Wesley Watkis

Finance Advice for New College Graduates

Recent college graduates stand poised to begin a lifetime of smart financial decision-making. It doesn't matter whether you're graduating with a technology degree and no student loan debt or a teaching degree and debt that runs into the tens of thousands ... Read >

Alternative Investments: Real Estate

While most people look to their future by putting money in retirement funds or portfolios, an alternative investment is real estate. If you know the market and have the resources to invest, you can make a great return on your money. The real estate pictur... Read >

Understanding Index Funds

There are so many facets to the financial market, but understanding index funds is key to understanding your investments. Index funds tend to have fewer fees and fewer administrative costs than actively managed mutual funds, which makes them a fairly soun... Read >

Alternative Investments: Businesses

If you are looking for an intriguing and complicated, yet fulfilling alternative investment, business ownership may be for you. Whether you are looking for a franchise to own, to invest in a company, to buy one outright, or to start your own, it's importa... Read >

Financial Planning in Your 20s

Financial planning is the process of meeting your life goals by properly managing your finances. Life goals are largely determined by the stage of life you are at. If you are in your 20s, you are just starting out. Being fresh out of college, starting you... Read >

Financial Planning in Your 40s

Financial planning in your 40s doesn't have to be about scrambling to make up lost time. It doesn't matter whether you've been planning for a few decades or if you're just starting to become fiscally responsible - there are a number of options available t... Read >

Retirement Plans for Small Business Owners

Choosing to begin a small business retirement plan opens doors to savings and tax advantages for both the owner and the employees. Not only does a retirement package create an avenue to help your employees and yourself save for the future, but it may also... Read >

Moving Beyond Social Security for Retirement Planning

Many of us either depend (or will depend) on Social Security to make up the foundation of our retirement income. Although this program will play an important role for many of us, it is important that we keep in mind the limits of what it can provide us an... Read >

Financial Opportunities for Minority Owned Businesses

A business begins with a great idea that will provide a product or a service to a community. Although every great idea deserves to be explored, not everyone has the same opportunity to develop his or her business ventures. Even though minorities currently... Read >

Budgeting in a Bad Economy

No matter what economic experts or the media tells us about the changing tides of fortune, almost everyone has felt the pinch of the recent economic slump. Investments in retirement accounts, a down payment for the home of your dream, and even personal sa... Read >

The Truth about Debt Consolidation

The appeal of debt consolidation is simple. You can combine all of your different payments into a single, lower payment, and get out of debt. If you listen to the advertisements on television and online, the results are faster, easier, and worry-free. If ... Read >

5 Ways to Ensure Financial Stability

The financially unexpected happens to people every day. Whether it is an accident, illness, or job loss that occurs, there comes a time in everyone's life when they are faced with unplanned costs. Gaining financial stability ahead of time will help you el... Read >

Setting New Financial Goals - and Sticking to Them

Goal setting is an essential part of financial planning. No matter what it is you're saving forâ€"retirement, a vacation getaway, or a down payment on a houseâ€"you have to know your destination in order to plan your journey. Setting the right financia... Read >

Too Intimidated to Invest?

One of the biggest factors that most newcomers to the financial world have to overcome is feelings of intimidation when it comes to investments. For decades, investment portfolios and the stock market have belonged to a very small percentage of the popula... Read >

Privacy Notices and Third-Party Sharing

Regardless of whether you're a first-time investor or you've been playing the stock market for years, the first thing that almost every financial advisor will tell you to do is to take control over your own financial situation. That's because being in ign... Read >