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Terry Savage biography
Terry Savage is a nationally known expert on personal finance, the markets, and the economy. She writes a syndicated financial column for the Chicago Sun-Times, …
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Online deals go beyond CyberMonday with dynamic pricing
TERRY SAVAGE: Retailers are making online deals more like airline fares that change by the hour.
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Online shopping’s best benefit is price comparisons
TERRY SAVAGE: Here’s the thing about holiday shopping online. What you don’t get is the sensory and enticing experience of walking through a store and being “struck” by the “perfect gift.” What you do get is a disciplined way to shop for the best price on something you already have decided should be the perfect gift.
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Medigap, Medicare drug coverage plans: What you need to know
TERRY SAVAGE: Dec. 7 is the deadline for America’s seniors to make some difficult and important decisions about one of the most complex, confusing, and costly aspects of their life. Thanksgiving is the perfect time for families to help parents and grandparents use the online tools to sort through the choices.
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Terry Savage: How to financially manage the fiscal cliff-hanger
Relax. The headlines tell you that there’s a fiscal Armageddon ahead — and right now, there’s nothing you can do about it. You’ve had your chance to speak by voting. Now, hopefully our representatives will listen.
What the ‘fiscal cliff’ means to you
Terry Savage: We have just edged a lot closer to the fiscal cliff, which has become the current equivalent of the terrifying doomsday clock that used to represent approaching nuclear annihilation. Only now we are coming closer to the possibility of tax increases and spending cuts that could destroy our fragile economic recovery.
Learn important lesson from Sandy’s destruction
Terry Savage: An unexpected and life-changing event can happen to any of us — no matter where we live, or how much money or property we have amassed. And the consequences can be devastating — whether your home and contents are totally wiped out, or your photos and personal finance records are washed away.
Chinese currency plays complex, crucial role in U.S. economy
TERRY SAVAGE: The Chinese currency has taken center stage in some of the economic policy debates leading up to the election. That is because of the perception that China is the source of all our jobs woes as their economy continues to grow at a rate four times as fast as ours. The theory is that by keeping their currency artificially “cheap” against the dollar, it encourages America to import more goods from China — while encouraging job growth there to make all those products.
What do FDIC limit changes at end of year mean?
Q. I read that something is changing about FDIC deposit insurance at the end of the year. Should I be worried? A. The only changes to FDIC deposit insurance that will take place at year-end relate to the unlimited insurance given to non-interest bearing checking …
Terry Savage: Don’t try to beat market; even pros can’t
Are you still trying to outguess the stock market? That’s a futile proposition for even most professional money managers. A new study by noted investment adviser Harold Evensky proves the point.
Terry Savage: Federal student loans next big crisis
Federal student loans are about to become a larger financial crisis than the mortgage disaster. With $1 trillion in student loans outstanding — and more being added every year — cutting the interest rates on federal student loans is a topic that both parties should agree upon immediately.
What you need to know if you’re considering Roth IRA conversion
Terry Savage: The rules for Roth IRA conversions have changed enough to cause confusion. Here’s what you need to know.
Wal-Mart, American Express offer non-bank option
TERRY SAVAGE: It’s the odd couple of personal finance. Wal-Mart and American Express are teaming up to offer an account that offers a free debit card, charges no fees and requires no minimum account balance and no credit inquiry. It will force traditional banks and credit unions to compete to serve their customers at lower costs.
Stock-to-bond movement not always smart
TERRY SAVAGE: The Dow Jones industrial average has more than doubled since making its market bottom just above 6,547 on March 9, 2009 — just when people were dumping stocks. But some novice investors are switching from stock to bond funds — not knowing that bonds can lose market value even more quickly than stocks.
Savage: 401(k) fee disclosure provides much information, little recourse
TERRY SAVAGE: Open the envelope, please! If you are one of the more than 72 million employees invested in, or eligible to join, your company 40l(k) plan, you’ll be getting some very valuable information in the mail. It’s the newly required 40l(k) fee and expense disclosure form, now being required by the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration.
Term life insurance cheapest but limited in its length of coverage
Terry Savage: The most important issue in choosing life insurance is not whether term insurance or “whole life” is best for you, but that you purchase some form of life insurance to benefit loved ones who would suffer financially in your absence.
Congressional inaction will affect your tax planning
TERRY SAVAGE: Congress went home last week. They left their jobs undone. But they went back to convince you to re-elect them to the same job. In fact, they went home to convince you to contribute to their campaigns to get re-elected. And, while they’re campaigning, you should do some tax planning.
eBills are the next generation of handling finances
TERRY SAVAGE: Paying your bills online is only the first half of the personal finance billing revolution. The long-delayed second half of the technology has now arrived at almost every bank website. Electronic bill presentation — eBills — will save you time and energy — and it will save millions of trees.
Your 401k is not the place to borrow money
TERRY SAVAGE: It’s definitely NOT a good idea to borrow from your 40l(k) plan — even though you’re borrowing from your own money, and in effect, paying interest to yourself.
Who are the workers dropping out of job search?
SAVAGE: The numbers don’t sound so bad — and may even sound like they’re improving. A drop in the unemployment rate from 8.3 percent to 8.1 percent appears to be moving in the right direction. But the decline in the headline unemployment rate came despite a paltry 96,000 new jobs being created last month. The rate fell because 368,000 more people dropped out of the work force, stopped looking for jobs.
Stocks climb on European Central Bank’s promise to euro’s future
A combination of good domestic economic reports and a promise by Europe’s most powerful central banker that the debts of struggling countries will be supported by the euro, led the stock market to close at multi-year highs. It was the best finish for the Dow since December 2007, which marks the start of the last recession. For those keeping score, that was well before the onset of the mortgage crisis and the failure of Lehman Brothers on Sept. 15, 2008.
