Get smart with your money
Today’s top story: Shopping or skipping Black Friday. Also in the news: Notes from a disabled traveler, how to save money on a cross-country road trip, and how to locate the investment fees you’re paying.
Black Friday: Shop It or Skip It?
The pros and cons.
What I’ve Learned as a Disabled Traveler
Flexibility is key.
How We Saved Money on Our Cross-Country Road Trip
A look at the trip budget.
How to Locate the Investment Fees You’re Paying
Inside the fine print.
You want to save as much as possible for retirement. The financial services industry wants to make as much money off you as it can.
That thorny conflict is at the heart of the battle over what is known as the “fiduciary rule.” If implemented, it would require financial advisers to put clients’ best interests first when counseling them about retirement savings. In practice, it typically would prevent financial pros from steering you into a high-cost investment if similar low-cost choices are available.
The differences in fees — often fractions of a percent — may sound minuscule.
Over time, though, higher fees can dramatically reduce the amount of money that investors accumulate for retirement, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission and other investor watchdogs, and significantly increase the chances that savers will run out of money late in life.
In my latest for the Associated Press, how to save money for retirement without making the financial services industry even richer.
Today’s top story: The credit card perk that can save you time and money. Also in the news: The dumb things people do to be frugal, why a big tax refund isn’t always a good thing, and the investment fees you didn’t know you were paying.
The Credit Card Perk That Can Save You Big Money
Getting the lowest price on your purchase.
7 Dumb Things People Do in the Name of Being Frugal
Good intentions, bad results.
Why a Big Income Tax Refund Is Not a Good Thing
The instant windfall that means you’ve been shortchanged.
The Investment Fees You Don’t Realize You’re Paying
How to start tracking stealthy fees.
The Best Hotel Rewards Credit Cards in America
Getting the most points for your money.