In a recent Wall Street Journal article titled “Financial mistakes newlyweds make,”* the author and several financial advisors urge couples to have the “money talk” before walking down the aisle.
The article provides several practical tips for opening the dialogue with your significant other. One financial advisor even recommends carving out time for a monthly “money date” over breakfast. While portfolio talk over poached eggs may not be your style, there are clear benefits to laying your financial cards on the table before you take the plunge. Honest discussion about your debts, general agreement on your saving and spending habits, and alignment of your long-term investing goals with those of your partner seem like reasonably critical components of happily-ever-after.
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Many of us do a pretty good job of getting insurance on all the usual suspects: homes, health, cars, life. But I recently came to think about another kind of insurance—what we should do to help our loved ones prepare emotionally to take over our financial decision-making.
In many cases, we’re talking about women. And while many women already handle family finances, some may delegate financial matters to someone else. When this happens, unfortunately, there can be a heavy emotional price to pay after a major life event.
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We recently asked college students for their thoughts about retirement—when they want to retire, when they’ll start saving, and what they hope to do once they’re retired. Here’s what they told us.
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My brother-in-law will be graduating from college in a few days, and that has me thinking back to when I started my career a few years ago.
As I set out on my own, I had many questions about finances: How much should I spend on rent? Should I have a roommate? What car should I buy, and how I will afford to keep gas in the tank? (And, of course, how many pairs of shoes can I afford?)
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You may have noticed news coverage in recent weeks about reductions in expense ratios for some of Vanguard’s funds. Most recently, for example, we reported that expenses declined for several of our international index funds.
As one who long has advocated that investors focus on the costs of investing, I’m happy to see expense ratios get attention. Lower costs allow the investors who put up the capital and take the risks to keep more of the returns their assets earn.
But I have a quibble with one aspect of some reports I’ve seen: the implication that reduced expense ratios at some Vanguard funds amount to engaging in a “price war” with other firms.
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