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Breaking The Paycheck-To-Paycheck Cycle: 7 Steps To Financial Security

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Breaking The Paycheck-To-Paycheck Cycle: 7 Steps To Financial Security

A lot of Americans still struggle when it comes to managing their money. According to a recent LendingClub report, 64% of the U.S. population was living paycheck to paycheck. And that applied even to 48% of Americans with annual incomes of more than $100,000!

The average unexpected emergency expense runs about $1,700, according to a new report co-authored by PYMNTS and LendingClub. What’s worse, the Federal Reserve’s 2022 Economic Well-Being of U.S. A Household report found that just 54% of adults had three months of emergency savings and recent data from Northwestern Mutual reveals that 43% of Americans cite outliving savings as a major retirement concern.

If any of these grim statistics apply to you – and you are worried about running out of money – I suggest some steps you can take now to help find your way to financial security.

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Step 1: Create goals and priorities: Figuring out your future goals (long and short term) and your priorities is the first step in managing your money. Acknowledging that you need priorities is the second step! Short-term goals to reach in the next year or so: Build an emergency fund that can cover at least three months of living expenses. Look at paying off credit card balances. Longer-term goals: Saving for retirement, buying a home, college for kids, and retirement.

Step 2: Agree on goals with your partner: Couples who take a team approach to their finances are more likely to achieve their goals. Doing a monthly budget together and talking about it regularly are the first steps in making that a reality. Be open about your credit cards and finances. You need to know what direction you want your financial lives to take before crafting a budget.

Step 3: Live below your means and start a budget: Budgets are a critical tool for helping you eventually not live paycheck to paycheck and be more equipped to actively save. Now is a good time to start living below your means to reduce your expenses. Take a hard look at what you really need and what you can live without. Can you wait longer between salon hair colorings or pedicures? Do you really need those lunches out? Or to order takeout nearly every night? There are three basic steps to setting a budget: identifying how your money is being spent; evaluating those expenses to see how they mesh with your financial priorities and cutting or tracking your ongoing expenses to see that you stay within those guidelines.

Sun Group Wealth PartnersBudget Worksheets – Sun Group Wealth Partners

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Step 4: Make it easy to track spending: We at SungroupWP have a great budget form on our website. Google Spreadsheet and Microsoft Excel also offer ways to keep a budget. I like my credit card company’s free apps that help detail all my spending, but if you need some more to consolidate all your expenses, some of the most popular apps include Intuit’s Quickbooks, Quicken, Mint, PocketGuard, GoodBudget, Unsplurge, and Wally.

Step 5: Stop splurges before they start: Nothing springs a leak in a budget faster than those unplanned last-minute little splurges that soon add up to a tidal wave. So don’t go to a grocery store when you’re hungry—or order online and go for pickup only to cut down on temptation. Compare your grocery list to what’s already in your refrigerator, freezer, or pantry. Use what you have before buying more.

Step 6:Take advantage of opportunities to save: If you are working from home, you should be saving big time in commuting costs, clothing, business lunches and conferences, and the like. You might consider ditching one of your family’s cars and save on insurance, repairs, and gas.

Step 7: Bring in additional income: Many have found a second job is a necessity, either for their finances or for their psyche. Identify side jobs you might be interested in, question people who do them, and look at salary rates using Glassdoor, Payscale or Salary.com. Explore online listings, job ads, and referrals from clients. Find other ways to bring in additional income – get creative. There are lots of ways in today’s gig economy to bring in some side income, even remotely.

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Finance

‘It Won’t Be Enough’: Financial Experts Warn Gen X About Key Retirement Pitfalls

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‘It Won’t Be Enough’: Financial Experts Warn Gen X About Key Retirement Pitfalls
‘It Won’t Be Enough’: Financial Experts Warn Gen X About Key Retirement Pitfalls

As the oldest members of Generation X (those born between 1965 and 1980) approach retirement, financial experts warn that many in this group may not be as prepared as they think. Generation X faces unique challenges as they prepare for retired life, from shortfalls in savings to unexpected costs that may arise.

Here’s what experts say Gen Xers need to know to avoid these key pitfalls and ensure a more secure retirement.

Many Gen Xers are significantly behind in their retirement savings. A recent study by Northwestern Mutual found that only 7% of Gen X respondents have saved more than 10 times their annual income–the amount most experts recommend for a comfortable retirement.

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Perhaps even more concerning, over half of Gen X respondents say they have only saved three times their annual income or less. Fidelity recommends having at least three times your annual salary by age 40, six times your salary by age 50 and eight times your salary by age 60 to stay on track for a comfortable retirement.

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This shortfall in savings is compounded by the fact that many Gen Xers do not have a retirement income plan. According to Allianz, only 30% of Gen Xers have mapped out how they will fund their post-work years, the lowest rate among all generations surveyed.

A common misconception among Americans is that taxes decrease in retirement. However, financial experts caution that many Gen Xers could face higher-than-expected tax burdens. The reason? Most have their retirement savings in tax-deferred accounts, like 401(k)s and IRAs, which require taxes to be paid upon withdrawal.

“The big problem is that a lot of them are going to be faced with a lot of taxes in retirement,” Jonathan Dane, founder and chief investment officer for Defiant Capital Group in Pittsburgh, told U.S. News. He says one way to mitigate this is to stop putting money in tax-deferred accounts and transition to Roth accounts, which allow for tax-free withdrawals.

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Another concern is healthcare costs. While Medicare provides comprehensive coverage starting at age 65, it doesn’t cover everything. Long-term care expenses, like assisted living, typically aren’t included. Experts suggest considering long-term care insurance or using a health savings account (HSA) to prepare for these costs.

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Deregulation to boost banks, a ‘force for strength in the economy’

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Deregulation to boost banks, a ‘force for strength in the economy’

Bank of New York Mellon (BK) CEO Robin Vince joins Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi at the 2025 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to discuss US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House and his expectations for the president’s second term and the impact on the financial sector.

“To see a government that’s really focused on growth and being able to make the economy everything that it can be, because ultimately, as one of America’s leading banks, we are focused on helping our customers to be able to grow and thrive. You know, that’s what our platforms are all about,” Vince says.

As deregulation under Trump is expected to benefit the financial sector, Vince says he’s “not that concerned” about the risks associated with loose regulation. “We have to be vigilant that that doesn’t happen. We need a strong, healthy financial system,” he says, explaining, ” We’ve seen how the strong banks have been able to actually help the system over the course of the events … We’ve been a force for strength in the economy, and that’s actually the role that we should be playing.”

The CEO underlines, “I’m looking forward. I’m thinking about the innovation. I’m thinking about the investment. I’m thinking about helping to make economies grow and our clients be successful.”

Watch the video above to hear more from the BNY CEO on tariff expectations, a potential uptick in merger and acquisition (M&A) activity, and his crypto outlook.

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Click here for more of Yahoo Finance’s coverage from the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Check out Yahoo Finance’s Davos interview with Bank of America (BAC) CEO Brian Moynihan here.

This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.

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Global climate finance alliances at risk as top lenders pull out | Semafor

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Global climate finance alliances at risk as top lenders pull out | Semafor

Major global climate finance alliances are increasingly at risk with European lenders reportedly mulling following major US banks in withdrawing from the UN-backed Net Zero Banking Alliance.

The timing of the departures of top US banks including Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Morgan Stanley — as well as four large Canadian counterparts, and potentially top lenders in Europe, too — is significant: US President Donald Trump and other Republicans have led criticism of finance’s role in the energy transition, and the latest departures come months after the COP29 climate summit sought to increase targets for global climate finance.

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