It’s often been said that you can learn more from another person’s failures than from their successes – and oh, how true that is! Today, I’d like to dig through three common financial missteps that we can all learn a little from. SAVING TOO LATE IN LIFE: Ask almost any retiree if they would have done one financial thing differently … Read More
Understanding the Financial Life Stages
It’s hard to believe, but my wife, Katie, and I have been together for more than 20 years (16 as a married couple). We’ve done a lot of life in those two decades. We’ve gone through our share of ups and downs; we’ve purchased a home; sold a home; bought a new car; changed careers; had three children. If we … Read More
Breaking Down Your Budget
There is hardly a financial tip list out there that doesn’t start and end with: “Build a budget.” But getting started can be intimidating! So, let’s see if in the next few paragraphs, we can break the stigma of complexity and simplify this budgeting process a bit. I might argue that one of the biggest mistakes first-time budgeters make is … Read More
Stay Safe from Scammers
We often talk about financial security in these columns in terms of savings and investments, but today I wanted to talk about an equally important kind of safety: avoiding financial scams. When so much business and commerce is done remotely, identifying scams can be difficult. After all, you can’t exactly look your online merchant in the eyes and know they’re … Read More
McRae: It’s never too early to save for retirement
Have you started saving for retirement? If you are over 60 and reading this, the answer is probably yes (or at the very least, you’ve considered it). If you are over 40, the answer might be closer to maybe. But if you’re under 40, chances are your focus has been on buying a home, raising your family, and not yet … Read More
McRae: April is Financial Wellness Month
According to a national survey only about 20 percent of adults have participated in any form of formal financial education. It’s not surprising then that less than half of working men and women demonstrated basic financial wellness skills in a different study. That’s why every April we celebrate Financial Wellness Month to increase awareness of the need for financial education, … Read More
Mississippi Saves
Happy Friday! It’s been a busy week at your State Treasury. I was a part of numerous meetings to discuss how to continue to protect taxpayer dollars, we matched Mississippians with thousands of dollars of unclaimed property, and I joined Governor Reeves in declaring this week Mississippi Saves Week. Savings and financial literacy are some of my office’s core functions. … Read More