Hub Blogs

Hub Blogs contains fresh contributions written by Financial Independence Hub staff or contributors that have not appeared elsewhere first, or have been modified or customized for the Hub by the original blogger. In contrast, Top Blogs shows links to the best external financial blogs around the world.

9 Financial Literacy Basics to help with Retirement

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What are the basics of financial literacy that can help with retirement? 

To help professionals gain financial literacy to understand their retirement future, we asked business professionals and finance experts this question for their best tips. From attending financial workshops to creating a roadmap for your unique needs, there are several financial literacy basics to help you plan your retirement. 

Here are 9 financial literacy basics to help with retirement: 

  • Attend financial workshops
  • Talk to an attorney about Estate Planning
  • Books on Financial Literacy
  • Reach out to your Insurance Providers
  • Consult a Certified Financial Planner
  • Talk to a Budgeting Coach
  • Start researching
  • Customer Support for IRAs often is of high quality
  • Create a roadmap for your unique needs

Attend Financial Workshops

Financial literacy helps workers understand what avenues are available to build wealth for retirement. 401ks and Roth IRAs are valuable means of building passive income streams to grow nest eggs. However, there are many means of saving for retirement. Financial education can make professionals aware of available approaches and can help these individuals build a combination plan to manage finances. One way aspiring retirees can learn more is to attend financial workshops offered through community programs or workplaces, especially if these events provide the chance to ask an expert questions. –– Tasia Duske, Museum Hack

Talk to an attorney about Estate Planning

Estate planning is heavy business, as it involves creating a plan for everything you want to happen after your death. This can include details about inheritance, funeral arrangements, and so on. When made with an attorney, the right estate plan will ensure that these important tasks are completed correctly the first time. Doing this can save your family significant additional stress after you’ve passed. — Carey Wilbur, Charter Capital

Read relevant books on Financial Literacy

If you are retired or approaching retirement, get some books about personal finance. Consider these books an investment in your future. A solid library of books on financial literacy can help you to build financial awareness and navigate retirement. Being financially literate will give you the knowledge you need to make sound financial decisions now, and help you maintain control of your finances once retired. — Henry Babichenko, European Denture Center

Reach out to your Insurance Providers

It’s important that retirees utilize every financial resource they have, and insurance providers are one such resource. Make sure all of your personal information is up to date, especially regarding your beneficiaries. While every insurer is different, don’t be afraid to get in touch with any questions you have. You should always feel free to ask your insurance provider questions you have about payouts, payments, and packages that could save you or your loved ones money. — Vicky Franko, Insura

Consult a Certified Financial Planner

Retirees need financial security to live happy and fulfilling lives after retirement. It is important to make a plan for your living arrangements, income, and expenses as soon as possible to avoid financial trouble down the road. A Certified Financial Planner can help you make a sound financial plan that fits your needs and goals. Seek out a CFP’s help so you can enjoy retirement to the fullest. — Brian Greenberg, Insurist Continue Reading…

Growth Opportunities in Challenging Times

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Franklin Templeton/iStock

By George Russell, Institutional Portfolio Manager, Franklin Equity Group

(Sponsor Content)

The first few years of the 2020s have been challenging, to say the least.

Just as optimism was building that the worst days of the pandemic may be behind us, war in Eastern Europe erupts. Hopefully the conflict in Ukraine can find some sort of resolution sooner rather than later, but it’s a worrying time for sure.

Amid the geopolitical turmoil, markets have experienced some wild swings so far in 2022. The conflict in Ukraine has created extra uncertainty for investors who were already concerned about runaway inflation levels, and what higher interest rates may mean for their portfolios. The Bank of Canada has announced its first hike since 2018, and the expectation is that more increases are to follow throughout 2022.

In this tumultuous environment, Growth stocks have had a difficult time. While the first year of the pandemic largely benefited Growth names, particularly in the tech space, there has been a reversal of fortunes in recent months. As inflation concerns increased hawkish sentiment among central banks, a Growth to Value rotation occurred across markets. The question many investors are now asking is just how much the U.S. Federal Reserve or Bank of Canada  will ultimately raise rates.

This decision will  be contingent on whether inflation continues at such a rapid rate, which won’t be helped by higher energy prices arising from the war in Ukraine.

Permanent or Temporary Change?

U.S. consumer prices were up 7% year-over-year at the end of 2021, a 40-year high, while Canada’s 4.8% annual inflation at the end of the year marked a 30-year high. In his recent paper on the subject, Franklin Innovation Fund portfolio manager Matt Moberg identified two main themes that will dictate market performance this year: which companies have experienced permanent change due to the pandemic, and the duration and magnitude of inflation. Continue Reading…

What Is a Credit Utilization Ratio and why does it matter?

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By Mihika Ghosh

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Credit agencies use the credit utilization ratio to understand your credit score. The credit utilization ratio is your total credit to your total debt amount expressed in a percentage format. In simpler terms, it refers to the amount of debt you carry in all your credit cards.

Your credit utilization ratio increases and decreases based on the payments and purchases you make. It is one of the factors that help credit bureaus calculate a credit score and makes up 30% of your credit score. Hence, it is vital to keep your credit utilization ratio as low as possible to avoid debts and maintain good credit scores.

Why does your Credit Utilization Ratio matter?

A high credit ratio negatively impacts your credit score rating process and indicates that the borrower is not great at managing their credit. At the same time, a low credit ratio implies excellent credit management skills.

There are two important factors in maintaining a good credit score – first is your payment history. Late payments and abundant due payments can negatively impact your credit score. The second factor that lays of great importance is your credit utilization ratio. If you are trying to land in the good books of the lender, you need to build good credit by keeping your credit ratio as low as possible.

Most credit experts recommend you keep your credit ratio below 30% to maintain a good credit balance.

How to Calculate your Credit Utilization Ratio 

First and foremost, start by pulling up all your credit cards together, then add up all of your outstanding balances along with your credit limits. Take this figure and then divide it by your total credit limit and multiply it by 100. Your answer will be your total credit utilization ratio which will come out in percentage.

Note that your credit ratio is not the sum total of each of your credit card’s credit utilization ratios. Hence, it is important to calculate the total credit of all your credit cards.

However, if this calculation method is still too complicated for you, or you would just want to let calculators do the math, there are plenty of online credit utilization calculators that can assist you.

How to Improve your Credit Utilization Ratio

Lowering your credit utilization ratio is easy and one of the quickest ways to boost your credit score. Here are a few ways in which you can get started:

  1. Pay All Your Debts

The best way to improve your credit ratio is by paying off any pending credit card balances. Every dollar you pay reduces your credit ratio and total debts, in turn getting you one step closer to a good credit utilization ratio. This even reduces the baggage of interest you had to pay on those balances. Continue Reading…

What to do if you are Wrongfully Terminated

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Image by Pexels

By John Moran

For the Financial Independence Hub

If you are ever fired from a job it can set your financial goals back quite a bit. Sure, you may receive a handsome termination and severance package, but you had planned on working for more years to reach your goals. Getting fired means you may have no money coming in for a while. What really makes that sting is when you feel you were wrongfully terminated.

If there was retaliation against you for doing something that you felt was right, such as calling out discrimination or a hostile workplace, then you were wrongfully terminated as that is illegal. You would definitely have a case for some DC employment lawyers but to make sure your case is successful you’ll need to take some measures. In this article, we will go over what you should do if you feel you were part of a wrongful termination.

Get an explanation from the company

 Most jobs these days are at-will, meaning that you can actually be fired as long as you are not part of a protected class of workers. That doesn’t mean that any reason at all is valid justification. Even in states where employees are at-will you still can’t be fired for no reason.

You should get a written explanation from your company as to why you were fired. If you were wrongfully terminated then you should be able to rebut their reasons for firing you as long as you have some evidence to back it up. Continue Reading…

Three in four Canadian Women want to start a Side Hustle

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Side hustling is on the minds of a majority of Canadian women, according to a survey conducted by Angus Reid for Simplii Financial.

Fully 90% of Canadian women aged 18 to 34 are interested in exploring opportunities to earn money outside their day jobs, the survey found. And across all age groups, 76% are interested in starting a side hustle.

Most of these women are hoping to find more ways to save for major life events, including early retirement, making a down payment on a home, and growing overall savings for their futures.

This Tuesday, March 8th is International Women’s Day, and to celebrate, Simplii Financial will be hosting a special virtual event: the #SimpliiSideHustle panel [Link below.] It brings together three barrier-breaking Canadian women who have launched successful businesses, and who will offer their advice to those looking to start their own side hustles.

The panel features Canadian entrepreneurs Abby Albino (@abbyalbino on Twitter), Avery Francis (@averyfrancis), and Zehra Allibhai (@zallibhai), who will share the challenges they faced in starting their sneaker, consulting and fitness businesses, respectively. They’ll also share how they’ve challenged gender stereotypes that disempower women, to support a more equitable future.

Start-up capital a barrier for women seeking side hustles

Despite the high number of women looking to launch side hustles, more than a third of all women surveyed, and nearly half of those aged 18 to 34, indicated that lack of start-up capital was a barrier to pursuing their side hustles. Continue Reading…