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Legacy, Insurance, and Financial Education

No Job, Loads of Debt: Covid Upends Middle-Class Family Finances

Until mid-March, Alysse Hopkins earned a comfortable living in Rockland County, N.Y., representing clients in foreclosure cases and personal-injury lawsuits.

In a good year, the 43-year-old lawyer and her husband, Ian Boschen, 41, together brought in about $175,000, the couple said—enough to cover the mortgage, two car leases, student loans, credit cards and assorted costs of raising two daughters in the New York City suburbs.

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No Job, Loads of Debt: Covid Upends Middle-Class Family Finances

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The black-white economic divide is as wide as it was in 1968

In many ways, the gap between the finances of blacks and whites is still as wide in 2020 as it was in 1968, when a run of landmark civil rights legislation culminated in the Fair Housing Act in response to centuries of unequal treatment of African Americans in nearly every part of society and business.

By Heather Long and Andrew Van Dam

Read full article in Washington Post

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INSURANCE NEEDS ASSESSMENT: MARRIED WITH CHILDREN

A growing family, by definition, means growing financial obligations — both in the present and in the future. Raising children can increase your insurance needs and heightens the urgency for being properly prepared.

Auto

When a child becomes a new driver, one option is to add the teenager to the parents' policy. You may want to discuss with your auto insurer ways to reduce the additional premium that accompanies a new driver.

Home

You should periodically review your homeowners policy for three primary reasons.

A growing family generally accumulates increasing amounts of personal belongings. Think of each child's toys, clothes, electronic equipment, etc. Moreover, household income tends to rise during this time, which means that jewelry, art, and other valuables may be among your growing personal assets.

The second reason is that the costs of rebuilding — and debris removal — may have risen over time, necessitating an increase in insurance...

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INSURANCE NEEDS ASSESSMENT: WHEN YOU'RE NEWLY MARRIED

Marriage changes everything, including insurance needs. Newly married couples should consider a comprehensive review of their current individual insurance coverage to determine if any changes are in order, as well as consider new insurance coverage appropriate to their new life stage.

Auto

The good news is that married drivers may be eligible for lower rates than single drivers. Since most couples come into their marriage with two separate auto policies, you should review your existing policies and contact your respective insurance companies to obtain competitive quotes on a new combined policy.

Home

Newly married couples may start out as renters, but they often look to own a home or condo as a first step in building a life together. The purchase of homeowners insurance or condo insurance is required by the lender. While these policies have important differences, they do share the same purpose — to protect your home, your personal property, and your assets against any personal...

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INSURANCE NEEDS ASSESSMENT: WHEN YOU'RE YOUNG AND SINGLE

The transition to adulthood is an exciting new stage that marks true independence. You may have graduated from college, taken your first job, and even rented your first apartment. With this new freedom come real responsibilities, including protecting yourself from the financial risks life presents.

Auto

Once you are no longer covered on your parent(s) policy, you will need to find insurance coverage in your name. It can be expensive for a young driver, so consider shopping around for the best rates and learn the myriad of ways to reduce this cost, such as coverage and deductible elections, the type of car you own, and available discounts.

Renter's

If you are moving into an apartment, you should consider renter’s insurance. You may not think you’ve accumulated much in value, but when you calculate the cost of replacing your computer, electronic equipment, HDTV, clothes, etc., it can run into thousands of dollars. Renter’s insurance can be inexpensive. When shopping...

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SOCIAL MEDIA: #NEWESTBUSINESSLIABILITYRISK

The stories of social media fails are legendary—companies using inappropriate humor regarding serious social issues, typographical errors, or pop references that backfire.

These examples represent reputational issues that can affect your company’s brand and its sales.

The mistakes in social media marketing that make the headlines can obscure other forms of risks presented by social media, namely privacy violations, security breaches, unauthorized use of intellectual property and employment-based claims, among others.¹

Liability Risks of Social Media

The risks that social media introduce to your business are generally not new risks, but conventional risks that are delivered in a more modern way.

In order to help manage the risks presented by social media use by your business, you should:

  • Create a social media policy for your company. Develop one for employees using social media for their job and another for employees using social media in their personal lives.
  • ...
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YOUR EMERGENCY FUND: HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH?

Have you ever had one of those months? The water heater stops heating, the dishwasher stops washing and your family ends up on a first-name basis with the nurse at urgent care. Then, as you’re driving to work, giving yourself your best, “You can make it!” pep talk, you see smoke seeping out from under your hood.

Bad things happen to the best of us, and instead of conveniently spacing themselves out, they almost always come in waves. The important thing is to have a financial life preserver, in the form of an emergency cash fund, at the ready.

Although many people agree that an emergency fund is an important resource, they’re not sure how much to save or where to keep the money. Others wonder how they can find any extra cash to sock away. One survey found that 28% of Americans don’t have any emergency savings at all.¹

How Much Money?

When starting an emergency fund, you’ll want to set a target amount. But how much is enough? Unfortunately,...

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PAY YOURSELF FIRST

 

Each month you settle down to pay bills. You pay your mortgage lender. You pay the electric company. You pay the trash collector. But do you pay yourself? One of the most basic tenets of sound investing involves the simple habit of “paying yourself first,” in other words, making the first payment of each month into your savings account.

Americans’ saving patterns vary widely. And too often, short-term economic trends can interrupt long-term savings programs. For example, the U.S. Personal Savings Rate jumped from 3.5% to nearly 8% in May 2008 during the housing and banking crisis. It then rose and fell sporadically as the economic environment appeared to stabilize.1

The Genius of Pay Yourself First

Anyone who’s ever managed their own finances knows that saving can be a challenge. There seems to be an endless stream of expenses that demand a piece of each month’s paycheck. Herein lies the genius of paying yourself first: you get the cream at the...

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