Mutual Funds and ETFs: Key Similarities and Differences Mutual funds and ETFs are two distinct investment securities, but they share the same basic structure and functionality. Both types of funds are diversified investments, meaning you can get exposure to dozens or hundreds of stocks or bonds (or both) in just one fund. Since most ETFs passively track an underlying index, they are most similar to index mutual funds. (Index ETFs account for approximately 80% of ETF funds)....

You may be looking at your house and asking where you should improve and what is okay as it stands. After you live in a home for a while, you might not see the things that will distract home buyers. Ask a friend or neighbor to come over and give you objective advice. Budget Improvements Start With the Exterior First impressions count. That’s why your yard needs to be inviting....

Learn more about private unemployment insurance and other options in case of job loss. What Is Private Unemployment Insurance? Private unemployment insurance is an insurance policy you buy for yourself to supplement your income if you become unemployed. When you submit a claim, this insurance will give you additional payments on top of the base unemployment compensation that you get from federal and state unemployment. Using private unemployment insurance gives you the option to supplement your unemployment benefit income and helps fill the gap between what you receive in benefits and the weekly wages you received when employed....

Historically, the stock market has delivered generous returns to investors over time, but it also goes down, presenting investors with the possibility of both profits and loss, for risk and return. Stock Investing Pros and Cons 6 Advantages of Stock Investing Stock investment offers plenty of benefits: 6 Disadvantages of Stock Investing Here are disadvantages to owning stocks: Diversify To Lower Investment Risk While investing in stocks is riskier compared to bonds, there are ways to reduce your investment risk, such as by diversifying....

The qualities of a good mentor usually include someone that is able to listen and provide feedback while being respectful. A good mentor might include someone with a particular skill set or expertise. Below are some of the key signs or qualities of a good mentor. Mentoring Whether you need personal or professional development, a mentor is someone that helps you achieve your development goals. A mentor is someone with knowledge or experience that is shared with others to help them improve....

The results echo a similar survey carried out a little over a week before that found 65% of workers were willing to take a 5% pay cut in exchange for the option to work remotely full time. Fifteen percent said they would go even further, taking a pay cut as drastic as 25% in return for the option to work from home, according to the survey of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted by Breeze, a disability insurance company, and online survey platform Pollfish....

You also may want to send a personal letter or email to your boss. It’s wise to stay connected and saying thank you for the support and leadership during your time at the company is a good way to do that. Tips for Writing a Resignation Letter Read below for tips on writing a resignation letter, as well as sample resignation letters. Tell Your Boss in Person Whenever possible, tell your boss about your plan to resign in person first....

The beginning of the supply chain includes commodities and other raw materials. Manufacturers create the product. The middle of the supply chain is wholesale sales. They distribute the goods and services to retailers. The retailers sell them to the consumer. Retail and Its Primary Job Retail accounts for almost 20% of annual sales for many retailers. For jewelers, it accounts for 70% of yearly sales. The holiday shopping season customarily begins on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving....

Not only is this considered good manners, but it also provides official documentation for your company’s human resources department files. The letter can be given to your employer when you inform them in person that you’re leaving, or you can turn it in as a follow-up to the conversation. Notifying Your Employer About Retirement Depending on your job and your relationship with your employer, you most likely will want to offer more than two weeks’ notice, which is typical for resignations....

Requesting a stop-payment can make sense for lost or stolen checks, but it won’t work in all payment situations. A stop payment can only be issued if you hold the account that paid the check, and you may be charged a fee. How It Works When you request a stop payment, you’ll provide the bank with information about a specific check you wrote. You can issue a stop-payment on a check any time before it has been processed by following these steps:...

Your thank-you note or email doesn’t need to be lengthy, but it should reiterate your interest in the job, remind the interviewer of your key qualifications, and relay your thanks for being considered for the position. Review an example of a short and simple thank-you note example you can send (via email or mail) after an interview, tips for who you should thank, and advice on how to write a note that makes a great impression....

Why would your broker be so nice? First, you pay him or her a small fee for the transaction. You also pay the broker any dividends paid out by the stock that is borrowed. You hope the stock price plummets in a short time, so you can make a profit. If the stock price remains the same, you are out the fee. If the stock price rises, you are out the higher stock price and the fee....

Realistically, it makes more sense for you to be financially conservative since it means that you are more cautious about the way you handle your finances and the way you invest your money. A financially conservative person will handle their budgeting the same in a good economy and in a bad economy. They may decrease the amount they spend when the economy is not doing as well. When you are financially conservative, you are careful with your money and you operate with a solid plan that you can follow....

What Is a Co-Signer? A co-signer is someone who agrees to be equally responsible for making payments on a debt agreement. Co-signers step in to help a primary applicant who doesn’t have strong financials to get approved on their own. When it comes to an apartment, the co-signer uses their strong credit history and higher income to help a renter get approved for a lease. In addition to providing financial information, the co-signer legally agrees to take on the financial responsibility of the tenant under the lease agreement....

More than one in ten buyers believes that saving for a down payment is the most difficult step in the home buying process, according to the National Association of Realtors 2020 Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends Report. This is especially true for buyers who are age 29 and younger, of whom 30% report having the most trouble coming up with down payment funds. Another report says that the top concern among millennial home buyers is having enough money for a down payment....

Apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) Your (employer identification number) EIN is a unique number assigned specifically to your business for Internal Revenue Service (IRS) purposes. This number identifies your business when reporting information about your employees to federal and state government agencies. Examples of this information include total income and taxes paid on their behalf. Apply for your EIN through the IRS directly. The most convenient way to complete this transaction is through an online application....

Dealing With a Monthly Paycheck A monthly paycheck can be the mother of all challenges. One way to deal with it is to divide your monthly budget into weekly amounts. Check the due dates on all your must-pay monthly bills. You’ll almost certainly find that they’re not all payable on the first of the month. Some might be due on the 15th or the 21st. Divide them all up on an appropriate weekly schedule: week one, week two, week three, and week four....

Borrowers with federally-held student loans are entitled to $10,000 of forgiveness ($20,000 for recipients of Pell grants for lower-income students) under President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, announced last month. Some borrowers will benefit more than others. Exactly how much monthly relief you’ll get from that depends on how much you owe, your interest rate, and the repayment time of your loan. The savings will kick in when payments resume in January (they’ve been on pause with no interest since the pandemic hit)....

Home sales in May were down 0.9% compared to the previous month—the fourth straight month of declines, the National Association of Realtors said in its monthly report Tuesday. Inventory increased slightly from the month before, improving to a 2.5-month supply compared to 2.4 months in April, but still near record lows. And the median sale price of homes rose almost $10,000 to $350,000, a 2.8% increase. Residential real estate sales have been strong amid the pandemic and the recovery, driven by low mortgage rates and increased demand from work-at-home employees eager for more space....

There is some help available for private elementary and high-school costs, but it’s limited, and the rules are tricky. Few Tax Breaks Exist for K-12 Education K-12 private school education expenses aren’t tax-deductible at the federal level, at least not when they’re paid directly by parents. Most education costs after high school can qualify for some kind of tax break. Grade-school and high-school tuition and expenses don’t count, but there are some exceptions to this rule....