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Thinking about college costs feels a bit like hiking a mountain in flip-flops — awkward, stressful, and probably not your best idea. The average price tag for a four-year degree in the U.S. is around $38,270. That doesn’t even cover your kid’s overpriced campus coffee runs or their daily expenses! It’s rough no matter how… Read More The post How to Save Money for Your Child’s College Education Without Stress appeared first on FinSavvy Panda.

Save, invest, prosper with My Own Advisor. Weekend Reading – Vanguard recommends 40/60 portfolios, do you follow along? Hey Investors! Welcome to a new Weekend Reading edition on some interesting Vanguard news of late, they are suggesting investors consider a 40/60 portfolio asset mix for the years ahead. Should you follow along? My take on that soon but here are some recent… Join the million dollar portfolio journey. The article Weekend Reading – Vanguard recommends […]

What caught my eye this week. The formerly fêted fund manager Terry Smith has had a few rough years in the markets, but last year was a doozy. The UK investors who once poured money into his flagship Fundsmith vehicle saw their domestic market deliver nearly 26% in 2025. A global tracker – a better comparison for the free-roaming Fundsmith – delivered roughly 14%. But Fundsmith managed just a 0.8% return. Barely there, and handily […]

Happy New Year, and welcome to the 2025 Fates On Fire Book Awards! With a record 249 entries, the competition was fierce, and the 7th annual award ceremony is going to be riveting. So grab your date, make your way down the red carpet, and take your seats – it’s showtime! WHAT THE HELL ARE THESE AWARDS AND WHY SHOULD I CARE? If you happen to read a lot, then you know that the Booker […]

For people who retire before Medicare eligibility, health insurance is often the most unpredictable expense in the budget. Premiums vary by location, rules change frequently, and small income shifts can have outsized consequences.  That uncertainty increases in 2026. The Affordable Care Act returns to its pre-pandemic subsidy structure, and with it comes a sharp cutoff that many households are not expecting. The expanded subsidies that made marketplace coverage more forgiving are expiring. What replaces them […]

Coupert Review Snapshot The quick take before you scroll. Our rating 4.5/5 • see why What it is: Free coupon + cashback tool (extension & app). Merchant coverage: 200,000+ online stores. Real test result: Earned $28.49 in my first week. Cost: Free (optional paid upgrade). Cashout: PayPal / gift cards / debit card. Minimum payout: $1 for first withdrawal. Best for: Shoppers who want coupons and cashback to apply automatically at checkout (no shopping portal […]

Image Source: Pexels We’ve all been there: you walk back into your house after a vacation, and suddenly, your home doesn’t smell like “home”. Instead, it smells like… something. Whether it’s a faint whiff of old gym socks or a mysterious dampness, the truth is that “nose blindness” is a real biological phenomenon. Our brains eventually tune out consistent scents to stay alert for new ones. Unfortunately, this means you might be living with hidden […]

A how to make money as a teenager list to get your teenager earning money and learning how to manage it. Does your teenager have their eyes set on earning extra cash? Great – send them to this list of ways for teens to make money. It’s up to date and has specific pro tips throughout. I’ve also categorized them by online cash earning opportunities (we’ll start here) and then move to IRL (in real […]

Welcome to 2026. I hope it’s going to be a good one for you. When we talk about investments we rarely think about self-investment. Spending money on something that somewhere down the road will hopefully pay for itself, or help you to make more money. Something that’s the ultimate return on your investment. It could […] Continue Reading The post Try Some Self Investment appeared first on My Worthy Penny.

As a FIRE parents raising two children in San Francisco, we rely heavily on our investments to remain free. If we significantly misjudge returns, we increase the probability of having to go back to work. Going back to work is not the end of the world. Ideally, however, we would like to avoid it until […] The post Investment Outlook For Public And Private Stocks In 2026 appeared first on Financial Samurai.

This February Military Scholarship post is part of my ongoing Military Scholarships series. As long as you’re stuck in the house hiding from the cold, you should be applying for these military scholarships! As with any other scholarship resource, please verify eligibility requirements, application processes, and due dates. While we do our best to ensure… | Read More… The post February Military Scholarships for Service Members, Spouses and Kids appeared first on KateHorrell.

Summary  Welcome to our 2025 spending post! Our total spend for the year of 2025 was £33,977. For context, this is for 2 adults plus a five year old and a one year old, living in the UK!  This represents a ~10% increase on last year’s spending. While we were hoping for less, it’s not too drastic. We feel like we have focussed on quality again this year, particularly with our food and some ‘long term’ purchases. Hopefully this helps us in future years!  We would like to try and reduce costs across the board in 2026, but let’s wait and see what the new year brings!   See below for a more detailed breakdown of our 2025 spending.  We break our main expenses down into broad categories starting with the big 3; housing, food and transport. Everything else falls into the entertainment/misc category.  CategoryAmount Housing£9,277 Food£9,756 Transport£3,023 Entertainment/misc£11,921 Total£33,977

Stocks and bonds are the most established financial assets providing global investment opportunities for long-term wealth building. However, in the short -term they can be risky investments due to their volatility. Historically, long-term returns of the stock market have been positive, as have bonds. But over short periods stock and bond returns might be negative. Therefore, understanding historical stock and bond returns is critical if you want to be a successful investor. Historical stock and bond market returns provide information to help you make wise investment decisions. Key Takeaways: Historical Investment Performance Stocks Outperform Long-Term: Over the last 97 years (1928–2025), the S&P 500 has delivered an average annual geometric return of approximately 10.02% including dividends. Bonds Provide Stability: Baa Corporate Bonds averaged a 6.62% annual return since 1928, offering a lower-volatility alternative that often performs well when equities struggle. The Power of 60/40: A balanced 60/40 portfolio—60% stocks and 40% bonds—has achieved a long-term average annual return of 8.66%, effectively tempering market swings while maintaining growth. Volatility is Normal: While long-term trends are positive, short-term returns can be highly volatile; for instance, stocks saw a -18.04% decline in 2022 followed by a 26.06% surge in 2023. Reversion to the Mean: Historical data suggests that extreme periods of overvaluation or undervaluation eventually revert toward long-run averages, reinforcing the importance of a disciplined, long-term investment strategy. Historical Stock and Bond Returns-Why You Should Care I’m a bit obsessed with historical stock and bond returns. While the future is unknowable, knowing historical stock and bond returns gives me a tool with which to view the current markets. If you’re wondering why you should care about the average historical bond returns or stocks historical returns and performance, read on. Knowing the average portfolio return helps you plan for the growth you might expect from your investments. Many investment calculators ask you to estimate the future return that you expect on your portfolio. Knowing the historical average returns on bonds and stocks is a good starting point to estimate your expected future investment returns. For example, knowing 60/40 portfolio historical returns helps you estimate whether you’ll meet your financial goals. However, before we dive deeper, let’s understand some basics. Contents Toggle Key Takeaways: Historical Investment PerformanceHistorical Stock and Bond Returns-Why You Should CareWhat Are Historical Returns?Understanding Historical Stock and Bond ReturnsAverage Return on BondsHistorical Stock, Bond and Cash ReturnsStocks vs Bonds Historical Returns Chart – 50 YearKey Observations:Historical Returns for Stocks, Bonds and Cash for 97, 51 and 11 YearsHistorical Stock and Bond Returns for Various Periods | 1928 – 2025Key Updates:Historical Stock, Bond and Cash Returns from 2000 – 2025Reversion to the Mean Drives Future Investment Returns1995-1999 Stock Market Returns2000-2009 Stock Market Returns2016 – 2025Historical Bond Returns by YearHistorical Bond Returns for Various Periods | 1928 – 2025Bond Returns and Interest RatesWhat are the Historical Returns of a 60/40 Portfolio?60/40 Balanced Portfolio Historical Returns Chart | Stocks vs. Corporate BondsKey Performance Insights:Stock and Bond Historical Asset Class QuiltRisk Tolerance