Blog

Eve Pentecost, CFP® is an assistant professor at The University of Alabama, working with students from across the country – and even outside it – as they prepare for rewarding careers and enrich their knowledge in consumer affairs and financial planning. Her appreciation for money and how to treat it...

January 31, 2020

Do not ask how much you need to save for your retirement, rather work out how much you can afford to spend now. Many people find it difficult to see themselves in retirement, and to estimate how much money they will need. This pushes them into denial, and they end...

January 29, 2020

Student loans have become an important part of the advisor/client relationship. Most clients, and most advisors, however, find student loans confusing and difficult to manage. This post will walk you through the essentials that all advisors need to understand about student loans.  Types of Loans Student loans fall into one...

January 28, 2020

Disasters and emergencies take time, money and resources away from other priorities. So why aren’t we doing more to be prepared? In collaboration with the AFCPE, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has compiled financial preparedness resources on the AFCPE website for financial professionals to reference and review with clients...

January 24, 2020

Two new health reimbursement arrangements—the Individual Coverage HRA (ICHRA) and the Excepted Benefit HRA (EBHRA) are officially on the market, on the heels of a big push for flexibility and accessibility in the healthcare market. Looking to attract talent and make the most of their benefits budget, companies across the...

January 21, 2020

Carl and Carletha Windom are Accredited Financial Counselors® (AFC®) who have a spirit to serve. As siblings, the Windoms have a strong family history of military service. Their individual and collective experiences have given them an understanding of the unique challenges that military service members face, instilling a passion to...

January 17, 2020

AFCPE members and the FTC have a lot in common. As financial counselors, coaches, and educators, you work to help improve the economic well-being of individuals and families. As the nation’s consumer protection agency, the FTC also educates people across generations about issues that affect their daily lives, including their...

January 10, 2020

On Friday November 8, 2019 colleges and universities across the U.S. celebrated the 3rd annual First-Generation College Celebration Day!1 As a first-generation student who has worked with fellow first-generation students, I know there are many terms used in higher education whose meaning is not easily understood by every student and...

December 09, 2019

Financial literacy has become a popular topic of study and research. For several years now, academics have advocated for more financial literacy education in schools, and public funding for other such programs. At face value, this seems like a good thing: the more financial education the better. But this assumes...

December 04, 2019

We are surrounded by money. We use it every day. But, for many, there is not enough accessible instruction to make a difference.  For years, schools assumed parents were teaching money management skills and parents assumed the schools were teaching it.  The end result is that many people were never...

November 18, 2019

[caption id="attachment_6769" align="alignleft" width="289"] Photo: Robb McCormick Photography - https://www.robbmccormick.com[/caption]Hello all, I don’t know if you are like me, but I love to attend conferences, and there are so many reasons why I love them. I really enjoy connecting with people who have a passion similar to mine, and I...

November 08, 2019

Today, more couples are delaying marriage. Many are choosing to cohabit before marriage or instead of marrying, and this is especially true among young adults. Money, specifically not enough of it, is often cited as a reason for this decision. Our study explored this possibility with survey data from 424...

October 23, 2019