Will Social Security Provide You With Enough Money To Retire On

Can Social Security alone help you in your later years, or might you find yourself encountering major monetary problems? There are three factors that Social Security benefits themselves won't be adequate as your source of finances as a retired person.

1. Regular benefits are just not enough

The average Social Security check-in 2021 is $1,553.68 a month. If you collect something like this amount and your only income source is Social Security, you'll have an annual income of only $18,644.16. 

Chances are you will not have the ability to cover necessities such as housing, medical, food, and also transportation with that quantity. Even if your check is more than standard, it's not likely to be enough. 

Many people need to replace 80% to 90% of their pre-retirement income when they leave the labor force. Social Security is only supposed to replace 40% of your income, so you'll have a big revenue gap if you count on benefits alone.

2. You may need to retire before you need to apply for Social Security

For lots of people, it's optimal to claim Social Security benefits at age 70. Beginning checks at 70 gives you more money to survive monthly and allows you to optimize this inflation-protected, surefire revenue source. 

It's the best chance of optimizing lifetime benefits, enabling you to grow the amount of cash available to your making through your spouse if you were the greater income earner in your household. Yet most individuals need to retire before age 70-- or they wish to. 

If you're intending on Social Security being your only revenue resource, you would certainly have to claim your benefits soon after leaving your work. If you have savings to survive on, you can delay starting your retirement and enjoy the bonus that comes with waiting.

3. The buying power of benefits is falling

Social Security benefits are inadequate to support in your first year of retirement. And also, as you age, their buying power is most likely to fall. That's because benefits are safeguarded against the rising cost of living, given that the system uses figures and gives you periodic increases to your Social Security checks.

Cost of living adjustments (COLAs) are intended to guarantee benefits don't lose value and are calculated based on just how rates change.

Since this demographic team spends in different ways than elders, COLAS do not account for the bills retired people incur. The result has been a 30% reduction in the purchasing power of benefits over the past few years. This weakening in purchasing power will likely proceed.




There are additionally a couple of other problems that could reduce the value of benefits. First, the threshold at which Social Security benefits start to be taxed by the Internal Revenue Service isn't indexed to inflation. 

Hence, an expanding number of retirees end up losing a few of their benefits to the federal government annually. Unless legislators act, an automatic benefit cut of as high as 24% could enter into effect as soon as 2035. Changes to stop this benefit cut, such as boosting the full retirement age, might also cause a lowered benefit.

There are many reasons that Social Security can not be your sole revenue source, so do not depend on it for that. By beginning to spend for your future today, you can have higher economic security as a retiree.

How to Navigate Applying for Social Security Disability Benefits

Contrary to popular belief, social security benefits are not only for senior citizens. If you are an American citizen and have recently become disabled and thus cannot earn a living, you may be eligible for social security disability benefits. 

Understandably, the process can be a little daunting and quite complex. The following includes a quick guide to applying for social security disability benefits.

Waiting Period

One of the most important things a person must know is that there is a waiting period before receiving funds. The social security department sets this at five months. Therefore, it is highly recommended to begin applying for benefits as soon as possible.

Filling Out your Application

When you are ready to contact the social security department, you may do so by calling their toll-free number at 1-800-772-1213. If you wish to make the process that much quicker, you may also fill out your application through the social security department website. 

If you have a disability that does not allow you to hear properly nor use a computer, representatives are ready to help you navigate your application. These special representatives can be reached at 1-800-325-0778. 

It must be noted that if you have a question or concern regarding your claims, you may contact a staff member through the number listed above.

The Disability Starter Kit

Unfortunately, many people in the nation seek to take advantage of the benefits provided by the social security department. This is why an interview is scheduled with the person applying for benefits to determine their eligibility. 

During your call to a social security representative, you will be offered a disability starter kit. This kit will have all the information you need to get ready for your interview. 

This includes everything from the documents you will need to bring to the interview and any other information that may be requested later down the road. 

In addition, it must be noted that you will have access to an interpreter if you need one. Lastly, your kit will consist of detailed information about the options you will have if you are approved for disability benefits.

Use a Lawyer

Many claims don’t get approved the first or even second time, and much of that can be avoided when you have someone who knows the system well enough to understand what the government is looking for. 

A social security lawyer can help you navigate the process and even advocate for you should your claim be rejected. Those who specialize in social security disability claims will often know people who work in the claims department of social security and have an inside perspective on exactly what your application needs to be accepted.

The process of obtaining social security disability benefits may be a long and daunting one but one that is well worth the work. The information above can be used to begin your application process but researching and speaking further with a representative is highly recommended to expire the process.

How to Find the Best Home Care for the Best Price

As people get older, they become more vulnerable to disabilities and diseases. While medical practitioners can offer effective treatment to address the issue, they may not help them get going with the day-to-day activities of life. 

Unfortunately, it becomes challenging for family members to assume the roles of competent caretakers as most of them lack proper medical training.

In such situations, it is imperative to look for professionals equipped to handle the needs and demands of the elderly at their old age. 

Finding a dedicated caregiver that can offer home healthcare can be a nerve-wracking experience, but there are ways you can take to finding the right in-home care you need. Below are some of the ways you can find the best and affordable home care.

Carry Out a Comprehensive Research

The first step to finding a devoted, reputable, and experienced home care is conducting thorough research from all credible sources. 

However, it may not be as simple as you think, but you have to dig deeper to acquire the valuable insight you will require. You can use the internet to search for company’s websites as they can give an insight into whether the provider is doing anything except to provide quality service to their clients. 

Detailed research will also help you compare prices offered by different home healthcare providers, thus helping you settle for the best.

Ask for Recommendations

Looking for recommendations plays a major role in finding the trusted and exceptional long-term care you need. You can ask your friends, doctor, nurses, neighbors, or any other person who works in this field to acquire the right kind of help and assistance from trusted people. 

You can also seek help from your native community resources, such as your local agency on aging, as they assist the elderly in finding the best in-home care services. 

A recommendation is also important as you may acquire knowledge of various things that you might not have contemplated or noticed in terms of getting help.

Conducting Interviews

After conducting some research and getting recommendations, you must have narrowed your options to the top choices. To ensure you get the best home care, it is important to set up in-person interviews, or consultations. 

Having a one-on-one conversation allows you to confirm which provider is the best before bringing them on board. During interviews, you get to do some background checks of the home care candidate, identify their level of training and experience, their charges of services, and others.

An overwhelming majority of families don’t contemplate having home care for a loved one until a major event occurs, such as a fall, stroke, or other medical condition. 

Unfortunately, when the need arises, families may settle for the first available home care, which may not meet their expectations. Finding the best and affordable home care takes time, comprehensive research, and conversations about home care preferences. Ensure you choose the best if you want exceptional results.

How to Better Track Your Financial Assets as You Enter Retirement

After working hard for decades, you are finally entering your retirement. While you may be focused on moving to a new location or preparing to take one of many trips to different parts of the world, you should also be paying attention to tracking your financial assets. 

By doing so, you can avoid unexpected surprises that may derail your plans. If you are trying to figure out the best ways to track your financial assets, here are some suggestions.

Tracking Apps

Since there is an app for virtually anything anymore, it should be no surprise that numerous financial tracking apps exist. By taking advantage of these, you can simply pull out your smartphone and instantly view your financial picture. 

One of the best is Mint.com, where you can enter various types of financial data and have it all displayed on a single screen. Also, you can track investment fees, compare individual accounts, and set budgets for yourself based on how much you may be spending in various categories, such as dining and entertainment.

Hiring Financial Professionals

While apps are great, nothing can replace a face-to-face meeting with an experienced financial professional you know and trust. Therefore, always arrange to hire the services of a financial planner to help you during retirement. 

Since you will have various types of life insurance and possibly long-term care insurance as part of your retirement financial package, meeting with professionals from The Lofrumento Agency, Inc. and other financial offices can help you get the advice needed to make well-informed decisions.

Desktop Software

Even if you use apps, it is likely they may not have as many features as you need for certain areas of your financial planning process. Because of this, you may want to purchase desktop software that can go into more detail. 

For example, you can use QuickBooks Pro to monitor the assets of your estate, track the interest that accrues on municipal or corporate bonds in which you have invested, and track the yield to maturity.

Company Retirement Plans

Just as you are entering into retirement, take advantage of your company's retirement plans to help you track your financial assets. 

While you can make many decisions on your own, you can also take advantage of your company's HR department and others within the company to help give you advice on how to roll your money into an IRA, how to rearrange investments to reduce taxable income, and much more.

By taking an active role in tracking your financial assets when beginning your retirement, your later years can be filled with plenty of money and lots of fun.

The Relationship Between Bitcoin and Inflation

One attribute that has actually made cryptocurrencies-- specifically Bitcoin-- so appealing to people is the idea that it's more immune to inflation than fiat money like the dollar.

What is causing the increase in prices for goods and services? 

Inflation is the process whereby currencies decline, in time, causing prices of durable goods to increase. Since most financial experts think that some degree of inflation is good for our economic life, the government, for example, has actually printed more money than we need. It's the reason that a gallon of milk that set you back a dollar a half-century ago is four dollars today.

On the other hand, Bitcoin has normally increased in worth much faster than the U.S. dollar has actually declined-- going from practically useless in 2009 to greater than $65,000 in mid-2021. 

Because it's an unstable market, Bitcoin has actually likewise seen remarkable spikes and also declines, however the trendline with time has actually been upward. This has actually made Bitcoin a significantly preferred hedge against fiat-currency inflation.

Bitcoin was designed to resist inflation, its supply is limited and known, and also, the creation of new bitcoin will certainly lessen with time in the foreseeable future means. There will only ever be 21 million bitcoin, as well as every 4 years, the amount of bitcoin that is extracted is reduced by fifty percent.

Why is the rising cost of living important for crypto?

Bitcoin, as well as specific various other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, hand investors a choice. A high inflation price for fiat money might incentivize individuals to invest more in digital money because the dollar, or any other countries money you put in a savings account, is actually losing value over time. 

 The business economics of the Bitcoin market is complicated, yet there are functions designed from the start to help it resist the rising cost of living.

Bitcoin can't be manipulated by federal governments readjusting interest rates or printing even more money to accomplish policy objectives.

Like gold and various other limited stores of value, the conventional wisdom around Bitcoin is that it increases in value in unsure times. This has actually not constantly held true, however-- at the start of the COVID pandemic as an example, it dropped greatly together with the stock exchange. It's also a much more convenient store of value than gold.

Scarcity is one way of making a store of value resistant to the rising cost of living. There will certainly never ever be greater than 21 million bitcoin. There is no end to the printing of fiat money or the mining of gold.

As of now, approximately 19 million bitcoin have actually been mined. Every ten minutes, miners process a brand-new "block" and also 6.25 bitcoin are included in the network. 

In 2024, the mining reward will drop to 3.125 bitcoin and will certainly decline by fifty percent once again every 4 years until all bitcoin are extracted. This function, which is baked right into the Bitcoin protocol, is referred to as "the halving".

This scheduled shrinking of brand-new supply in time makes Bitcoin predictable in unique ways. Unlike gold, no brand-new bitcoin can ever before be "uncovered.".

Do cryptocurrencies experience inflation?

Yes, technically, even Bitcoin experiences a rising cost of living as more of it is mined (as does gold). But because the quantity of brand-new bitcoin is instantly lowered by half every four years, Bitcoin's rising inflation price will certainly also be reduced over time.

As long as Bitcoin's purchasing power continues to rise vs. fiat money we often tend to contrast it to, Bitcoin's few-percent yearly inflation price isn't a major problem for holders to think about.

Yet, not all cryptocurrencies are made like Bitcoin. For example, an increasingly prominent classification of digital money called stablecoins, tied to fiat money like the dollar, can be a useful, low-volatility area to save some cash. 

But if a stablecoin is secured to fiat currency, your financial investment will be affected by inflation and might lose value over time as the dollar declines. Some stablecoins have benefits that work just like an interest-bearing account, which might change the worth equation, especially with non-crypto rates of interest floating around zero.

Click Here To Buy Bitcoin At Coinbase

Where Are Your Home's Greatest Energy Drains and How to Mitigate Them

As the summer month near, homeowners must begin to think about how they are going to conserve as much energy as they possibly can. 

This is necessary to take care of the environment and ensure that your monthly energy costs don't go through the roof. The following includes a list of some of the greatest energy drains within your home and how to mitigate them.

Heating & Cooling Devices

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, your heating and cooling devices are often the biggest energy wasters. This applies to both window A/C units and larger, more complex HVAC systems. 

Some homeowners may say that there's no going around this as most of us want our home to feel comfortable. Fortunately, due to innovations in technology, homeowners finally have a few options in mitigating the vast amount of energy that is wasted. 

For example, homeowners now have access to relatively affordable smart devices that help regulate the home's temperature depending on the conditions outside or according to the homeowner's habits. 

This means your A/C unit won't have to be on full blast while you're out at work nor have to come back to a stuffy home.

Interior & Exterior Home Lighting

Let's face it; most people are guilty of leaving multiple lights on within their homes. However, can you believe that according to the U.S. Department of Energy, over 9% of your energy usage comes from your home's interior and exterior lighting? 

Although turning off lights that you are not using certainly helps, it's simply not enough. You can further diminish the cost and amount of energy you are using by replacing your lights with energy-efficient alternatives such as LED. 

You may also seek the advice of an electrical services company to receive further information about how you can reduce your energy consumption.

Electric Stove

Few people understand just how many watts an electric stove uses (2,500 watts) each time it's operated. Add a family that you need to feed multiple times a day to that, and you can quickly see how it can become one of your home's greatest energy drains. 

Although you certainly can't go without preparing food for your family, there are a few tricks to lower the amount of energy you are using. First, it is recommended to turn off your stove before your food is cooked. 

There is often enough heat left to fully cook your food without having to waste more energy. Next, if you don't have to, don't use your stove at all and instead use your microwave to warm up food.

As you can see from the information above, there are several appliances and devices that require a lot of energy to operate. 

Therefore, it is recommended to utilize the information above and apply it to your own home in order to reduce energy consumption and some money at the end of the month.