Smart401k Blog

The Situation

An average, middle-class couple is expecting a baby. During the pregnancy, the new parents learn that their baby has special needs. At first, the reality feels overwhelming. In addition to learning how to care for their child, these new parents will need to adjust their entire personal financial picture.

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We follow lots of really good blogs – mostly related to personal finance and economics. The Blog Round-Up allows us to point you in the direction of some great content from the blogging world. Posts* included in today’s round-up speak to the theme Cutting Costs and Spending Wisely. (more…)

In the headlines

A look at some of the market movers from the week:

• The election results in Finland could threaten the European Union bailout
• Standard & Poor’s put the U.S.’s credit rating on a “negative” watch
• Texas Instruments’ results were hurt by Japan and missed estimates
• Power provider AES agreed to buy regulated utility DPL for $3.5 billion  (more…)

Over the next few weeks, tens of thousands of young adults will put on a funny looking hat, walk across a stage and receive a college diploma. Bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and ready to take on the world, some of these graduates will move on to additional education. Some will take their first steps into full-time employment. Others will pause to take a look at life and try figure out what comes next.

Whichever boat you’re in (or your children, grandchildren, nieces or nephews are in), it’s never too early to start thinking about how you’ll advance your career and work toward the lifestyle and retirement you’ve always wanted.  (more…)

Tax season is over.

Exhale and relax a little if your taxes had you stressed out. Then think about a new personal finance project: financial spring cleaning. This is the perfect time of year to tidy your finances. Why?  (more…)

In the headlines

A look at some of the market movers from the week:

• Endo agreed to buy American Medical for $2.9 billion
• President Obama outlined a deficit-reduction plan of his own
• Alcoa kicked off first-quarter earnings season on a disappointing note
• Japan raised its nuclear crisis level to the same level as Chernobyl  (more…)

Spring is here and that means it’s time to start preparing for those summer vacations.

But with rising gas prices, traveling long distances by car or airplane is becoming more expensive. The concept of a staycation – otherwise known as a stay-at-home vacation – isn’t new, but it’s seen resurgence during the past few years. Cutting back and saving money doesn’t have to be a downer.  (more…)

You’re faced with the task of amassing a large sum of money. You’ll need enough savings to provide an adequate income stream to cover your expenses throughout retirement.

For some people, saving for retirement is daunting because accumulating a retirement nest egg seems impossible. All too often, this leads people of all ages to delay saving. I’ll start saving when I have more money to save.

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We follow lots of really good blogs – mostly related to personal finance and economics. The Blog Round-Up allows us to point you in the direction of some great content from the blogging world. Posts* included in today’s round-up deal with Credit and Credit Cards. (more…)

In the headlines

A look at some of the market movers from the week:

• A budget standoff sent the U.S. government careening toward shutdown
• Southwest grounded hundreds of flights after a plane split in mid-air
• Representative Paul Ryan introduced a budget proposal aimed at cutting the deficit
• Texas Instruments agreed to buy National Semiconductor for $6.5 billion (more…)