Smart Money Links 4U

Maybe you got a $1,000 bonus from work or a windfall from a recently departed relative. Can you make more of it in the stock market? It looks doable and exciting if you’ve been watching the stock market hit record high after record high in the last year. But is it too late? Should you be worried about the money you’ve already invested? Markets occasionally get overheated or panicky. That’s not a bad thing. It’s what makes it possible to earn many happy returns. Ideally, you want to invest when everyone is abandoning great investments for cheap and sell them once they are priced higher than they deserve. Unfortunately, it’s hard to time the market. Most of the time, you’re better off committing to systematic investing, often referred to as dollar cost average. But it’s always fun to try. If you prefer a more hands-on style of investing and want to try to “beat” the market, here are four factors that might help you decide whether to put money in stocks now. Is Now a Good Time to Inve...

Grab your shades, sunscreen and whistle. A nationwide shortage of lifeguards has water parks, camps and municipalities scrambling to hire thousands to staff swimming pools, lakes and beaches. Some are offering free training, which takes 25 to 40 hours. Other employers are raising hourly pay to $10 to $30. “We have raised wages at all our parks… Both lifeguard training and licence are free to each new and returning team member,” said Nick Paradise, director of corporate communications for Palace Entertainment, which owns 10 water parks across the country. Hourly wages vary by location but are $15 at Sandcastle Water Park near Pittsburgh and $18 an hour at Splish Splash in Long Island, N.Y. The shortage is largely because lifeguards have to renew their lifeguard certification every two years and thousands haven’t been able to do so. “In many parts of the country, there were long periods when people could not train, and staff and potential staff did not feel safe to train due to physic...

The weather is nice. Vaccinations are widely available. Now feels like the perfect time to go out and … spend money. After a year of COVID-19 restrictions, the thought of returning to life as it used to be sounds wonderful. And for those who were able to keep working, cut expenses and save money during the pandemic, there’s a pent-up demand to spend. With folks so ready to leisurely stroll through the aisles of their favorite stores, dine out in restaurants, attend live events and travel again, the potential for a wave of revenge spending lurks. What Is Revenge Spending? Revenge spending refers to an excess in spending in an attempt to make up for putting everything on hold in 2020. It’s overspending fueled by vengeance. To make up for cancelled trips, you plan a lavish, overseas vacation. Since you had to celebrate your last birthday over Zoom, you decide to throw a catered bash at a fancy venue. The announcement to go back to the office triggers a shopping spree for a whole new ...

Dear Penny, My team is taking up a collection for a joint wedding gift for a new employee in our office. She’s been on staff for about a month, and our team is a mix of directors and junior-level employees (she’s an entry-level staffer).  My question is: What is the appropriate amount to contribute to the collective gift? Are directors expected to give more even if they don’t work directly with the recipient? We’ll be giving a VISA gift card, so it’s not like we have to hit a certain dollar amount for a present from the registry.   No one on staff is invited to the wedding as a guest since we don’t know her well enough. I realize no one will know how much I contribute other than the person organizing the gift, but because it’s a wedding I feel like I should give more than I normally would to someone I don’t know well.  What’s your take on this?  -D. Dear D., This woman’s wedding is no doubt a very big deal in her life, but let’s be honest: It’s not that ...

We know your pets are part of the family, which is why it’s important to make plans for pet care after death of owner. Although it’s tough to think about it, having arrangements in place will give you the peace of mind you need to ensure that your pet has the same type of loving care it has now. There are both formal and informal arrangements you can make, each with its own benefits and drawbacks. Legally naming a pet power of attorney is one way to provide for your pets after you die. But there are others and we lay them out for you here, including what you can legally do to protect your pet. Can I Leave Money to Spot? The short answer is no, you can’t directly leave money to your pet. The good news is that you can create a few arrangements so that your pet will be taken care of after you pass. All of these options include choosing a caregiver and leaving money with this person (or organization) in a will or trust for the purposes of caring for your pet. The two main ways to arra...

There’s a steady demand for upholstery work and not enough upholsterers trained to do it. Two semesters in an upholstery course at a local community college could help you land a job that can start at $20 an hour and eventually pay up to $70 an hour. “I get a call from a company at least every other week saying they are looking for someone to hire,” said Katherine Smith, coordinator of special projects at Tarrant County College in Fort Worth, Texas. “And they are calling from around the U.S., not just Texas.” She hears from a variety of employers, well beyond the traditional furniture upholstery shops. Medical supply companies call needing someone to upholster examining tables. Auto body shops call looking for people to repair seats. Owners of furniture upholstery businesses around the country say they have clients waiting months, even years to get work done because they don’t have enough well-trained upholsterers in the profession. We spoke to business people in the field. Here’s ...

Just as folks are ready to travel again, the soaring price of rental cars is making some vacations cost prohibitive. As of mid-May, in New York City and Jacksonville, Fla., a midsize SUV costs $193 a day to rent, while the same car rental is $249 a day in Indianapolis. And these prices are before taxes and fees. When the pandemic put the brakes on business and pleasure travel, rental car companies sold thousands of rental cars that were sitting empty on their lots. Now there is a big shortage of rental cars, and prices are through the sunroof. Some travelers are even turning to renting U-Hauls and trucks from home improvement stores in cities where a rental car isn’t available, no matter what the price. Mary Zweng is one of thousands of people experiencing sticker shock from rental car prices. Her daughter is having a small wedding in Napa Valley, Calif., in June. Zweng reserved a car rental in March for $60 a day in San Francisco. “That was for my husband and me. I called in May to...

The conventional advice for how much money you should have saved in your emergency fund used to be three to six months worth of living expenses. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit. As millions of people lost their jobs and blew through their savings, some financial experts began to question the old emergency fund recommendations. Suze Orman said people with stable jobs should be working to save 12 months of living expenses. Napkin Finance founder Tina Hay, in a live Q&A with The Penny Hoarder , said the pandemic has shown that people really need to have a year’s worth of savings for emergencies. With many struggling to save up three to six months of expenses, saving a year’s worth can seem nearly impossible. Should a 12-month emergency fund really be the goal, and how do you even reach that benchmark? The Pros and Cons of a 12-Month Emergency Fund According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics , the average duration of unemployment as of March 2021 was about 30 weeks — mean...