Tag Archives: Dayana Yochim

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

9 Tips to Improve Credit Scores

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By Selena Maranjian, The Motley Fool

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Your credit score is more important than you may think — because it’s now used for far more than just assessing you when you want a mortgage. Unbeknownst to many folks, credit scores are being checked by prospective landlords, employers, insurers, and even utility companies. Thus, it’s well worth your time to check your numbers out and to work to improve your credit score. (My colleague Dayana Yochim has pointed out that doing so might save you as much as $100,000!)

Here are a bunch of ways you might improve your credit score:

  1. Check your credit report, and have any errors fixed by contacting the credit agency behind the report. There may be incorrect late payments on the report, for example, or a debt balance may be wrong, or a debt listed that isn’t even yours! These kinds of things can depress your score.
  2. Shrink your debt. Owing a lot of money, perhaps by approaching the limits on your credit cards, is a strike against you. It’s not easy to get out of debt, but it’s very valuable to do so, as it can vastly improve your near-term and future quality of life.
  3. Practice good habits with your credit. Pay bills on time from now on, as late payments will ding your score.
  4. Don’t open lots of new accounts, as that can lower your score, too. Few of us need more than a few credit cards. That said, if you don’t have a credit card, do consider getting and using one (responsibly), as that’s a good way to build a positive credit history and improve your credit score. There’s no need to use it aggressively, though. Simply using it a little is enough.
  5. It can also boost your score to have at least one installment loan, such as a car loan, mortgage, or student loan, as regular payments on it will prop up your score. (Consider a credit union, as they often offer low rates.)
  6. Don’t close out credit accounts that you’re not using. It’s counterintuitive, but doing so doesn’t help your score and it could even hurt it. Why? Well, because credit agencies calculate how much you owe compared to how much you can borrow. By closing a credit card account, you lose that credit limit and the ratio of your current debt to your available credit will suffer.
  7. If you need or want to close an account, close a newer one. The length of time that you’ve had an account matters, so hang on to your oldest accounts.
  8. You can rearrange your credit debt to your advantage, too, by transferring some balances and spreading your debt over several cards. It’s better to have few or no cards maxed out or nearly maxed out. Ideally, you should owe no more than about a third of your credit limit on each credit card. (Still, paying off that debt is a far more effective way to improve your credit score.)
  9. Try asking for an increase

    Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

The Perils of Retirement Calculators

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By Dan Caplinger, The Motley Fool

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Planning for retirement is one of the hardest money issues people face, as the uncertainties of dealing with a goal that’s years or even decades away are hard to navigate. In this edition of our Motley Fool Conversations series, Fool personal finance expert Dayana Yochim and retirement-planning analyst Dan Caplinger discuss retirement calculators and the ways that many people use them to try to find some answers to their questions of how much to save and how to invest.

Dayana notes how retirement calculators allow you to run any number of scenarios to help you plan your retirement. But as Dan points out, the to-the-penny answers that retirement calculators produce don’t accurately reflect the bumpiness of real-life investing results, which inevitably include bumps and dips along the way.

The key to using retirement calculators well is to maintain the flexibility to deal with changing circumstances. Dan and Dayana bring up a number of areas where staying flexible can help, including how much money you spend from year to year, when you plan to retire, and how you invest. Taking advantage of opportunities to phase into retirement through part-time arrangements can give you extra income to help you bridge the gap to get more financial security.

Finally, Dayana and Dan discuss various investing ideas. Although many retirees have traditionally turned to bonds, stocks of companies that enjoy stable customer demand and pay healthy dividends are a good choice. Yet to provide long-term growth for retirees who expect to live 20 to 30 years beyond their retirement date, growth stocks can be appropriate even if they don’t pay dividends. Dan names some stocks in both categories and concludes that the right balance will let you keep your bases covered.

Amazon.com is a good example of a growth stock, and even though it pays no dividend, it has plenty of future potential for further gains. The Motley Fool’s premium report will tell you what’s driving the company’s growth, and fill you in on reasons to buy and reasons to sell Amazon. The report also has you covered with a full year of free analyst updates to keep you informed as the company’s story changes, so click here now to read more.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

The Biggest Challenge for Today's Retirees

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By Dan Caplinger, The Motley Fool

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Today’s retirees are having to deal with unprecedented challenges. In this edition of our Motley Fool Conversations series, Fool personal finance expert Dayana Yochim and retirement-planning analyst Dan Caplinger discuss the difficulties that retirees are having in generating enough income to pay for basic living expenses.

Dan and Dayana discuss how low interest rates have surprised retirees, who until now depended on the income from bank CDs, bonds, and other fixed-income investments to bridge the gap between their spending and what Social Security and private pensions provide them in monthly income. Dayana points out that many retirees are taking on debt as a result of their income shortfall, and given their limited prospects to raise their incomes, retirees face long odds in getting their debt paid down without selling major assets like their homes.

Dan goes on to talk about how important it is for near-retirees to consider carefully when to take Social Security benefits. Although you can take benefits as early as age 62, waiting to take benefits later will increase your monthly check, with payments maxing out for those who start taking Social Security at age 70. Given that life expectancies are rising, taking a long-term investing approach is smarter than simply maximizing current income. Dan notes that the current income and growth potential of dividend stocks, especially conservative consumer-products companies, can help achieve both goals.

Coca-Cola‘s wide moat has helped provide its shareholders with superior gains in the past, but the company faces some new threats to its continued market dominance. Does Coca-Cola still make a smart stock for retirement portfolios? The Motley Fool recently compiled a premium research report containing everything you need to know about Coca-Cola. If you own or are considering owning shares in the company, you’ll want to click here now and get started!

var FoolAnalyticsData = FoolAnalyticsData || []; FoolAnalyticsData.push({ eventType: “TickerReportPitch”, contentByline: “Dan Caplinger”, contentId: “cms.29510”, …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Don't Touch That Pile of Cash in Your 401(k)!

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By Dan Caplinger, The Motley Fool

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In this edition of our Motley Fool Conversations series, Fool personal finance expert Dayana Yochim and retirement-planning analyst Dan Caplinger discuss the challenges of keeping disciplined with your retirement savings. Many investors cash out of their 401(k) plans when they change jobs, taking the opportunity to get a much-needed quick financial windfall. But as Dan notes, the consequences of giving in to temptation can be huge down the road.

As Dan points out, some employers even force you to take money out of 401(k) plans after you change jobs if your balance falls below a certain level. But as Dayana notes, keeping track of old 401(k)s is important, and Dayana and Dan go on to discuss various choices that you have for handling that money efficiently.

Dan suggests that the best solution for most people is to do an IRA rollover, which shifts cash directly from the old 401(k) account into a self-directed retirement account. That way, you can avoid IRS taxes and penalties and choose good low-cost investment options rather than being locked into the menu of higher-cost investments that most 401(k)s use. He explains how the process is simple, with your financial provider taking care of most of the details to keep your money working hard for you.

The best investing approach is to choose great companies and stick with them for the long term. The Motley Fool’s free report “3 Stocks That Will Help You Retire Rich” names stocks that could help you build long-term wealth and retire well, along with some winning wealth-building strategies that every investor should be aware of. Click here now to keep reading.

The article Don’t Touch That Pile of Cash in Your 401(k)! originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Dan Caplinger and personal finance expert Dayana Yochim appreciate your comments. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DanCaplinger. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Making Sense of New Tax Laws

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By Dan Caplinger, The Motley Fool

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In this edition of our Motley Fool Conversations series, Fool personal finance expert Dayana Yochim and retirement-planning analyst Dan Caplinger discuss just how complicated taxes have gotten lately. With a whole new set of tax laws to deal with, boosting the amount you save in retirement accounts can pay off more than ever in tax savings.

As Dan notes, most middle-income taxpayers survived the new laws largely unscathed, thanks to permanent reform to the alternative minimum. But for high-income taxpayers, a new 39.6% tax bracket and a 3.8% surtax on investment income make IRAs and 401(k)s even more valuable.

Dayana and Dan go on to discuss various tax-saving strategies, including the pros and cons of converting a retirement account to a Roth account. Moreover, Dan discusses how the continuation of preferential tax treatment for dividend stocks helped investors dodge a potential bullet, as the new tax laws preserve substantial savings on dividend income compared to what you’ll pay on bank interest and other types of income.

With all the new complicated tax provisions, it’s important for you to get a complete understanding of what you need to know. To get all the answers you need, be sure to check out our Motley Fool ONE Tax Center. Once you enter your email address, you’ll get access to our extensive report put together by Fool financial expert Robert Brokamp, which details the newest laws and shows you how you can take advantage of them. With tax season winding down, this limited-time offer won’t last long, so click here right now and claim this valuable tax resource today!

The article Making Sense of New Tax Laws originally appeared on Fool.com.



Fool contributor Dan Caplinger and personal finance expert Dayana Yochim appreciate your comments. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DanCaplinger. Neither Dan nor Dayana owns any of the stocks mentioned in this video. The Motley Fool recommends Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble. The Motley Fool owns shares of IBM and Johnson & Johnson. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Avoiding the Temptation of the 401(k) Loan

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By Dan Caplinger and Dayana Yochim, The Motley Fool

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In this edition of our Motley Fool Conversations series, Fool personal-finance expert Dayana Yochim and retirement-planning analyst Dan Caplinger discuss the allure of using your retirement savings as a way to borrow money for immediate expenses. Given the lengthy process and chance of rejection in getting a bank loan, as well as the high cost of alternative financing like payday loans or credit card cash advances, tapping your 401(k) can be very tempting as a quick source of cash.

Even though many 401(k) borrowers note that they’re essentially paying interest to themselves, Dan points out that you have to use after-tax money to repay your loan, which amounts to paying tax twice on the same money. Moreover, if you have trouble paying the loan back, it’ll be treated as an early distribution, incurring immediate tax liability and potential penalties. Worst of all, if you lose your job, you have to pay back your loan immediately or else faces dire tax consequences. For those workers for whom a 401(k) loan is truly a necessary last resort, Dayana and Dan offer some advice and useful tips to avoid getting yourself into credit trouble with a 401(k) loan.

The best investing approach for retirement is to choose great companies and stick with them for the long term. The Motley Fool’s free report “3 Stocks That Will Help You Retire Rich” names stocks that could help you build long-term wealth and retire well, along with some winning wealth-building strategies that every investor should be aware of. Click here now to keep reading.

The article Avoiding the Temptation of the 401(k) Loan originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Dan Caplinger and personal-finance expert Dayana Yochim appreciate your comments. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DanCaplinger. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Risk and Retirement in the 21st Century

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By Dan Caplinger, The Motley Fool

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In this edition of our Motley Fool Conversations series, Fool personal finance expert Dayana Yochim and retirement planning analyst Dan Caplinger discuss the challenges of investing for retirement under current market conditions. With low interest rates, investors can’t rely on bonds and other low-risk investments to provide the income they need in retirement. Instead, many investors have turned to the stock market, where dividend stocks in particular offer greater income potential than bonds right now but also have higher risks of loss.

Dan points out that many companies have been able to issue bonds at much lower interest rates than the dividend yields that their shares pay out. Yet as anxious as some people are about the dangers of retirees crowding into stocks, Dayana and Dan explain that those anxieties are largely unfounded, noting how important it is to have a solid mix of dividend- and growth-oriented investments in order to ensure that you won’t outlive your savings.

The best investing approach is to choose great companies and stick with them for the long term. The Motley Fool’s free report “3 Stocks That Will Help You Retire Rich” names stocks that could help you build long-term wealth and retire well, along with some winning wealth-building strategies that every investor should be aware of. Click here now to keep reading.


The article Risk and Retirement in the 21st Century originally appeared on Fool.com.

Neither Fool contributor Dan Caplinger nor personal finance expert Dayana Yochim has any position in any stocks mentioned. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DanCaplinger. The Motley Fool recommends Johnson & Johnson and Netflix. The Motley Fool owns shares of Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, and Netflix. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance