 10% in the past 12 months), now is a great time to reconsider how you’re spending on groceries. The concept behind meal planning is simple:
by Mike BrassfieldSenior WriterAre you looking to hire some new employees? You’ll quickly find yourself overwhelmed by all the different ways there are to do that.There are so many different job boards and online recruiting platforms, and they come in all shapes and sizes. How are you supposed to know which one is best for your needs?We were curious, so we did a side-by-side comparison of six popular job-search sites
by Robin Hartill, CFP®Senior EditorOn June 13, the S&P 500 index ended the trading day in a bear market. Still, the milestone was nowhere near as dramatic as the stock market crash of March 2020, when COVID-19 sent markets across the globe into mayhem.But there are plenty of reasons you may be worried stocks will continue to spiral downward, including continued out-of-control inflation and supply shortages, additional interest rate hikes
by Catherine HilesContributor Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more Americans have been working from home. And a recent survey from FlexJobs found that 77% of full-time workers identified the ability to work remotely as one of the most important benefits, right behind salary. A whopping 57% of survey respondents said that they would leave their job if they weren’t offered remote benefits from their employer. After
by Robin Hartill, CFP®Senior EditorIf you’ve been following stock market news in 2022, you’ve probably heard that we’re nearing bear market territory. A bear market is a prolonged drop in the stock market of 20% or more.Bear markets may seem terrifying, particularly if you monitor your retirement accounts and other investments daily. But bear markets tend to be short, and they’re actually quite common. If you take a few steps
by Quinten PlummerStaff WriterExperience is important in finding a job, and so are the skills you bring to the table. Before making a hiring decision, employers will review your experience and try to determine if you’ve developed the right set of skills needed to do the job successfully.For just about any job out there, employers will want to hire someone with a mix of hard and soft skills. Knowing the
by Quinten PlummerStaff WriterYour personality and experience matter a lot to prospective employers. But before they make a hiring decision on you, they want to make sure you have the right technical skills to do the job reliably.Some skills are absolutely necessary to do the job. Others may be wishlist items employers would simply like you to have in order to minimize the need for on-the-job training.The more relevant technical
by Kent McDillContributorYou are relatively flush, financially speaking. Your debit accounts all have funds in them, and your credit card payments are up to date. There are no notices on your credit report that would cause any transaction to be dinged by your credit card company or your bank.But, your debit card got declined last night when you tried to buy pizza. Or, worse, you were hosting a party of
