Effortless Money Ways, Retiring Early, and Maximizing Savings

23% of Americans Bomb This Financial Quiz. Can You Do Better?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 April 03, 2024 | [Read Online]( Good morning. It's Wednesday, April. 3 and we're covering maximizing your savings, paying millions in fines, why real estate investing was the secret to my success, and much more. First time reading? [Sign up here](. Stock Market Update Market Performance: April 2, 2024. Asia-Pacific stocks fell Wednesday, tracking declines on Wall Street overnight, with shares of electric vehicle makers dropping on demand worries. BYD shares fell 2.5% after the Chinese EV maker said its first-quarter sales plunged 43% quarter over quarter. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was 1.3% lower after rising more than 2% in the previous session. [Tesla’s first-quarter vehicle deliveries dropped 8.5% from a year earlier, sending shares of the U.S. EV maker down]( 5% overnight. China’s CSI 300 fell 0.36%, closing at 3,567.8 even as the country’s service sector activity expanded at its fastest pace since December. Financial Maverick Insights Maximize Your Savings in 2024 With These Money Tips From Finance Experts If you’re waiting on a tax refund, figure out how some of this money can help boost your 2024 savings strategy. Right now, rates for savings accounts and certificates of deposit remain high. But rates are expected to drop later this year. [Depending on your financial goals, you may not need to pivot from your current savings strategy.](“Instead, the beginning of the year is a time to review your finances and plans,” said Alaina Fingal, owner of The Organized Money and CNET expert review board member. Revisit your budget and expenses We all have short-term savings goals, such as setting up a sinking fund for an upcoming trip. But if you’re struggling to save, Fingal recommends looking at all your expenses first. List out all of your bills and any recurring expenses, such as gas and groceries. Then, subtract your monthly expenses from your income to determine how much you have left. Once you know what’s going in and out of your account regularly, you can set a realistic savings goal. Start with a savings goal you can stick to Setting big goals like saving $10,000 before the end of the year may sound more appealing, but if you’re just getting started, you may find it harder to reach a lofty goal like this. Starting small and using tools like automatic transfers can help you make real progress. Setting up automatic transfers to a high-yield savings account can help take the guesswork out of saving. Automatic transfers can also help you avoid the temptation of spending since it’s quickly moved to a new account. Try a savings challenge There are plenty of savings challenges on social media that can motivate you to meet your 2024 savings goals. No-spend months, like “no-spend January,” encourage people to only pay for necessities in order to put more toward saving. You could also tap more into soft saving, a new savings tactic from Gen Z. Soft saving focuses on what’s within your control and finding balance in your finances. Don’t be afraid to pivot from your plans A lot can happen within a year. You may have started planning a vacation for 2024 at the end of last year. Or you may still have the same goals but have found your priorities have shifted. Maybe you needed to buy a car or fund a home repair. Your financial plans may still be doable for this year, but experts suggest being pragmatic and pivoting where necessary. If you can’t find room in your budget to hit this $1,000 goal or if you don’t know where your money is going each month, setting savings goals will be more challenging. But if you’re already feeling confident about your saving strategy, now’s the time to focus on maximizing your earnings while rates are high. You Could Pay Millions in Fines for Not Adhering to New Compliance Regulations That Take Effect This Year. Here Are Some Strategies to Keep Yourself in Check. Business that can't comply with important rules, its own or the government's, can find itself paying serious penalties. [But new strategies are emerging to keep employees on the compliance rails — and keep more money in the corporate checkbook.]( It's not as simple as sending an email or Slack message with updated regulations. Employers need to understand changing rules to interpret and apply them. Few set out to deliberately break rules and sow chaos, but organizations must work diligently to keep everyone above board — with systems that effectively communicate and enforce compliance regulations. Appoint a "chief compliance guru" It sounds simple, but many organizations, especially small businesses, have no dedicated person in charge of compliance. While compliance regulations like workplace safety may fall to HR, cybersecurity and data compliance issues might fall to IT. Tax and finance compliance may be the domain of the accounting team. While it's important that subject area experts understand and help decipher regulations, there should ultimately be one person in charge of informing everyone across the organization of regulations they need to know. Update training and make it fun Compliance training doesn't have to be boring and time-consuming. New regulations are usually publicized well before they take effect, so HR and learning and development staff will typically have time to create training materials. It's better for all learners if organizations break coursework into smaller, more digestible sessions. And don't underestimate the business value of gamified learning; employees respond to it and it quells boredom. According to a study by the Aberdeen Group, 69% of workers will likely remain loyal to an organization for at least three years if that firm includes gamified training and upskilling in its employee packages. Make small updates to existing courses Don't have time to create an entire course on the latest OSHA compliance rules? Insert new compliance knowledge into existing training courses. For example, if you're training your organization about workplace safety rules, embed the latest OSHA regulations for all to review while deleting material that's no longer valid, or build a mini-course to present new regulation changes. Post reminders everywhere With more organizations going remote or hybrid, organizations can't just post compliance updates on a break room bulletin board. Use an array of channels to keep employees informed: post regulations online, set up instant messaging group chats and issue reminders at monthly company meetings or offsites. This multichannel strategy also reminds employees how important compliance is to the organization. Real Estate News I Retired Early: Why Real Estate Investing Was the Secret to My Success Who doesn't aspire to retire early from a day job? While high salaries can help make that possible, it typically takes some kind of investing to achieve true financial freedom. Discover More:... Here's what upgrading to a nicer home could cost you, and why it's locking up the market The average homeowner with a near record-low mortgage rate would see their monthly payment shoot up 132% in order to move up to a 25% more expensive home. How Commission Settlement With Realtors Could Change Homebuying A lawsuit settlement could have a big impact on what real estate agents do and how much they’re paid for it, while lowering the fees charged to buyers and sellers in the homebuying process, experts say. Personal Finance Tips 23% of Americans Bomb This Financial Quiz. Can You Do Better? Despite the vast depth of information and education available today, financial literacy isn't improving among adults in the U.S. A financial advisor can help you improve your financial literacy to better understand your money. Money-saving tips for seeing the total eclipse Charlotte will only see a partial eclipse. These tips will help save money on the full eclipse experience. 56 Almost Effortless Ways to Save Money These are tips for frugal living and saving money without having to try too hard. Alternative Investing The Stock Market Is Rallying, Without Help From Big Tech The stock market is starting to put together an impressive rally without assistance from the big tech companies that have fueled its surge in recent months. Investors are still underestimating the long-term impact of AI A meme now circulates on social media: Atlas holding up the globe. But instead of earth it is the entire stock market and instead of Atlas, it is the theme or stock of the moment, currently artificial intelligence. Bitcoin Is Soaring This Year. Goldman's Crypto Skeptic Isn't Biting. A crypto enthusiast approached Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani a couple of years ago, asking why she was so negative about digital currencies. Do you think people are still underestimating the long-term impacts of AI? 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