Debbie Perlman Blog

Scams trying to steal your Social Security information are on the rise. More than 35,000 people reported Social Security imposter scams to the Federal Trade Commission in 2018, up from 3,200 in 2017. As a result of this crime, consumers lost more than $10 million in 2018. If you receive a call from someone claiming to be from the Social Security Administration, it's wise to be wary. The phone call may appear to be from the government, but thieves are behind the fraud and will ask for personal information or insist you send money. To avoid being a victim of the suspended Social Security number scam, it's important to: Understand what Social Security fraud involves. Recognize red flags from callers. Report any suspicious activity. Take steps to protect your finances. Follow along to see how this scam unfolds and what steps to take if you receive a suspicious call. Know How the Suspended Social Security Number Scam Works The suspended Social Se...

We are living in a fast-paced world where technology is too advanced. To keep pace with this ever-changing world, you need your pocket full of cash. All right, your pocket is full and you are living your life to the fullest. But have you ever thought of the outcome? If no, then please think about it because it is about your future. A strong financial base is the root of a happy life. Moreover, living a disciplined financial life means preventing yourself from falling into any unexpected debt. Not only this, but it also builds solid financial health that is immune to a lot of hurdles. There are 10 simple tips that can help you achieve perfect financial health in 2019: Set limit on expenses to control overspending If you have too much spending habit, think about it because it’s a great obstacle on your way to living a sound financial life. It is very hard to earn money but easy to spend just like the saying “ money comes like a turtle and goes like a rabbit...

 Credit card debt is at the highest it’s ever been.  Average savings for consumers age 35 and under is a mere $1,580. Student loan debt has now surpassed total credit card debt.  What does this spell out? Well, for one, it seems as though today’s and tomorrow’s generations aren’t educated in the basics of personal finance. It’s not uncommon today for a high school graduate to enter college and the workforce without a good grasp of personal finance. For example, not knowing the basics of a credit card and how it works, or how to balance their bank account, or budget their income.   It seems as though the basics to money and personal finance has slowly lost its voice and a topic that is desperately missed in basic schooling curriculum.  I decided to talk about this company because I admire their goal and effort in personal finance education. I am not an affiliate and this is not a sponsored post. In 2011, Tim Ranzetta volu...

In order to qualify for child-in-care spousal benefits: Your spouse must be collecting a retirement or disability benefit, and You must have in your care a child who is under age 16 (or disabled) and who is receiving child benefits on the work record of your spouse. Like regular spousal benefits, the amount of a child-in-care spousal benefit is 50% of your spouse's "primary insurance amount" (PIA) -- that is, 50% of the monthly retirement benefit that they would get if they claimed their retirement benefit exactly at their full retirement age. Also like regular spousal benefits, your child-in-care spousal benefit will be reduced if you are simultaneously receiving a retirement benefit. (Specifically, it will be reduced by the larger of your own retirement benefit or your primary insurance amount.) Unlike regular spousal benefits, you do not have to be age 62 in order to receive child-in-care spousal benefits. In fact, there is no minimum...

This question comes up over and over, year after year — both in my email inbox as well as on the Bogleheads forum. Social Security is an asset. It’s true that it is not a liquid asset (i.e., you cannot sell it). But even illiquid assets show up on balance sheets. Same goes for lifetime annuities. They are assets, even if they are not liquid. And yes, Social Security is a fixed-income asset. So it’s more bond-like than stock-like. But it’s definitely not a bond. There are a lot of differences between a) having a $2,000 monthly Social Security benefit at full retirement age (i.e., a stream of income with a present value of about $350,000) and b) having $350,000 of bonds in your brokerage account. Social Security is what it is — and it isn’t what it isn’t. The desire to classify everything as either a stock or a bond is completely bananas. For example, do you classify your house as a stock, because its value goes up and down considerably over time? Or do you clas...

New research suggests that more money really does lead to a more satisfying life. Surveys of thousands of Swedish lottery winners have provided persuasive evidence of this truth. Lottery winners said they were substantially more satisfied with their lives than lottery losers. And those who won prizes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars reported being more satisfied than winners of mere tens of thousands. These effects are remarkably durable. They were still evident up to two decades after a big win. (The researchers lacked the data to trace out even longer-term consequences.) The findings appear in a research report, “Long-Run Effects of Lottery Wealth on Psychological Well-Being,” that has generated a lot of buzz among economists over the summer. The working paper, by Erik Lindqvist from the Stockholm School of Economics, Robert Ostling from Stockholm University and David Cesarini from New York University. It is certain to feed a long-running debate...

When Adrian Ward and his fiancée, Maren McLaughlin-Klotz, started house-hunting in Austin, Tex., they decided to overhaul how they talked about, and handled, money. They shared their credit histories. They read and discussed the book “1,001 Questions to Ask Before You Get Married.” They began weekly budget chats and established a joint wedding fund. They even started meeting with Dr. Ward’s adviser to review their retirement accounts and made plans to return every year. Dr. Ward, 32 and a marketing professor, had recently collaborated on research that showed what could happen when one partner in a couple is “pegged as the money person,” as he was. He was shocked to realize that his own research showed he and Ms. McLaughlin-Klotz, 31, were going about it all wrong. Ms. McLaughlin-Klotz shared his concerns. “I know a lot of marriages have problems because of finances, and I would not want to set us up for failure,” she said. The findings showed that w...

Investing to become wealthy is different than investing to preserve wealth. A lot of financial articles are written for those who want to preserve wealth.  If your investment objective is to become wealthy, here's what you need to know. For the last 10 years, the risk-free interest rate has been less than the inflation rate. If your objective is to become wealthy, you need a better return than the risk-free interest rate which means you have accept some risks. However, you have a choice of which risks to take. Broadly speaking, it is useful to divide risks into two buckets; market risks, and company risks. Market risks are those that affect all stocks. Two good examples are monetary and fiscal policy. When monetary and fiscal policy is conducive to a strong economy, the market can deliver excellent returns. However, the opposite is also true. When monetary and fiscal policy is headed in the wrong direction, the economy shrinks, and the market falls....