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Liz Weston

How much should you spend on rent?

July 9, 2013 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: I am wondering about what percentage of your income should your rent be. Ours at the moment is 35% just for rent, not including utilities or anything else.

Answer: In high-cost areas, people regularly pay 40% or more of their income on housing. That doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.

When you spend a big chunk of your income on rent or mortgage payments, there’s often too little left over to save for the future, pay off the debt of your past and live for today.

There are no hard-and-fast rules for what’s affordable, but limiting your housing costs to about 25% of your gross pay or 30% of your after-tax pay will help ensure that you have money left over for other goals. “Housing costs” include rent, utilities and renter’s insurance if you don’t own, or mortgage, property taxes, property insurance and utilities if you do.

If you’re much over these limits, you should look into ways to reduce your costs, earn more income or both. Otherwise, you’re likely to continue to struggle with an unbalanced budget.

Filed Under: Budgeting, Q&A Tagged With: Budgeting, housing costs, renting

Divorced? You may qualify for half of ex’s Social Security

July 9, 2013 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: Many years ago I read about spousal benefits based on an ex-spouse’s Social Security earnings record. Is there a minimum length of time of the marriage to qualify? How do I apply for this benefit? I am within nine months of retirement.

Answer: You can qualify for Social Security spousal benefits based on an ex’s work record as long as:

•The marriage lasted 10 years or more.

•You are 62 or older and unmarried.

•Your ex-spouse is eligible to begin receiving his or her own Social Security benefit (even if he or she hasn’t applied yet).

•Your own benefit is less than the spousal benefit you would get based on his or her work record.

Any benefits you receive based on his or her record won’t affect what your ex receives, or what his or her current or other former spouses receive.

As with regular spousal benefits, the amount you get will be permanently discounted if you apply before you’ve reached your own full retirement age (which is currently 66 and will climb to 67 in a few years).

Filed Under: Q&A, Retirement Tagged With: divorced spousal benefits, Social Security, Social Security benefits, spousal benefits

Monday’s need-to-know money news

July 9, 2013 By Liz Weston

Pink piggy bank and Stacks of money coinsHow to make the best out of credit card annoyances, tips on finding the best unsecured loans and how a little known settlement fee between credit card companies and retailers could save you money at the register.

10 Common Credit Card Complaints
From annual fees to lousy customer service, tips on how to manage the annoying side of credit cards.

Is Higher Education Still a Good Investment?
As tuition prices skyrocket, is a college degree still worth the expense?

Should You Get a Personal Loan?
Tips on finding the best unsecured loan.

How to Avoid Movers’ Scams
Moving is stressful enough without having to deal with shady movers.

Paying With Cash Could Earn You a Discount at More Retailers
How a swipe fee settlement could save you money at the register.

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: college, Credit Cards, moving expenses

In case you missed it: the youth edition

July 5, 2013 By Liz Weston

Cut up cardsSpurning credit cards means younger people have less toxic debt but they may be doing inadvertent damage to their credit scores and costing themselves money. Learn more in “Why young people hate credit cards.”

Read some smart answers to the awkward questions your kids may ask about family finances in “One way money is a lot like sex.”

You’ve probably read that student loan rates doubled on Monday, but that’s not quite true. Read “Student loan rates: Facts amid the fictions” for the straight scoop.

Have a great weekend!

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: Credit Cards, Credit Reports, Credit Scores, credit scoring, Debts, federal student loans, FICO, FICO scores, kids and money, Student Loan, student loan debt, Student Loans

Friday’s need-to-know money news

July 5, 2013 By Liz Weston

House With Tree DamageHow to prepare for a disaster, avoid the financial pitfalls that come with a speeding ticket and how to get the latest iDevice without destroying your family budget.

How to Plan for Any Disaster
Preparing for the unexpected.

Do Employer Credit Checks Damage Credit Scores?
Understanding employer’s right to access your credit information.

5 Tickets That Will Ruin Your Insurance
Slow down to avoid paying extra.

5 Frugal Summer Activities to Beat the Heat

Staying cool doesn’t have to melt your wallet.

Don’t Let Gadgets Devour the Family Budget
Sometimes the latest isn’t the greatest.

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: Budgeting, Credit Cards, Credit Reports, Credit Scores, disaster preparedness, disasters, FICO, FICO scores, Insurance

Your financial independence day

July 3, 2013 By Liz Weston

Colorful and vibrant fireworksWorking just to pay the bills isn’t enough. We should be reaching for something more: financial independence.

Financial independence is when your investments and other sources of income provide you with a comfortable-enough living that paid work becomes optional. As we mark the anniversary of our nation’s independence, I like to review our progress toward this goal. The good news: we’re pretty close to financial independence now, if we were willing to live frugally.

Some people who use the principles of voluntary simplicity achieve financial independence remarkably early. I’ve talked to people who “retired” in their 40s or even 30s, trading the 9-to-5 for a more relaxed lifestyle where they worked fewer hours, or worked for pay only when they wanted to. (If you want to know more about voluntary simplicity, the book “Your Money or Your Life” is a great place to start.)

But my husband and I have decided on a different path—a lifestyle that involves more spending now with the understanding we’ll work a little longer. That’s the best fit for us, because we both love what we do and we like the idea of doing it for a long time.

We’re planning a “phased” retirement, cranking back on our work commitments gradually over time. We like T. Rowe Price’s concept of a “practice retirement,” which suggests that those who have saved substantially for retirement can start putting some of that money toward travel and other spending once they hit their 60s, as long as they continue to work and put off tapping Social Security, pensions and their retirement accounts.

We’re also working on a Plan B, in case we aren’t able to work as long as we’d like. About half of retirees leave the workforce earlier than they’d planned, usually for health reasons although also because of layoffs or the need to care for a loved one. Finding ways to have a smaller “nut” in retirement—a lower level of fixed costs—can really help if you have to leave work early. That’s one of the reasons we’re paying down our mortgage, so that we won’t have that bill later. One of my readers installed solar panels for the express purpose of reducing his utility bills in retirement.

If you got a late start saving for retirement or have suffered some big financial setbacks, your financial independence day may seem impossibly distant. But you may be able to move that date into sight if you’re willing to plan, make some sacrifices and stick to your guns. Start with “Your Money or Your Life” and build from there.

How are you doing on your path to financial independence?

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: early retirement, Retirement, voluntary simplicity

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