FINANCIAL HOUSEKEEPING | Calculate your life expectancy
The length of your retirement is a key component of your retirement planning, and the biggest unknown of the entire process is just how long you will live.
Typically, workers expect to retire at age 65 and spend 20 years in retirement, which is in line with published reports on life expectancy, such as the 2006 Social Security trustees report noting that a 65-year-old man can expect to live to age 81, while a 65-year-old woman can plan on reaching 84.
The concern in financial planning is that not all consumers are average, and living beyond life expectancy can create financial problems. Obviously, consumers should plan on living past their life expectancy to make sure they are comfortable.
But most consumers don’t know their life expectancy. “The Longevity Game” from Northwestern Mutual can help; you can get a sense of your life expectancy at–lifeevents–longevity_game.
SHORT COURSE | Grace period
This is a term where consumers not only need to know the meaning, they need to know how it applies to them.
The grace period on a credit card is the number of days the company gives you to make a payment on a purchase without charging you a late fee or interest on the amount you purchase with the card.
For example, if you charge $1,000 worth of goods on a credit card that has a 20-day grace period, you have that many days to make a payment before the card issuer begins to charge you for the use of the money. Grace periods vary from company to company, though they generally fall between 20 and 25 days. Because missing the grace period can result in interest, late fees and the possibility of increased interest rates on future purchases, be sure to know the grace-period terms before accepting any credit card offer.
