An #Index doesn't actually exist in a sense. Rather, it is an #Academic concept; an idea. Basically, it amounts to a person or a committee of people sitting down and coming up with a list of #Rules as to how to construct a #Portfolio of individual #Market holdings

#IndexFunds tend to have lower #MutualFund #Expense ratios than other #MutualFunds. This can add up to real #Money over time if you aren't fortunate enough to have a large portfolio with the requisite scale to take advantage of other #Opportunities and #Planning strategies

it's a good general #RuleOfThumb for any young #Investor of modest means #Investing through a 401(k) plan at work to almost always opt for the low-cost, highly passive #IndexFund over any of the other offerings

If your #Portfolio is #Modest, and you don't have a clue what you are doing, #IndexFunds are probably your #BestBet. They are good enough for what you need and will likely save you from a lot of #Mistakes

If you die early in #Retirement, your #Financial worries are eased. #Live longer and you easily could outlive your #Money. That stacks the deck in favour of waiting to start #SocialSecurity, since each year you put it off from age 62 to 70 increases your benefit by about 7% to 8%

When one spouse dies, one of the couple's two #SocialSecurity checks goes away. The #Survivor has to get by on the larger of the two checks. It's important to maximize this survivor #Benefit by having the higher earner delay filing for #Social #Security as long as possible

Big #Withdrawals from #Retirement #Funds could push you into a higher #Tax #Bracket and increase your #Medicare premium. Give yourself options by planning to have #Debt paid off by retirement; consult a financial planner before you tap retirement accounts to pay off any big debts

About half of #Retirees report leaving the #Workforce earlier than they had planned. Many more #Retire because they lose their jobs and can't find replacements or due to ill #Health. #Working longer can help you make up for not #Saving, but it's not an #Option you can count on

According to the #SocialSecurity #Administration, many workers who put off collecting #Social #Security can receive up to 132 percent of their monthly benefit. However, that #Bonus stops increasing at age 70.

The cost of #Books and other course materials depends on your #Program and #School. Approximately, $800 to $1,000 per year is a reasonable estimate for #Undergraduate #Students. Check with your school or with someone already enrolled in your program for a more accurate estimate

More #Students than ever are #Stressed about #Money. Almost all of you (84%) say you worry about having enough to #Live on (that's up from 80% in 2016). Lack of #Cash even affects how well you eat, and whether or not you can stay on top of your #Studies.

half of all #Students said they’d experienced #MentalHealth issues as a result of #Money problems, with 42% also saying hardship takes a toll on #Relationships with #Friends and #Family. Surveys show that being poor can be a #Lonely #Experience.

When you’re just leaving #Home to attend #University for the first time, you aren’t necessarily thinking about your #Future after #School. Unfortunately this is also the time many students in the #UnitedStates begin taking on massive #Debt loads that can never be #Bankrupted

#State regulatory #Data show that #Borrowers take out eight #Payday #Loans a year, spending about $520 on #Interest with an average loan size of $375.

Look out for those close to you: there are five groups that have higher odds of having used a #Payday #Loan: those without a four-year #College #Degree; home renters; #AfricanAmericans; those #Earning below $40,000 annually; and those who are #Separated or #Divorced

The average #Borrower can afford to pay $50 per two weeks to a #Payday #Lender—similar to the fee for renewing a typical payday or #Bank deposit advance loan—but only 14 percent can afford the more than $400 needed to pay off the full amount of these non-amortizing loans.

#FinancialEducation: We suggest avoiding #PayDay #Loans #AtAllCosts, however if you've already gotten yourself stuck in one of these #Predatory #Cycles, here's some tips of getting yourself out; there's always a way!

#LongTerm #Care is help you may need later in #Life for #Chronic illnesses or #Disabilities. It pays for assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs). There's a 70% #Chance you will need some type of long-term care after 65! @NapkinFinance

A #Deductible is the amount of your own #Money you must spend before your #Insurance company will pick up the tab. If you file for $500 for lab tests and have a deductible of $1,000, you will be required to pay the full $500, and your unmet deductible will be $500 @NapkinFinance

America’s #StudentLoan #Debt—now more than $1.5 #Trillion, according to the U.S. Department of #Education (more than the nation’s $1.3 trillion in auto loan debt)—can exacerbate the #WealthGap that exists between families facing generational #Poverty and other groups