Consumer Connection: Questions to Consider Before Investing in the Stock Market
The new year brings opportunities for improvement to your financial health. Investing in the stock market can be an effective way to build wealth. The historic average stock market return is 10% annually before inflation, but investing is geared toward long-term goals and involves risks. Being financially literate is the foundation to investing, growing,
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Debt Reduction Strategies
One of the biggest obstacles to financial wellness and a secure retirement is debt due to mortgages, credit cards, car payments and student loans. According to a 2021 CNBC Report the average American has $90,460 in debt including their mortgages. Having any debt takes money out of your disposable income
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Emergency Fund: How to Build Up Your Financial Cushion?
You never know when it’s going to happen. Your car breaks down. Your pet needs emergency surgery. Your spouse loses their job. Two things are for certain: Unexpected expenses do happen, and everyone needs an emergency fund. An emergency fund serves as a financial cushion to keep your family afloat
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May is Older Americans Month – Insurance FAQs
Is Long-Term Care Insurance Right for Me? This May, as we celebrate Older Americans Month, we are focusing on the need for a strong financial foundation and long-term care insurance might be an option to assist you in building your foundation. Coverage from a long-term care policy may pay some
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Iowa Insurance Division Launches Save4Later Retirement Security Program During National Financial Literacy Month
DES MOINES, IOWA – Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen announced today that the Iowa Insurance Division (IID) is launching its Save4Later financial wellness and retirement security program to provide Iowans with tools and resources to plan for retirement and save for a financially secure future. “Whether you are 25 or 65, it is never too
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Research Says . . . Iowa Women Want to Learn About Investing
In our three-part financial literacy gender gap series, the Iowa Insurance Division did a deep dive into all the reasons women lag men in financial literacy and the far-reaching negative impact that has on women. Because financial literacy is critical for Iowa women to gain financial independence and to secure
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Closing the Financial Literacy Gender Gap
By Sonya Sellmeyer, Consumer Advocate This article is the second of a three-part series on closing the financial literacy gender gap. Throughout the United States, women lag men in financial literacy. Although many women have a basic understanding of money and can manage it on a day-to-day basis, they often
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Financial Literacy Gender Gap Is Harmful to Women
This article is the first of a three-part series on closing the financial literacy gender gap. I am grateful for the women who blazed the trails before me, so I may have the freedoms, as well as career and financial opportunities, that I have today. In 1920, women’s voices roared
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Study Results: Financial Literacy Gender Gap
Women lag men in financial literacy. The gender-based gap may negatively impact the financial well-being of women. Financial literacy has been linked to several important outcomes, including wealth accumulation, stock market participation and retirement planning.
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Consumer Connection: October is National Retirement Security Month
National Retirement Security month is a campaign to remind us of the importance of saving for retirement. Americans face significant obstacles when it comes to having enough money to last them through their golden years. We can no longer survive on social security alone, and life…
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