Personal Finance Articles

Cheat Sheet / Updated 04-11-2025

Whether you’re earning your first paycheck, saving up for something big, or just trying to understand how money works, having the right tools can make all the difference. This Cheat Sheet includes a checklist to make sure that your credit report is accurate, and provides some examples of the types of scams you may encounter by people who want to cheat you out of your money.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-19-2025

Swing trading can result in significant gains for your portfolio but involves risks that must be managed. Not every day is a good day to swing trade because the market may not be cooperative. And even when the market is cooperative, you should only trade stocks in strong industry groups to maximize the chances of success. Which stocks you buy depends on properly applying technical and fundamental analysis and only pulling the trigger when a positive catalyst exists. Finally, your risk management system should protect your portfolio when you are wrong, while allowing profitable trades room to grow.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 10-28-2024

An estate plan, including a last will and testament, protects your family and finances after you die. Your first step in estate planning is to write a comprehensive will that moves smoothly through the probate process. Make sure you're aware of current estate taxes that may influence your planning and how insurance factors into your estate plan. Various types of trusts are available; do some research to find out whether setting up a trust is the way to go and consider some special circumstances that may arise and how they can affect your estate planning.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 10-17-2024

Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, and real estate — the allure of earning high returns from these investments gets people’s attention. However, folks also hear about the risks involved in chasing those greater potential returns when investing. Before you set out to invest, you must get your financial house in order and increase your knowledge to make your best investing decisions. The following list summarizes 20 key themes and actions that can help make you a successful investor.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 10-16-2024

Get to know the basics of blockchain! Find out how blockchains and smart contracts work, what cryptocurrency is, and how to keep your cryptocurrency safe and secure.

Article / Updated 09-25-2024

The most important determinant of whether you'll be a successful swing trader is how well you manage risk. Ask yourself these questions before placing a trade to ensure you don't cut corners: Is the security liquid? Is the security a penny stock (hopefully not)? Are you prepared to limit losses at the individual stock level? Determine which precautionary measure you'll take: Set the position size based on the percentage you're willing to lose (0.25 percent to 2 percent of total assets). Set the risk level as a straight percentage of assets and that percentage doesn't exceed 10 percent of your total portfolio. Is your portfolio diversified? Make sure your positions are spread among different market capitalizations (for example, large cap, mid cap, and small cap), different sectors, and asset classes (not to mention domestic and international securities). Have you limited your total portfolio losses to 7 percent? Cover all your bases by confirming that Each security in the portfolio has a risk amount equal to the difference between the current price and stop loss level. The difference on an individual security level is tight — around 0.50 percent. The sum of those differences doesn't exceed 7 percent of the total portfolio value. The stop loss levels are at a level representing a profit (barring a gap in prices, of course). Cut losses when your stop loss is hit — no questions asked.

Article / Updated 09-25-2024

Being a successful swing trader calls for many skills, including the ability to assess the relative strengths of various market sectors. If you determine which stage the economy is in and then use that information as you review the following chart, then you’ll have a good idea which economic sectors are likely to lead the market in the near future.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 09-16-2024

If you’re new to Medicare (or soon will be), here's information on three crucial Medicare topics: a useful list of dos and don’ts to keep in mind before you embark on the program; a quick run-through of the best times to enroll, depending on your specific circumstances; and a mini-directory of organizations that can help you with Medicare issues.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 09-16-2024

Social Security is part of nearly every American’s life in retirement, if not sooner. If you’re like most people, you’re aware that when you start collecting retirement benefits affects how much money you get, but you’re not sure what that means for you. Armed with answers to some key questions, you can get the most out of your Social Security retirement benefits. As you plan for retirement, you need to know how much Social Security retirement income you can expect. Finally, If you’ve applied for Social Security disability benefits, your initial application may be denied, but you’re not out of options: You can appeal Social Security’s decision through a multi-phase process. Copyright © 2024 by AARP. All rights reserved. AARP is a registered trademark. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Article / Updated 09-11-2024

To succeed with swing trading, you need to know how to read market indicators. Make a swing trade that’s more likely to yield good results by getting to know the following signs of favorable conditions. (Just keep in mind that no trade is a sure money-maker.) The market is on your side. A rising tide lifts all boats. And before you buy, make sure the public equity market (for the country where you are buying the security) is in a solid uptrend. The industry group is on your side. Stocks tend to follow their industry groups up or down. If the security’s industry group is a strong uptrend, chances are your purchase will be profitable. If you’re trend trading, buy on a technical signal or a breakout of a chart pattern: The stock should be entering an uptrend (from a chart pattern) or resuming an uptrend on a technical signal. Use the ADX indicator to determine whether a trend exists. If you’re trading ranges, the candidate has just bounced off of support/resistance with a technical indicator confirmation. Watch for the technical indicator (an oscillator) to generate a buy signal. Divergences between your oscillator and the price action signal higher-confidence trades (for example, a stock falling to a support level while the oscillator, such as stochastics, traces a higher low and indicates underlying strength). The fundamentals back the technicals. Pair your great chart setup with strong fundamentals. And no, you don’t need to spend 25 hours reading a company’s financial statements. Simply verify the important items, such as financial health, return on equity, P/E ratio, and expected earnings growth rates. The stop-loss level is near your desired execution price. The best swing trading candidates are those where your emergency exit is nearby. The closer your desired entry price is to your stop-loss level, the less you stand to lose if matters turn ugly. But don’t place your stop loss at a level so close to the market price that a small insignificant move forces you out (as with most things in life, there must be a balance). You allocate the right amount to the trade. Loss is always possible, even with the best swing trading candidate. Set your position size in accordance with your trading plan, which should put an absolute ceiling on your position size and set a maximum percentage of capital you’re willing to lose on a single trade and for the entire portfolio (remember, shark bites versus piranha bites).