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Study Shows Older Americans Are Coping Best During the Pandemic

If you think older Americans have struggled to cope through the pandemic, think again. According to new research by financial services firm Edward Jones, they have actually been faring far better than their younger counterparts.

The Edward Jones and Age Wave Study focused exclusively on how different generations have held up emotionally and financially in the months since the lockdowns began, and some of its findings are at least as startling as how quickly even 70-year-olds came to love Zoom.

“COVID-19’s impact forever changed the reality of many Americans, yet we’ve observed a resilience among U.S. retirees in contrast to younger generations,” says Ken Dychtwald, Ph.D., the founder and CEO of Age Wave, a leading research think tank on aging, retirement and longevity issues.

While acknowledging upfront that the virus itself disproportionately struck aging adults, the five-generational sampling of 9,000 people, age 18 and over, reveals more than a few surprises. Among them:

• While 37 percent of Gen Zers, 27 percent of Millennials, and 25 percent of Gen Xers say they’d suffered “mental health declines” since the virus hit, only 15 percent of Baby Boomers responded likewise.

• Faring the best were those 75 and over – the Silent Generation that followed the so-called “Greatest Generation” – with a mere 8 percent of those respondents reporting any mental health deterioration. That would seem to run counter, as does the results for Boomers (age 56 to 74), to early warnings that prolonged social isolation made older adults especially vulnerable to depression, anxiety and cognitive decline.

• Nearly 68 million Americans have altered the timing of their retirement due to the pandemic, and 20 million have stopped making regular retirement savings contributions.

Dychtwald attributes the two older generations’ resilience to having “a greater perspective on life.”

“They’ve seen wars and other major disruptions before,” he says, “and they know that this, too, will pass. Younger generations feel like, ‘What happened to my life? I mean, I was supposed to go to college or I was starting a new job, and now everything has changed.’”

Most retired Boomers and Silent Gens also had monthly Social Security checks to fall back on. Which explains why – though the pandemic has significantly reduced the financial security of a quarter of Americans – younger generations were slammed the hardest: Nearly one-third of Millennial and Gen Z respondents characterize the impact as “very or extremely negative,” compared to 16 percent of Boomers and 6 percent of Silent Gens who admitted to similar hardship.

Looking for any silver lining that’s come out of the COVID-19 crisis?

Well, 67 percent of respondents did say it’s brought their families closer together.

“The pandemic has certainly thrown into sharp relief what matters most in our lives,” says Ken Cella, Edward Jones’s client services group principal. “And important discussions have taken place about planning earlier for retirement, saving more for emergencies, and even talking through end-of-life plans and long-term care costs.”

And with the study also showing that an overwhelming percentage of retirees yearn for more ways to use their talents to benefit society, financial services firm Edward Jones believes it’s time to redefine retirement more “holistically” to encompass what it calls “the four pillars” of health, family, purpose and finance.

Successfully addressing most of those pillars admittedly takes more financial savvy than many of us have, though, especially given ever-rising costs. But a financial advisor, such as a local one at Edward Jones, has the perspective, experience and empathy to help.

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Mental Health of Students Must Figure in Restarting Classes

As officials across the nation decide how best to open schools, one aspect too often overlooked is students’ mental health. Awareness of the pressures on our children is the first step towards helping them heal and preparing them to learn.

COVID-19 has left many kids feeling lonely and isolated. Research on the effect of the lockdowns published in the June issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry concludes that young people experiencing loneliness may be as much as three times more likely to sink into depression in the future, but additionally that their mental health could be impacted for at least nine years because of it.

One answer? Since 2003, HealthCorps has worked in high-need schools, supplementing existing health and wellness programs emphasizing physical activity, nutrition, mental resilience and civic engagement. These are teenagers who, even in normal circumstances, experience disparities in access to health services based on their socioeconomic status, geographic region, race or ethnicity – with perhaps predictable results. Specifically, higher rates of chronic disease (including stress) and lower measures of both quality of life and life expectancy.

And yet, through our unique curriculum – created by top heathcare professionals and constantly updated to match students’ needs – the students we work with have flourished. They exercise more, eat better, and practice positive thought. And, yes, they engage with their communities.

Since stress has always been an issue for many of these teens, one of the most requested lessons we were asked to bring to classrooms even before the pandemic hit was  “Bust My Stress.”  And now? Add the coronavirus-induced feelings of isolation to that equation, and you begin to see how fragile our nation’s teens may be.

As one of our Florida students so heartbreakingly told us amid the lockdowns: “I still keep it in, but I still think negative like every night. I cry it out so I won’t have to feel that way again in the morning.”

Building mental resilience has become an increased focus of our work.

Of course, parents have their own role to play in their teenagers’ healing process.

“They can help by reassuring teens that, just because they’re nervous or scared, doesn’t mean they’re really in any danger,” says Mark Goulston, M.D., a HealthCorps advisory board member and widely quoted expert on building a positive culture. “By reminding them that their bodies don’t really understand the fear, and by talking it out and discussing the fear, both the parent and child will feel better and closer.”

The HealthCorps program is delivered by highly trained recent college graduates who are future medical and health policy professionals. They interact with teens on a daily basis – though, these days, virtually – and have developed some simple steps that can help youths through these trying times. Among them:

• Meditate or try deep-breathing methods, which increase your body’s natural ability to relax during high-stress moments.

• Get moving.

• Prioritize sleep.

• Talk things out with someone you trust.

• Do or watch something that makes you laugh.

• Keep a non-judgmental journal to help process thoughts.

• Practice gratitude and positive self-talk.

One last thing. These tips and others, available on our new @teenhealthvibe Instagram channel can also apply to adults.

Amy Braun is the CEO of HealthCorps, a national not for profit providing health and wellness resources to teens, parents and faculty at high-need schools.

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How to Prevent COVID-19 from Impacting Your Credit Score

Since the beginning of March, COVID-19 has turned millions of Americans’ financial situations upside down.

While the economy is showing signs of recovery, many Americans are still unemployed and having to dip into their savings to cover basic living costs. To that end, the question remains: How do you protect your credit score? Read on for some tips.

• Contact your lender aas soon as possible if you can’t make a payment. On-time payments are the largest factor affecting your credit score. Many lenders continue to offer emergency support such as deferral or forbearance options that may allow you to reduce or suspend payments for a fixed period. However, if those terms are set to expire soon, you should “call your lender to discuss what options are available,” says Rod Griffin, senior director of consumer education and advocacy for the credit reporting agency Experian.

• Look for ways to boost your credit score. If you have limited credit history, building credit can be challenging. Experian’s free tool, Experian Boost, can help raise your FICO score instantly by giving you credit for on-time utility, phone and streaming service payments.

This type of alternative financial data, known as “consumer-permissioned data,” allows you to manage your data with confidence and qualify for better credit. In fact, two out of three Experian Boost users see an increase in their credit score with an average increase of about 12 points. That’s enough to make a significant difference when applying for a loan or any type of credit.

• Consider getting a balance transfer credit card or one with an introductory offer. Handled responsibly, this actually has the potential to increase your credit score while either buying you time to pay off your debts or getting a “welcome bonus” of perhaps hundreds of dollars. If you’re looking for personalized credit card options, tools like Experian CreditMatch can help you get the right card based on your financial profile.

• Pay attention to your utilization ratio. Your credit score is based on your total balance-to-limit ratio (a.k.a. “utilization rate”). Adding a new credit card increases your total available credit. As long as your total credit balance remains the same, you’d be decreasing your utilization rate, which can potentially boost your credit score. Be sure to transfer balances to the card with lower interest and be mindful of temporary low interest rates.

While any balance can cause scores to decline, you should keep your utilization under 30 percent, both overall and on individual accounts. Shooting for a top credit score? “Keep your utilization in the single digits, or even better, pay your credit card balances in full each month,” says Griffin.

• Fight fraud by checking your credit report regularly. According to the Federal Trade Commission., there’s been a huge jump in attempted credit – and debit-card fraud since the pandemic hit; consumers have lost more than $100 million to COVID-19-related fraud, so checking

You can receive free weekly credit reports from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion through April 2021 by visiting AnnualCreditReport.com. Experian also offers a free credit monitoring service that includes real-time alerts, credit score tracking, and an updated report every 30 days.

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An At-Home Study on Heart Health And AFib Detection

While the world is slowly opening back up after being shut down for months, if you or someone you love is 65 and older, home is where you are still likely spending most your time.

And while at home, you can consider participating in the Heartline Study sponsored by the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson in collaboration with Apple. Since the study is completely virtual, there’s no travel necessary to doctors’ offices or anywhere else.

“People can participate from the safety of their home,” says Paul Burton, M.D, Chief Global Medical Affairs Officer at Janssen Scientific Affairs. “They’ll be able to participate in a heart health engagement program with activities that may help improve sleep, fitness and wellness, while contributing to innovative heart health research.”

The study seeks to find whether the Heartline Study app, and heart health features on the Apple Watch, can improve clinical outcomes, including reducing the risk of stroke from earlier detection of atrial fibrillation (AFib). The Heartline Study also has articles and facts to keep you engaged in your heart health.

AFib is a common form of irregular heart rhythm that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates is responsible for 158,000 deaths and 454,000 hospitalizations annually in the U.S. It also accounts for more than one-third of all strokes. However, as Dr. Burton notes, “it can be difficult to diagnose since people often do not experience symptoms.”

Here are some tips that can help you take control of your heart health even while adhering to the stay-at-home order:

• Engage in short bouts of physical activity. AFib incidence increases with age – about 70 percent of AFib patients are between 68 and 85 – and even the slightest activity can improve everything from energy to focus to overall health. One starting point: pacing while doing those virtual chats.

• Eat heart-healthy food. “Fruits, vegetables, and fish or chicken are obvious places to begin,” Johns Hopkins Medicine advises.

• Manage high blood pressure. It’s one of the top risk factors for AFib. Readings above 140 for systolic pressure or above 90 for diastolic pressure are considered high.

Who is eligible for the Heartline study? Those who are 65 or older, have Original (Traditional) Medicare and own an iPhone 6s or later model. Individuals with or without a diagnosis of AFib may qualify. Other eligibility criteria apply.

There are a variety of ways to participate in the Heartline Study. You will need to have an iPhone 6s or newer. Some participants will take part using only their iPhone. Some participants will also be asked to wear an Apple Watch. Those asked to wear a watch will be offered two options: purchase one, or get one on loan for the duration of the study and return it when your participation in the study ends. Johnson & Johnson and Apple are committed to ensuring that participation in the study is not limited based on financial need.

To learn more, and to download the Heartline Study app, visit Heartline.com.

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Three Ways to Stay Connected to Your Senior Loved Ones While Social Distancing

After more than 45 days in lockdown, it’s no surprise that many people are going a tad stir-crazy. But it’s far worse for seniors: Not only have visits from their kids and grandkids been suspended, but there’s the extra stress that comes with the nagging suspicion that they’ll be advised to remain on lockdown long after younger people begin trickling back to work and the world starts opening up again.

In fact, the AARP Foundation has even come up with this dire comparison: Prolonged social isolation, for those aged 50 and older, “is the health equivalent of smoking 15 cigarettes a day.” Fortuitously, some of the niftiest technology offers solutions both to keep us connected and protect against some of the miscreants taking advantage of the situation.

• Health Checks. If you are worried that all of the anxiety is harming your loved ones’ overall well-being, the machine-learning algorithms that analyze activity data as part of Alarm.com’s Wellness solution can provide you with the very details you’ve suddenly found yourself obsessing about.

Did they open their medicine cabinet when they should, to take their prescription? Have their sleeping, eating, and (yes) bathroom patterns changed? Are they up and about during the day?

All that and more is done by connecting their home to yours via smart-home technology, with real-time smartphone alerts to let you know if something’s amiss.

“You don’t even know it’s there, but it’s here to protect you and let someone know if something does go wrong,” says Margarete Pullen of Dallas, Texas, whose son had the system installed by an authorized service provider for her and her husband along with a Wellcam video camera with two-way voice capability.

• Movie meet-ups. Most of us are just trying to find novel ways to cope with a situation that Nicholas Christakis, a social scientist and physician at Yale University, told Science magazine “calls on us to suppress our profoundly human and evolutionary hard-wired impulses for connection.”

Google’s new Netflix Party extension lets friends and family watch – and video-chat their way through – a movie together on their computers. You’ll need a NetFlix subscription, but then you’re free to debate if the Tiger King is worth all the hype and whether Carol Baskin really did kill her husband. Plus, unlike in real theaters, not many people (if any) are physically there to complain if you’re making too much noise eating popcorn.

• Apps! Apps! Apps! No NetFlix subscription? With apps such as FaceTime, Skype, Houseparty and Zoom comes more proof that social distancing needn’t mean social disconnecting. Mass virtual dinner parties. Mass virtual “happy hours.” Mass virtual gym classes. They’ve all become quite the rage, with one Vermont couple in their eighties even touchingly using Apple’s FaceTime to see and talk to each other after the husband had to be put in a nursing home that bars visitors during the pandemic.

Want to be a hero in your neighborhood? Use an app such as Instagram to share a video of someone Alarm.com’s doorbell cameras caught swiping one of the many, many packages you’ve been having delivered.

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Here Are The Two Key Reasons America Has Improved Its Retirement Score

Credit increased savings is something that doesn’t get talked about enough for American investors who want to be better prepared financially for retirement.

In fact, according to Fidelity Investments’ latest biennial Retirement Savings Assessment, the typical American household is on track to have 83 percent of the income they’ll need over the course of their expected retirement years – with about half in even better shape than that. To put this into perspective, fifteen years ago, when the assessment was first conducted, the projected figure was a bleaker 62 percent.

“It’s a testament to the hard work many families have made in taking control of their finances,” says Melissa Ridolfi, vice president of retirement and college leadership at Fidelity.

The study is based on a comprehensive national survey of 3,234 people identified as saving for retirement, age 25 to 74 in households earning at least $20,000 annually, and looked at assets such as retirement accounts, home equity, inheritances, and current or expected pensions and Social Security benefits. The one disheartening finding: Twenty-eight percent of respondents might just as well be walking around with bright red warning signs if they don’t take significant steps to make up their current shortfall.

Fidelity actually used color-coded indicators to give a fuller picture of households’ ability to cover their estimated expenses in a down market during those later years:

• Dark Green (“On Target”). Thirty-seven percent were on track to handle more than 95 percent of their expected expenses (up 5 percentage points from 2018).

• Green (“Good”). Seventeen percent were on track for 81 to 95 percent – the essentials, but not discretionary items such as travel and entertainment (down 1 percentage point from 2018).

• Yellow (“Fair”). Eighteen percent came in at 65 to 80 percent, hence face “modest adjustments” to their lifestyles (down 3 percentage points from 2018).

• Red (“Needs Attention”). Twenty-eight percent were completely off-track at less than 65 percent of expenses (down 1 percentage point from 2018).

The two factors driving the shift into the green?

First, the median savings rate has steadily increased over the years – it’s now at 10 percent, as opposed to 8.8 percent two years ago – with Baby Boomers socking away the most (11.7 percent of their salaries). Even Millennials, a generation noted for its crushing student loan debt, managed a rate of 9.7 percent.

And second – and here’s what’s often overlooked – improved asset allocation.

“Sixty percent of respondents are allocating their assets in a manner Fidelity considers age-appropriate,” Ridolfi says, “compared to 48 percent in 2006.”

One reason is that many workplace retirement plans began defaulting employees into target date funds and managed accounts over the past decade.

For those curious about their own retirement readiness, Fidelity’s free Retirement Score tool allows anyone to get their score and shows the percentage they’re anticipated to have saved versus their projected needed income. Better yet, you can also test out potential tweaks that would allow for a cushier retirement lifestyle.

And if cushy is what you crave, never forget three of the greatest “accelerants” for improving your preparedness. Specifically, by upping your savings rate to the recommended minimum 15 percent (including any employer 401(k) contributions), ensuring an age-appropriate asset mix, and deferring Social Security benefits until at least age 66 or 67, you could dramatically boost your total score to more than 100.

“Any one accelerator is clearly helpful,” says Ridolfi, “but all three combined could help bring you from a ‘good’ to a ‘great.’”

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Three Ways Millennials Can Start Saving More Money

For too long, Millennials have gotten a bad rap about money and their ability to save for a rainy day or retirement.

However, a new “Relationship With Money” survey by financial services firm Edward Jones found that not only do more Americans born between 1981 and 1996 consider themselves “savers” than those in their parents’ Gen-X cohort (48 percent vs. 46 percent), but that Millennials also were better at socking away emergency funds (75 percent vs. 66 percent).

That’s right. The same Millennials whose motto could be “Why buy a car when you can Uber?”

“This debunks the myth that Millennials aren’t as financially focused as other generations,” says Edward Jones investment strategist Nela Richardson.

And the survey isn’t some outlier. It’s supported by other research.

The Federal Reserve Survey on Consumer Finances found that while Millennials are deep in debt, more than 42 percent have retirement accounts, the highest share for those under 35 years of age since 2001.

Part of what’s driving Millennials’ emphasis on saving could stem from lingering memories of the Great Recession.

“Back in the late 2000’s, the oldest cohort of millennials entered the worst job market since the Great Depression of the 1930’s,” says Richardson.

“For younger millennials, watching their parents and other family members go through that experience may have also made them more aware of the risks of a market downturn or some other unexpected event, such as losing a home or a job, and so they’re more conservative when it comes to spending and saving in their adult lives,” says Richardson.

One potential alarm bell uncovered by Edward Jones’ sampling of more than 2,000 adults nationally age 18 and over: While 92 percent were honest enough with themselves to recognize there was room for improvement in their financial health, the very thought of saving money sufficed to make more than a third feel either “anxious” or “overwhelmed.”

If that sounds familiar, here are three steps to consider:

• Identify your money-related emotions. People often have emotional responses to money. Getting a big bonus at work can make you feel euphoric; agonizing over what to do with it can be paralyzing even as the logical part of your brain (invest at least most of it) fights it out with the emotional part (splurge it all!). What’s key is knowing that letting your feelings dictate your spending, saving and investing choices can lead to poor decisions.

• Develop a financial strategy. Keeping your cool starts with identifying your main goals – a down payment on a new home, college for your children, a comfortable retirement – and then sticking to a sound, long-term path for attaining them.

• Get an “accountability partner.” Meaning, someone with whom you’re comfortable sharing your finances. It could be a family member. Or a professional financial advisor, such as a local one at Edward Jones, who has the perspective, experience and skills necessary to help you make the moves appropriate for your situation.

“Whether you are strapped with student debt, saving to buy a home or trying to build an emergency fund, there are trade-offs that must be made in balancing these short-term goals and our long-term financial future, such as investing for retirement,” Richardson says. “Without a sound financial strategy, most people tend to be reactive rather than proactive and feel that their money is controlling them.”

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Many New Year’s Resolutions Revolve Around A Desire to Live Debt-Free

With the start of a new decade a mere few weeks away, Americans are feeling particularly good about closing out 2019 when it comes to their current and future financial situation. That said, many are vowing to make it a priority to reduce the burden of personal debt that they incurred this year.

According to Fidelity Investments’ 2020 New Year Financial Resolutions Study, 82 percent of respondents say they are in a similar or better financial position than they were in last year. Most credited their success to their own good habits – saving more (47 percent) and budgeting (29 percent) – rather than their investment gains (18 percent) from a stock market that made one high after another. Less than 25 percent put it down to having been able to work more hours in a strong economy.

And, as the study makes clear, they want to keep the momentum going.

Of the 67 percent considering making a financial resolution, “saving more” and “paying down debt” topped the list, respectively, at 53 percent and 51 percent.

“Living a debt-free life was the biggest motivator for them,” says Melissa Ridolfi, Fidelity’s vice president of retirement and college products.

Heck, given the choice between the classic New Year’s resolution of losing five pounds or socking away $5,000, a resounding 84 percent in the national survey of 3,012 adults opted for savings.

If you want to avoid the biggest and smallest mistakes that respondents made, read on:

• Dining out too much (36 percent).

• Spending too much on non-essentials, such as unused apps, streaming media services, and subscription retail boxes (29 percent).

• Taking on debt or adding to existing debt (28 percent).

•Splurging on something they couldn’t really afford (28 percent).

• Unexpected medical expenses (24 percent).

• Failing to save as much for retirement as they should (18 percent).

So with all the interest in getting a grip on debt, who seems to be faring the best at it?

Boomers, the study finds, with 29 percent crediting being better off financially at year’s end to having refinanced, paid off, or reduced debts or loans. Generation X, the next oldest, trailed at 21 percent, followed by 19 percent of millennials, and just 6 percent of Generation Z.

“Boomers are getting the message that the closer they get to retirement, the more essential it becomes to get their debt under control to make the most out of retirement savings,” Ridolfi says.

Certainly there’s no law that says you have to make a New Year’s resolution – financial or otherwise – but even a huge chunk of those surveyed who weren’t contemplating explicitly doing so, still say they are planning on building up emergency funds. As for what you might call the “traditionalists” out there? Fidelity has some tried-and-true  tips that can help ensure your financial vows don’t wind up being among the 80 percent of all resolutions that U.S. News says, alas, fail by the second week of February.

The firm also has an impressive, free online “Moments” tool designed to help you plan for lifestyle changes or react to a myriad of curveballs – i.e., the unexpected medical expenses cited as a big setback in the study – that life throws at you. And accessing the Fidelity Retirement Score gives you a quick look at where you stand with your savings.

Oh, and here’s one last thing to see if you can relate: Seventy-eight percent of those surveyed predicted they’d be even better off financially in 2020.

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VR Camera Creates Immersive Experience

Have you ever thought about what it might be like to relive the best moments of your life, and be able to share them with others? Maybe it’s the dance floor at your wedding. Or the birth of your child or his or her first birthday. Maybe it’s that touchdown that led your team to victory in the last seconds of a game. With today’s mobile virtual reality technology, it’s possible to create virtual memories and it has never been easier to get started.

Humaneyes Technologies, an innovator in camera technology, has developed a user-friendly, dual camera that combines 360-degree photography with immersive 3-D Virtual Reality (VR), all in one simple-to-use solution that costs about the same as a decent DSLR camera.

“360-degree pictures and video continue to change how we use cameras to capture the world around us,” says media expert Jim Malcolm of Humaneyes Technologies. “And the global adoption of VR headsets, combined with 3-D cameras, is providing even more ways to create virtual content and virtual memories.”

“We’ve done it with the best, from documenting Mako sharks with The Discovery Channel to weightless experiences in the International Space Station, floating more than 250 miles above the horizon.”

“We’re now excited to watch, firsthand, as consumers create their own immersive personal stories,” says Malcolm.

The Vuze XR flips easily from a 360-degree camera to a VR180 camera and shoots both virtual video and photos. Whether you’re recording or live streaming, users can create and share virtual experiences at that moment, and then save them to revisit next week or next decade. Special features of the VUZE include 18-Mega Pixel still images, built-in stabilization, filters, and a VR editing suite. Plus, it doesn’t get more portable.

“Everything can be viewed, controlled and edited, right from your phone, so that you can shoot, create and share virtual videos at a moment’s notice,” says Malcolm. But not everything needs to be virtual; the VUZE also functions as a 5.7K and 4K up to 60fps 2D camera for capturing high-resolution video and pictures to fill out your photo album.

Think ahead to the holidays and how the latest in VR technology can help make unforgettable memories and connect far-flung family and friends. The VUZE XR camera also features live streaming and social sharing for platforms, including Facebook and YouTube, so that you can bring your social media audience into the scene with you.

For more information on the VUZE XR camera and how to create your own virtual experiences and memories, visit www.humaneyes.com.

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Crucial Decisions Most People Fail to Make When It Comes to Estate Planning

How best to put this?

We’re all going to go at some point, and while you may not want to think about it, never mind, talk about it, you’re not immune.

So what then?

You might think your estate will get miraculously sorted out, and that squabbling relatives are just the stuff of TV dramas. But you’re not just leaving an estate. You’re leaving what Ken Cella, an executive with the financial services firm Edward Jones, calls “a legacy.”

“You want to be the one who’s in control of what happens to what matters most to you, such as minor children, dependents, financial assets, even your own health care decisions,” he says. “Without a properly planned estate, or legacy strategy, your assets could be subject to the time-consuming, expensive and very public process where relatives and creditors can gain access to records and even challenge your will.”

And yet, according to a recent survey by Edward Jones, while 77 percent of Americans believe having such a strategy in place is important for everyone – not just the rich – only 24 percent have even taken the most basic step of designating beneficiaries for all their accounts. To avoid even one of those “then what?” moments, here are some of the key elements to consider:

• A Will. What’s the worst that can happen if you haven’t written one? “Plenty,” as US News & World Report has written, “depending on your situation, the personalities of the people in your life – and the estate laws that your state has on the books.”

In other words, not only could some court judge be deciding who gets everything if your family can’t agree on their own, but he or she could also wind up appointing a guardian for your minor kids.

• A Living Trust. Do you own out-of-state property, such as a vacation home? Or maybe you want to leave more to one child than the others? Assets you register into a revocable living trust are there for your benefit during your lifetime, can be managed by your named trustee if you become incapacitated, and are harder to contest than wills.

• A Health Care Directive. In the same way that you don’t want some judge deciding who gets your Beatles albums, for instance, you definitely don’t want the courts having to settle an inter-family fight over whether you’d rather go on living in a vegetative state or be taken off hospital feeding tubes.

And, yes, it’s happened.

Shuddering at the thought? Then you’ll recognize the importance of appointing someone to carry out your medical treatment wishes in the event that you’re no longer able to communicate or incapable of giving consent.

• Beneficiary Designations. Suffice it to say that you don’t want to be among the 76 percent the survey found hadn’t even bothered, for starters, to fill in a beneficiary’s name on accounts such as their 401(k) or other savings.

For some, estate planning is as simple as a written will. But a local financial advisor, such as one at Edward Jones, can work with you and your tax and legal professionals to employ a strategy that, among other things, potentially avoids the court process known as probate – there, we said the “P” word – while also making sure that your investments are aligned with your goals.

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Here May Be One  Positive Aspect of The Student Debt Crisis 

Just how much are all those stories about crippling student debt having on college campuses? You have only to ask post-millennials now trying – although not always successfully – to avoid being saddled with the same heavy burden of debt as their predecessors.

Not only did 83 percent of current college students surveyed consider what their total costs would be before matriculating – just 69 percent of recent graduates had such foresight – but 39 percent of them said the potential price tag was such “a huge factor” that they purposely limited their choice of schools to the most affordable, according to Fidelity Investments’ new “College Savings: Lessons Learned Study.” Only 32 percent of recent graduates, alas, had shown similar restraint.

“It seems today’s college students are perhaps more aware of the financial situation they entered into than those who graduated before them,” says Melissa Ridolfi, Fidelity’s vice president of retirement and college leadership. “That’s a positive development.”

All told, student debt in the U.S. now totals more than $1.5 trillion – second only to mortgage debt, Forbes reports. And the 69 percent or so of the Class of 2018 who took out student loans graduated with an average debt balance of $29,800.

So it’s understandable why recent graduates would be so anxious over whether they’d ever be able to pay off their loans that they’re now having second thoughts about their decisions:

• 40 percent say that while they don’t regret going to college, they would have made different choices in hindsight.

• Only 14 percent felt the value of their education was worth more than the money they had spent.

And future college students should listen to this sage advice from the more than 4,000 respondents surveyed – all recent graduates, current undergraduates, and parents of either or both – on what would have done wonders to ease their own stress levels.

“When asked ‘If you knew then what you know now when it comes to school selection, what would you do differently?’ the no. 1 answer for all respondents was ‘I would have started saving earlier,’” Ridolfi says.

Which logically brings us to another key finding of the study: only 17 percent of current students and recent graduates had taken advantage, prior to college, of what’s arguably one of the best ways to fund higher education – 529 savings plans.

Unlike regular bank savings accounts, they provide a tax-advantaged way to save money to cover tuition, books and other education-related expenses at most accredited two- and four-year colleges, universities and vocational-technical schools.

The key phrase being “tax-advantaged.” Meaning, earnings grow federal income tax-deferred and withdrawals for qualified expenses are free from federal (and, in many places, state) income taxes – thus affording the opportunity to have even more saved for college.

Significantly, Ridolfi says families using a 529 plan managed by Fidelity have been starting to sock money away earlier than ever before, with contributions beginning on average when the child is about age six-and-a-half. Thirty-six percent of Fidelity 529s are even opened for beneficiaries under age 2.

You say a child hasn’t even uttered his or her first complete sentence before they’re two? Probably not. But just so you’re not bushwhacked when they suddenly hit their late teens, free online resources such as Fidelity’s College Savings Learning Center and College Savings Quick Check– a calculator that even shows you the impact of saving a few dollars more a month – can help prepare you for what lies ahead.

Think of them as your own first baby steps.

[newsusaupdates]

How to Benefit From The Competition for Your Money

In the latest sign that the competition for your money is as hot as Texas in August, Fidelity Investments says that customers who open individual brokerage and retirement accounts will now automatically have their uninvested cash directed into a higher yielding money market fund. The move will especially benefit those who leave substantial amounts uninvested for a long time.

That goes against the typical industry practice of sweeping the money, by default, into a low-yielding account at what’s typically an affiliated bank.

“Some firms have removed the option of securing a higher yielding money market fund as an option for their cash, thereby forcing investors to take additional steps to get a better rate,” says Kathleen Murphy, president of Fidelity Investments’ personal investing business. “Unfortunately, that means millions of people don’t get the opportunity to have that money earn more for them.”

So exactly how much, in actual dollars, do you stand to benefit from the new policy?

If, for example, you’re opening an account with $10,000. If you’re like many investors, research shows that not only will you not focus on the rate paid on that cash deposit – typically called the bank cash sweep – but there’s a good chance of the following scenario playing out:

• You keep waiting for the so-called “perfect time” to actually invest the money.

• Meanwhile, while you’re waiting, life gets in the way and you’re too busy to even park the cash in a higher-yielding alternative to the sweep.

And so the cash just sits there.

And sits there.

The annual yield on that $10,000, when defaulted into a cash sweep, is a mere 0.03 percent at E-Trade, 0.04 percent at TD Ameritrade, and 0.18 percent at Charles Schwab, to cite three prominent examples as of August 11.

That works out, respectively, to $3, $4 and $18.

By comparison, with Fidelity now automatically directing the cash into its Fidelity Government Money Market Fund (SPAXX), you could earn $183 annually thanks to its much higher 1.83 percent seven-day yield, as of August 11.

The difference is even starker the more cash you’re sitting on.

Have $50,000? That works out to $915 annually vs. a cash sweep of as little as $15.

Double that to $100,000, and we’re talking $1,830 annually compared to a cash sweep of as little as $30.

There’s nothing exotic about money market funds. Though they’re not FDIC-insured as bank sweeps are, they’ve been around since the 1970s and are simply mutual funds that invest in short-term debt securities carrying low credit risk. Their underlying securities are issued by government entities or companies that borrow money and repay the principal and interest to investors within a short period of time.

The move is just the latest value enhancement by Fidelity, the nation’s largest retirement and brokerage firm with nearly $8 trillion in client assets. Last year it introduced four new U.S. and global index funds with zero expense fees, eliminated minimum amounts required to invest in any Fidelity mutual fund and 529 College Savings Plan, and did away with individual investors’ charges for things such as domestic bank wires and check-stop payments.

“We’re once again rewriting the rules of investing,” says Murphy.

[newsusaupdates]

Take Time for A Moment That Matters: Tire Safety

Have working batteries in your smoke alarms? Done. Has your oil been freshly changed in your car? Done. Is there a new water filter for your refrigerator? Done. But when it comes to regularly checking your tires? Like most people, there may be some room for improvement.

As fall travel and winter weather loom, taking a moment to check your car tires can make a difference in keeping you safe on the road.

This year, Cooper Tires is encouraging drivers to mark Labor Day weekend on their calendar (and the first of every month) as a tire check safety moment, to make a habit of checking tires, especially as seasons change.

“Just as we regularly take a moment to check our smoke detector batteries when we change our clocks in the fall and spring, we need to designate a moment to check tire safety as well,” says Jessica Egerton, Director of Brand Development at Cooper Tire & Rubber Company.

Ensuring the overall condition of your tires is easy and important for your safety on the road. Consider this: Your tires are the only parts of your vehicle to come into contact with, and keep you connected to, the highway.

The recommended tread depth is more than 2/32 of an inch deep. Do your tires meet this minimum, or are they too worn? Would you know if they are? An easy and quick way to tell is with the penny tread test. You simply stick a penny into the tread with Lincoln’s head facing down. If the tread covers the top of his head, you’re good to go. If not, it’s time to replace the tire.

Finding out whether your tires have the recommended tread depth can help in a number of ways, such as maintaining traction on the road, keeping control of the car, and preventing hydroplaning or sliding.

You don’t want to be under-pressured, either.

Tires not inflated to the recommended level of pressure can lead to tire failure uneven wear, and cause your car to use more gas.

This 10-minute safety check from Cooper Tires can help:

• Check the tread. Use the U.S. penny/Lincoln’s head method. Insert the penny into the tire tread, with Lincoln’s head down and facing you. If the top of his head is visible at any point around the tire, there is too little tread, and it’s time to replace the tire!

• Check the pressure. Look on the vehicle doorjamb, glove compartment fuel door or owner’s manual to find the recommended pressure for your tires. Press a tire gauge on the valve stem. Too low? Add air. Too high? Push down on the metal stem in the center of the valve to release some air. When you reach the recommended pressure, replace that valve cap. Also, don’t check pressure right after driving. Wait at least three hours until the tires are cool.

• Check your look. Inspect your tires for cuts, bulges, cracks, splits or punctures. When in doubt, ask a tire professional for an inspection.

Visit coopertires.com for more information about tire safety and more details on how to take make your tire safety check moment a regular habit.

[newsusaupdates]

Hazards That Are Most Likely To Hurt Your Tires

Consider this: getting a spoon stuck in your tires is more of a likelihood than you may have thought.

According to a new national survey of auto service professionals, this common kitchen utensil is a potential hazard – albeit one of the more unusual ones – likely to damage your tires if you’re not careful about where you’re driving. The four tires on your car are the only thing connecting your vehicle to the road, and they also affect everything from handling to braking, playing a critical role in your safety. Given their part in keeping you safe, it’s worth taking the time to take care of your tires – especially when there are so many (potential) hazards to look out for.

The study from Cooper Tires conducted by Auto Service Professional magazine couldn’t come at a better time: Nearly 100 million Americans are expected to have taken a family vacation by year’s end, according to a recent AAA Travel survey, with upcoming spring and summer road trips topping many of their plans.

With so many Americans on the road all year long – whether for a family vacation or their daily commute to work – tire damage is an unfortunate reality. According to the study, some of the most common causes of tire damage are running over something, such as a curb (72 percent), nails (70 percent), or potholes (39 percent). Other common causes of tire damage are more easily preventable, such as driving with bald tires (48 percent) and driving on a tire with low air pressure (44 percent). It’s probably why checking tire pressure, rotating your tires and paying attention to the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) light are the top tips from auto service professionals on proper tire maintenance.

And the one location you probably most want to avoid when driving? Construction zones, which are no doubt behind so many tires being punctured by spikes, wrenches, screwdrivers and pliers.

Drivers need to contend with various road challenges throughout the year. In the winter, the top two sources of tire damage are potholes (72 percent) and unseen hazards hidden under that fresh blanket of snow (59 percent), which can be anything from cracks in the pavement to debris that has fallen off trucks. In summer, underinflated tires are the most common offender (88 percent), leading to overheating.

“The four tires on your vehicle are the only parts to come in contact with and keep you connected to the road,” notes Jess Egerton, director of brand development at Cooper Tires which has been making tires since 1914. “That’s why, for safety and performance reasons, you have to properly care for, maintain and inspect them.”

That means:

• Checking tire inflation on a regular basis. Operating a vehicle with even just one tire underinflated by 8 psi can reduce the life of a tire by 9,000 miles and increase fuel consumption by 4 percent.

• Replacing tires when worn to 2/32 inches tread depth anywhere on the tread face.

• Visually checking tires for things such as missing valve caps, uneven tread wear and any foreign objects that could mean serious problems should they become even more deeply embedded while driving.

But back to those more unusual hazards.

Pieces of toys. Porcupine quills. Pork chop bones. Spoons. It’s anyone’s guess – including the service professionals who recounted finding them jabbed in tires – how they got there.

“Auto service professionals have pulled a lot of unusual things out of tires over the years,” says Greg Smith, publisher of Auto Service Professional magazine. “But, really, it might surprise people to know that a lot of tire damage is simply due to poor maintenance and wear and tear.”

[newsusaupdates]

The Best Kept Secret: 529 College Savings Plans

When paying for your child’s college education, what you don’t know really can hurt you.

We’re talking 529 plans. The’ve been in existence since 1996, but a new survey from Edward Jones found that 67 percent of Americans don’t have a clue that they provide a tax-advantaged way to save money for tuition, books and other qualified education-related expenses at most accredited two- and four-year colleges, universities, and vocational-technical schools. Worse still, that 67 percent figure is 5 percent higher than it was the first time the survey was done in 2012.

“It’s a concerning trend,” says Tim Burke, a principal at the financial services firm, Edward Jones.

“Concerning” because the current average price tag of a four-year degree, including tuition, room and board: $21,370-a-year at public schools, according to the College Board, and $48,510-a-year at private schools.

And just how do those surveyed think they’re going to handle those costs?

• Personal savings accounts (38 percent). Keep in mind that the national average interest rate on such accounts is a measly 0.09 percent. Good luck trying to cover the more than $1,200 an average college student spends on books and materials over the course of a year with that.

• Scholarships (35 percent). If your child is a prodigy or football star, hats off to you. Because Sallie Mae’s “How America Pays for College” 2018 report found that only 17 percent of college costs were paid this way.

• Federal or state financial aid (33 percent). Pell Grants are the largest source of federally funded grants, and they max out at $6,095 for the 2018-19 academic year. That would cover about 28 percent of one year’s $21,370 average cost at a public college – except that, as the College Board explains, “most students receive smaller grants because they are enrolled part time or because their family income and assets reduce their aid eligibility.”

• Private student loans (20 percent). According to the Brookings Institution, parents who take out loans do so to the tune of $16,000 a year on average, and nearly 10 percent are on the hook for $100,000. “College debt is increasingly becoming a parent problem, too,” ConsumerReports.com warns.

Given all that, you can see why Kyle Andersen, another principal at Edward Jones, says that “by relying on scholarships or federal or state financial aid that a student may or may not receive, Americans leave themselves vulnerable.”

Which brings us back to 529 plans.

Hats off to the 18 percent of those surveyed who said they’d implemented this strategy, which Edward Jones and others call “an attractive and practical way to save.” How so? Unlike personal savings accounts, the earnings in these plans – typically comprised of a portfolio of funds – accumulate tax-free, and qualified withdrawals are exempt from both federal and state income taxes.

The federal gift tax exclusion allows a contributor to give up to $15,000 per year, per beneficiary, or $30,000 for married couples. Although almost every state has its own 529 plan – with total limits sometimes reaching more than $500,000 – there’s no “home-town restriction,” so you might want to work with a local Edward Jones financial advisor to compare plans and review your situation.

One other thing that less than half of those surveyed knew: 529 plans can also be used to pay for qualified K-12 tuition.

[newsusaupdates]

A Date Parents Need to Put on The Calendar: 529 College Savings Plan Day

How much will I need for my kid’s college education? And how the heck will I pay for it?

With the cost of a four-year degree rising nearly eight times faster than wages since the 1980s, those two questions are enough to give today’s parents a serious case of night sweats. You can argue about the reasons for the disconnect -Administrative costs? Fancy amenities? – but you know there’s a problem when a writer at Education Week is incensed.

“Madness,” she decried.

Which is all the more reason to mark May 29 down on your calendar.

Otherwise known as National 529 College Savings Plan Day -Get it? 5/29? – it’s the perfect time to consider setting up one those tax-advantaged 529 plans, as they’re called, to help sock money away to cover tuition, books and other education-related expenses at most accredited two – and four-year colleges, universities and vocational-technical schools.

“It’s a way of keeping your son or daughter from being saddled with too much debt when it’s time to jump start their careers,” explained Melissa Ridolfi, vice president of retirement and college products at Fidelity Investments. “Plus, any investment earnings compound on a tax-deferred basis, and qualified withdrawals are entirely free from federal and state income taxes.”

And now to the big question: How much?

Two factors are mainly at play:

• Public vs. private schools. The cost difference can be about as mind-boggling as “Avengers: Endgame’s” record $357.1 million opening weekend domestic haul: an average of $21,370 a year at the former, according to the College Board’s latest figures, as opposed to $48,510 at the latter.

• The percentage of the bill you plan to foot. If you were counting on scholarships and other grants to pick up all or most of the tab, you should probably rethink that unless your kid is either a bona fide child prodigy or football star.

Sallie Mae’s “How America Pays for College” 2018 report found that both categories combined paid for just 28 percent of college costs.

One guess where 47 percent of the costs came from. That’s right, “family income and savings,” with another 24 percent covered by borrowing.

In other words, as Ridolfi said, “any way you look at it, the family is on the hook to pay the lion’s share of college expenses.” Which probably helps explain why a recent Fidelity study found that parents are increasingly starting to save before their child even reaches the age of two.

To see where you stand, try using what Fidelity calls “the college savings 2K rule of thumb.” Simply multiply your child’s current age by $2,000 to figure whether your savings to date are generally on track to handle approximately 50 percent of the College Board’s $21,370-a-year average cost of attending a four-year public college.

Or, especially if you want a more customized estimate – one that lets you play around with percentages and switch back and forth between public and private schools – the firm’s free online college savings calculator takes the angst out of doing the math yourself.

Fidelity provides 12 savings ideas to help reach your own goal, and offers a choice of two different investment strategies in the 529 savings plans it manages – including an age-based portfolio of funds that automatically becomes more conservative as the beneficiary nears college age.

Hopefully, armed with all that info, you’ll be sleeping better at night.

[newsusaupdates]

Women Prioritize Immediate Needs Over Long-term Goals

According to a new survey from Edward Jones, “Female Financial Empowerment,”while women have made significant strides in gender and income equality in the workplace, one of the biggest obstacles they continue to face is the tendency to “prioritize immediate family needs” over saving for their own future.

That certainly helps explain what the financial services firm acknowledges is an inherent conflict in the findings: Although seven out of 10 women polled say they feel “confident” in their financial knowledge, all too many have actually done little to generate their own long-term wealth.

“Only 25 percent of women surveyed consider saving for retirement as their most important goal over the next three to five years,” says Nela Richardson, an investment strategist at Edward Jones. “That tells us that female financial empowerment should be next on the list of barriers women have broken over the past few decades.”

The two other biggest challenges women need to surmount, according to the national sample of 1,004 adult women ages 18 and older, is waiting for the “perfect” time to invest (something men do as well), or something else to motivate them.

Some examples: A big raise or other windfall (49 percent). A financial emergency (20 percent). A significant life event (20 percent). A market correction (12 percent).

“Waiting for a raise or a significant life event, by definition, isn’t a financial strategy,” Richardson says, “and they’ll always have competing priorities. The key is to anticipate both tailwinds and headwinds in life, and be flexible enough to adapt to changing situations so you can meet your long-term financial goals.”

Edward Jones lays out a female-centric approach to handling your finances on its website. But here’s a quick cheat sheet to get you started:

• Make yourself a priority by starting to invest now in order to give your money time to grow – never underestimating the power of a wondrous thing called compound interest.

• Begin small with modest investments.

• Develop a goals-based financial strategy.

As for how much better women are doing financially, here’s one notable sign: Forbes’ list of the world’s 100 richest people featured just four females in 2000 compared to 10 this year. The richest woman – and fifteenth overall – is the L’Oréal heiress, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers ($49.3 billion), who is chairwoman of the family’s holding company.

But she inherited her wealth, you say? Well, the youngest billionaire ever, according to Forbes, is 21-year-old cosmetics wunderkind Kylie Jenner ($1 billion).