The past two presidential administrations have focused on contrasting fixes for the student loan debt problem. Keeping up with the changes can be a bit of a chore, so here is a simplified explanation of two recent student loan repayment updates. Borrowers will certainly cheer the first, but the … [Read more...]
Financial Myth Bustin’
There is a LOT of personal finance content out there. You can scroll through reels on social media, subscribe to podcasts, attend a conference... you can even sit through a presentation on annuities to get a free dinner. With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), it is getting harder to sift … [Read more...]
Financial Planning Tips during the Shutdown
If you're not receiving pay as a federal employee because of the government shutdown, the financial effects are very similar to an actual job loss. There are lots of resources on how to financially prepare for a potential job loss. In this article, we want to address the best shutdown financial … [Read more...]
Q1 2022 Financial Planning Newsletter
Our Q1 2022 financial planning newsletter is now available. In addition to an investment market update, we discuss the potential for a bear market and how that affects your actions now. We also dig into how inflation affects your financial plan and cover the upcoming student loan interest and … [Read more...]
New Rules for College Campus Pre-paid Credit Cards
Advertisements aimed at promoting a particular financial institution's debit and prepaid credit cards are a common sight on many college campuses today. While many financial institutions have partnerships with colleges to market these products, consumer groups argue that they sometimes come at a … [Read more...]
Paying Off Debt in 2016
One of KFP's Financial Planners Beth Shurtz was quoted in the International Business Times on the key first steps on paying off credit cards and getting out of debt. “Get all the statements and plug them into a software or a basic Excel spreadsheet to help prioritize which ones should be knocked … [Read more...]
August 2013 Personal Finance Newsletter
The August Personal Finance Newsletter is now available. It includes information on how this summer's Supreme Court rulings on same-sex marriage affects financial planning for couples in Texas and other states. It also covers an update on the bond market, how to fix an error on your credit report, … [Read more...]
September Personal Finance Newsletter
The September personal finance newsletter is now available. In addition to an investment market update, it includes information on several financial planning topics. For retirees, we look at how remarriage affects social security. For those in the wealth accumulation phase, we look at the … [Read more...]
April 2012 Personal Finance Newsletter
The April personal finance newsletter is now available. It includes the investment market update from January - March 2012, how to decide whether to pay down debt or save and invest, and planning for a career change. In addition, there's information on upcoming retirement income and social … [Read more...]
Dallas News Personal Finance Blog Credit Question
As a contributor to the Dallas Morning News' personal finance blog, I answer questions on a variety of personal finance, college, and retirement issues. Today's question regarding credit scoring is fairly common, so I wanted to share my response with a link to the Dallas Morning News blog. The … [Read more...]
March 2012 Personal Finance Newsletter
The March 2012 personal finance newsletter is now available and covers several personal finance topics. For retirement planning, we look at your options when you inherit an IRA. For debt management, we cover how to pay down credit cards without hurting your credit. For investing, we look at … [Read more...]
Advice Featured in Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News hosts an annual financial planning hotline and web chat to allow readers to get free financial advice from members of the Dallas-Fort Worth Financial Planning Assocation. I've participated in this event for each of the last 3 years, and this year's questions reflected many … [Read more...]
Should you pay off the mortgage?
One of the best financially freeing moments in life is the day you compare your savings and mortgage principal balances and realize that you could pay off your mortgage if you wanted to. If you’re at that point, congratulations! If you’re not there yet, keep saving; it can come sooner than you … [Read more...]
Recovering from Unemployment
If you’ve been out of work for a period of time, it’s a huge relief when the paychecks start rolling in again. Depending on how long you were unemployed, what your finances were like before the job loss, and other sources of income in your household, getting back to work could be just the beginning … [Read more...]
30-Second Financial Gut Check
If you're like many Americans right now, you're worried about your finances. Even if nothing has particularly changed for you in the past year - perhaps you still have the same job, same mortgage payment, same retirement accounts - you likely now have a gnawing sense of insecurity about what the … [Read more...]