Use Bond Ladders for Cash Flow You can use bond ladders when you retire to provide the funds needed for your expenses each year. For example, a conservative person might take their entire portfolio and buy single bonds so that they mature each year for the next thirty years to meet their cash flow needs. This would be a 30-year bond ladder. A less conservative person might use a bond ladder to pay bills for only the first five to 10 years....

The STAR interview response method can help make the process easier. Using this method of answering interview questions allows you to share concrete examples of how you successfully handled situations at work to show that you possess the experience and skills required for the job you’re interviewing for. Read below for a detailed description of the STAR interview response technique and examples of how to best use it. STAR: Situation, Task, Action, Result STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result....

Other employers may ask for references further along in the hiring process, either at the end of an interview or afterwards. These letters of recommendation carry significant weight to their recipients. If you’re asked to write one, it’s important to include details that build a strong case for the applicant. If you do not feel comfortable endorsing the applicant, it’s better to decline to write a letter than to write something lukewarm....

Know Your Network Take a moment to assess your network of contacts. If you’re a college student or graduate, check with your career development office to see if there are any alumni contacts at the company to which you’d like to apply. Maybe you share a LinkedIn connection with a current employee at the said company or you’re active in the same professional organization. Having a good connection never hurts and it can only boost your chances of obtaining a position....

Can You Write a Will Without a Lawyer? You can write a will without a lawyer, although you’ll need to follow your state guidelines to ensure it legally goes into effect. For instance, some states require that a will be signed in front of witnesses and/or notarized. There are both pros and cons to going the DIY route rather than an estate attorney. Caroline Tanis, a financial advisor with the Tanis Financial Group in Hoboken, New Jersey, points out two of the biggest deciding factors for individuals considering how to approach making a will....

Insurance Rating Company Rating Systems Each of the five companies has developed a rating system to describe insurers’ financial condition. All of the systems use letters of the alphabet (Moody’s also uses numbers). The ratings generally range from “poor” or “distressed” to “excellent” or “superior.” Rating organizations consider both qualitative and quantitative factors when evaluating an insurer. For example, KBRA uses all the following to calculate an insurer’s financial strength rating:...

Although there is no universal right answer to this question—and your emphasis may vary based on the context of the possible job—there are some general guidelines to consider. What Interviewers Want to Know Interviewers have a few priorities when they ask you if you’d rather be liked or respected. First, they’re interested in getting a sense of your priorities and thought process. This question can also reveal your leadership style....

Your company must have an employer identification number (EIN) or Social Security number (SSN) in order to complete and issue a 1099-MISC form to a payee. You can apply for an EIN online based on the type of business entity you’ve established. Who Uses IRS Form 1099-MISC? IRS Form 1099-MISC is used by any company that pays an individual or external company in excess of $600 in any calendar year, or $10 in royalties, including:...

Is silver a good investment for your portfolio? That depends on your current investment objectives, your risk tolerance, and how diversified your assets are. Here, we’ll discuss the ins and outs of investing in silver, how to buy it, the pros and cons of investing in it, and how it compares to investing in gold. Why Invest in Silver? Silver has been around forever, giving people a sense of stability as a rare, limited-in-supply commodity in which to invest....

Here are taxes that the estate or trust of a deceased person may owe and the types of tax returns that will need to be filed. Federal Estate Taxes While estate taxes seem to get all the publicity when it comes to taxes owed after someone dies, the reality is that the majority of estates will not owe any federal estate taxes. Estates valued at $11.70 million or more must file a federal estate tax return in 2022 using IRS Form 706....

There are ways to respond effectively and strategies you can use to best answer the question, so the weaknesses you mention don’t impact your chance of getting the job. Why Interviewer Ask About Weaknesses So why do hiring managers ask this question during job interviews? In short, they can’t get a complete picture of you as a candidate by only talking about your strengths. In addition to learning about what you can do, the interviewer wants to know about what you can’t do, or what you have difficulty with on the job....

What Interviewers Want to Know Interviewers are looking for candidates who will thrive in management. To do that, they’ll be looking to get a sense of your leadership abilities. Interviewers will also be eager to get a sense of how you learn, and if you’re receptive to training and taking on new skills. Finally, interviewers will also be looking for insight into why you’re interested in this type of role. You can anticipate getting behavioral and situational interview questions, as well as questions about your motivations....

Although a wide variety of market value ratios are available, the most popular include earnings per share, book value per share, and the price-earnings ratio. Others include the price/cash ratio, dividend yield ratio, market value per share, and the market/book ratio. Each of these measures is used in a different way, but when combined, they offer a financial portrait of publicly traded companies. In addition, market value ratios give management an idea of what a firm’s investors think of its performance and future prospects....

These various perks aren’t just reserved for active-duty men and women, either; family members can take advantage of these military credit card benefits, too. These extra benefits include access to credit-union rewards cards not available to the general public. Two federal laws—the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) and the Military Lending Act (MLA)—provide protection for military members that could save you hundreds of dollars in interest payments. SCRA Interest and Fee Benefits This act is a federal law that limits interest rates for active-duty military and their families....

The IRS has now sent more than 3.1 million one-time “plus-up” payments to tax filers who qualified for a larger stimulus payment after filing their 2020 tax returns. The latest batch of supplemental payments, worth a total of about $1.3 billion, has started rolling out to more than 730,000 households, the IRS said in a statement Wednesday. Filers may be owed more in their stimulus checks due to changes in things like the income or the number of dependents they reported on their 2020 tax return....

Before you react, review the big picture to gain insight into what might be happening and if it’s something you need to act on, or not. Is This Normal? Stocks Lose Money Every Year Although the markets have generally risen over time, stocks lose money almost every year—at least temporarily. Since 1979, the U.S. stock market has fallen from its intra-year highs by about 14% (on average) every year. Still, the market ended up with positive returns in roughly 83% of those years....

New homes for sale totaled 389,000 at the end of the month, a bump from 378,000 in September and the highest since 2008, according to the Census Bureau’s report on new residential sales released Wednesday. However, all but 38,000 of them were still being built or hadn’t even been started. Just 9.3% of new homes for sale were finished, the second-lowest such ratio since the Census Bureau started keeping track in 1999....

A certain amount of etiquette is involved from both sides. You should understand the role of the agent who’s holding the house open before you head out to explore someone else’s home, and you’ll want to avoid overstepping your bounds as well. What to Wear? Yes, an open house is an informal event, and there’s certainly no need to break out your high heels or a tie. But try to avoid super casual attire like flip flops, bathing suit tops, seen-better-days sweatpants, and the like....

Benefits The trading platform is simple to use and, most importantly, is designed for traders who need to get in and out of positions quickly. It’s customizable and allows you to pre-build strategies, so stop losses and targets are sent out as soon as you enter a trade. This feature is recommended to all day traders, because if you lose your internet connection, your data provider goes down, or you disconnect from your broker, you want to make sure any positions you’re in aren’t going to cause significant loss of capital....

In fact, as the chart below shows, by one measure, both the overall and child poverty rates dropped to all-time lows in 2021, according to data released by the Census Bureau Tuesday. The Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM)—which takes taxes into account, and which has only been measured since 2009—showed dramatic declines for both children and all ages, even though the official poverty rate (not SPM) remained above the record lows set in 1969....