Latest Investing & Retirement
![Why You Shouldn’t Buy Stock in Your Own Employer](https://i0.wp.com/clark.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/stock-employees.gif?resize=480%2C425&ssl=1)
Are you guilty of making what SmartMoney magazine once called 'The Dumbest Investment Move' in your 401(k) at work? I…
![Big 3 discount investment houses go all in on robo-advising](https://i0.wp.com/clark.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/clark-howard_368972497.jpg?resize=480%2C480&ssl=1)
For many years, the Big Three discount investing houses -- Fidelity, Schwab and Vanguard -- operated on a simple full…
![Consumers warming up to the idea of robo-advising](https://i0.wp.com/clark.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/clark-howard_128719134.jpg?resize=480%2C480&ssl=1)
Even though robo-advising is still in its infancy, we're already seeing signs that consumers are embracing the idea of getting…
![Series I savings bonds and cash](https://i0.wp.com/clark.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Bonds-invest-strategy_Dreamstime.jpg?resize=480%2C480&ssl=1)
Bonds are under fire. This favored investment of old-money matrons and conservative investors is suddenly controversial with many investors reconsidering…
![Investment Guide](https://i0.wp.com/clark.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/clark-howard_446947374.jpg?resize=480%2C480&ssl=1)
Investing can seem so complicated that some just shut down and do nothing -- or hire a salesperson to guide…
help Gold guide: Buying gold the Clark Smart way With worries about the value of the dollar, people are continually…
![Resist the urge to borrow against your 401(k)](https://i0.wp.com/clark.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/clark-howard_887615702.jpg?resize=480%2C468&ssl=1)
Top 5 Reasons Not To Borrow From Your 401(k) Think Twice Before Taking Out a 401(k) Loan Clark's Investment Guide…
![Should you borrow against your 401(k)?](https://i0.wp.com/clark.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/3d8e1bc8-10ec-11e3-bdb5-0019b9b9e241.jpg?resize=480%2C270&ssl=1)
When you borrow against your 401(k), you're borrowing from yourself and paying yourself back, right? Not so fast. Clark has…
![The #1 factor for when you’ll be able to retire](https://i0.wp.com/clark.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/98935874-cb29-11e3-b6c4-00151712edf8.jpg?resize=480%2C268&ssl=1)
It's the #1 factor that will determine how early you can retire…or whether you'll be able to retire at all.…
![How to save for healthcare and retirement at the same time](https://i0.wp.com/clark.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/clark-howard_895155652.jpg?resize=480%2C480&ssl=1)
It's no secret that Clark is a fan of HSA's, or Health Savings Accounts. Although they're not for everybody, HSAs can…
![How 50-somethings should plan for retirement](https://i0.wp.com/clark.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/clark-howard_572826019.jpg?resize=480%2C480&ssl=1)
Odds are, if you are in your 50s, you have thought about retirement at one time or another. Regardless of whether this…
![8 mistakes to avoid so you don’t go broke in retirement](https://i0.wp.com/clark.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/clark-howard_291980964.jpg?resize=480%2C480&ssl=1)
After all the years you've spent building your nest egg for retirement and the hard work you've put in, you'll want…
![Over 40 with no retirement savings? Take these 5 steps](https://i0.wp.com/clark.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/clark-howard_147726823.jpg?resize=480%2C480&ssl=1)
When Leslie Tayne turned 40, her retirement savings, like those of many Americans, were nonexistent. Tayne, founder of New York…
![The real cost of that 401(k) loan](https://i0.wp.com/clark.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/mp900442371.jpg?resize=480%2C480&ssl=1)
Borrowing against your 401(k) It might be tempting to borrow against your 401(k), but have you ever thought of the…
![How to start saving for retirement at age 40](https://i0.wp.com/clark.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/clark-howard_140434027.png?resize=480%2C480&ssl=1)
There’s something about reaching the big 4-0 that often causes you to re-evaluate your direction in life. And when you…
![Saving for retirement: What to do in your 30s](https://i0.wp.com/clark.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/clark-howard_706161740.png?resize=480%2C480&ssl=1)
For most people in their 30s, life can feel like a breathless uphill run on a downward escalator. Everything seems…
CLARKONOMICS: Want to turn your dollars into gold? You can do that, literally, thanks to a new gold vending machine…
![Gold fever means you should tread carefully](https://i0.wp.com/clark.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/gold-money-personal-finance-commodity-currency.jpg?resize=480%2C480&ssl=1)
As I travel around the country on book tour for Living Large in Lean Times, I've been asked questions about…
![Target-retirement funds help take the mystery out of investing](https://i0.wp.com/clark.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/mp900403060.jpg?resize=480%2C480&ssl=1)
When you started your 401(k) at work, you were probably handed a plan document that nobody but a Wall Streeter…
![Clark’s golden rule for investing in gold](https://i0.wp.com/clark.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/gold-money-personal-finance-commodity-currency.jpg?resize=480%2C480&ssl=1)
Gold has fallen from its peak a few years ago down to $1,100 an ounce. Some analysts even think it…
![Should I Pay Off My Mortgage Early?](https://i0.wp.com/clark.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/5445898743_bef11a7c87_b.jpg?resize=480%2C480&ssl=1)
When people ask me whether or not they should pay off their mortgage, my answer is always, unequivocally YES. There…
![Is a Financial Planner Worth the Cost?](https://i0.wp.com/clark.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/6848823919_c3857ccdfc_o.jpg?resize=480%2C480&ssl=1)
Is a financial planner worth the cost? Is it a smart money move to dedicate some of that hard-earned cash…
![4 Factors That Help Make Investors Successful](https://i0.wp.com/clark.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/invest-money-piggy-bank-e1654709484814.jpg?resize=480%2C480&ssl=1)
A FEW WEEKS BACK, I discussed the notion of “the four horsemen of the investor apocalypse.” A concept proposed by Morningstar Managing Director Don Phillips,…
![Social Security cards and $100 bills](https://i0.wp.com/clark.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Social-Security-states-tax-e1654711684698.jpg?resize=480%2C480&ssl=1)
ARE YOU IN YOUR 60sand worried about rising consumer prices? It’s worth understanding how inflation affects Social Security benefits—especially its…
![A Retiree Answers 11 Common Retirement Questions](https://i0.wp.com/clark.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/money-questions-e1645210676555.jpg?resize=480%2C480&ssl=1)
I SPEND SIGNIFICANTtime reading the viewpoints of people who are planning for retirement or who are already retired. My frequent…
![5 Biggest Financial Risks in Retirement](https://i0.wp.com/clark.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Money-risk-finance-e1662577258171.jpg?resize=480%2C480&ssl=1)
BOSTON COLLEGE’SCenter for Retirement Research just published a study that explores what Americansthinkare the biggest risks to their retirement—as opposed…
![A Financial Advisor’s 3 Key Rules To Getting Rich Slowly](https://i0.wp.com/clark.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/cash-money-e1664195736915.jpg?resize=480%2C480&ssl=1)
THE FINANCIAL WORLDgenerates a lot of noise. As a financial planner, I see that every day. Being in my 20s,…
![3 Keys To Happiness in Retirement](https://i0.wp.com/clark.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Retirees-in-retirement.jpg?resize=480%2C480&ssl=1)
WE LIKE TO ESCAPEthe Northeast’s cold each winter, so we just spent 10 days in Sarasota, Florida. Like many others…
![The Two Key Pillars to Financial Freedom](https://i0.wp.com/clark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/financial-freedom-e1688043611718.jpg?resize=480%2C480&ssl=1)
HOW WOULD YOU DEFINEfinancial freedom? That’s the intriguing question I’ve been asked twice in recent weeks by journalists curious about…
![7 Things People Lose in Retirement](https://i0.wp.com/clark.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Retirement-savings-in-a-jar.jpg?resize=480%2C480&ssl=1)
WHEN WE RETIRE,we win back control over our daily life. Gone is the boss, the expectation that we’ll be at…