A letter from the Department of Education shows up in your mailbox, and the subject line stops you cold: notice of wage garnishment. You knew your student loans had fallen behind, but garnishment felt like a future problem, not a this-month problem. That future arrived. Wage garnishment on defaulted federal student loans is resuming in 2026, and millions of borrowers are getting these notices for the first time in six years. Here is what is […]

Good morning! And happy BACK TO SCHOOL SEASON for all those parents out there!! If you can believe it we’ve now got one in elementary school, one in middle school, and now one in high school Man I’m getting old… At any rate, who wants $1,000??? 😉 It’s been a while since we shared this 401(k) contest, but old timers will remember that over a half dozen BudgetsAreSexy readers have won it in years past, so maybe this time it’ll be YOU?? It’s hosted by Jackson, Grant Investment Advisors Inc. who hopes to energize 401(k) participants into learning more, and ultimately investing more. So you can be a 401(k) Millionaire one day like our friend, Fritz! All you have to do is answer a couple of questions (but take your time and really put some effort into it!), and you’ll be entered to win one of **THREE* $1,000 cash awards. That you do not have to invest into your 401(k) lol… Here’s the main thing to marinate on before you start filling it out: If you were to advise co-workers about why they should contribute to (and/or maximize) their 401(k)s, what would you say? What actions might you take to inspire non-participants to participate in their 401(k)s? Once you know what you want to say – and hopefully it’s super personal and/or creative and/or funny! – you can enter directly here: 401kchampion.com/2026-application Deadline to submit is *this Friday* August 28, 2026 by 11:59 P.M. EST, and you must be currently participating (whether employed or retired) in your employer’s 401(k) plan (not a 403(b) plan or other type of plan). You must also be 21 years old or over and a legal residents of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia. GOOD LUCK!!! I want to continue our streak of having winners here, please! And good job on investing into your 401(k) which is a reward all of its own Your busy busy parental friend, [This post, A $1,000 Contest for Sharing Your Love of 401(k)s!, was first published by J. Money on Budgets Are Sexy]

All Insights | Exchange-Traded Funds | Start Investing Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap UCITS ETF At 0.07% Starts Trading On XETRA and LSE europe finally gets THE GLOBAL market in one cheap etf Today, Vanguard has launched the FTSE Global All-Cap UCITS ETF (VGLA / VALL) on multiple European Exchanges. It’s the cheapest single-ticket exposure to the entire global equity market, with large, mid and small caps across developed and emerging markets, at a total expense ratio of just 0.07%.The ETF began trading today (20 August) on Deutsche Börse’s Xetra and LSE, with parallel listings on Borsa Italiana, Euronext Amsterdam and the SIX Swiss Exchange.It is the ETF equivalent of US-listed VT – Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund (0.06% TER) and the Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap Index Fund long popular with UK investors, but still with 0.23% fee.It’s the first time Vanguard has offered whole-market coverage, small caps included, in a European ETF without an ESG screen. For the first time, the fee is very close to US-listed ETFs, as well. KEY TAKEAWAYS Vanguard’s new FTSE Global All-Cap UCITS ETF started trading today (20 August) on Xetra, Borsa Italiana, the London Stock Exchange, Euronext Amsterdam and SIX. At a 0.07% TER it is the cheapest broad global equity ETF in Europe – half the price of Vanguard’s own FTSE All-World (VWCE, 0.14%) and less than a third of its ESG Global All Cap (V3AM, 0.24%). It matches the 0.07% of the cheapest large/mid-cap all-country ETF (Amundi Prime All Country World, WEBN) while adding small caps, and undercuts the next all-cap fund (SPDR MSCI ACWI IMI, 0.17%) by ten basis points. It tracks the FTSE Global All Cap Index: roughly 10,000 large-, mid- and small-cap stocks across developed and emerging markets – around 98–99% of the world’s investable market capitalisation. Both share classes went live together on 20 August: Accumulating (IE000VAHT5T0) and Distributing (IE000CVUM3N6, quarterly payouts). A currency-hedged class at 0.10% is provided for in the prospectus but has not been listed. VGLA starts trading on five exchanges replicating an index with roughly 10,000 stocks VGLA physically replicates the FTSE Global All Cap Index, a market-cap-weighted benchmark of roughly 10,000 stocks across developed and emerging

All Insights | Exchange-Traded Funds | Start Investing [REVIEW COPY] Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap UCITS ETF At 0.07% Starts Trading On XETRA and LSE europe finally gets THE GLOBAL market in one cheap etf KEY TAKEAWAYS Vanguard’s new FTSE Global All-Cap UCITS ETF started trading today (20 August) on Xetra, Borsa Italiana, the London Stock Exchange, Euronext Amsterdam and SIX.At a 0.07% TER it is the cheapest broad global equity ETF in Europe – half the price of Vanguard’s own FTSE All-World (VWCE, 0.14%) and less than a third of its ESG Global All Cap (V3AM, 0.24%). It matches the 0.07% of the cheapest large/mid-cap all-country ETF (Amundi Prime All Country World, WEBN) while adding small caps, and undercuts the next all-cap fund (SPDR MSCI ACWI IMI, 0.17%) by ten basis points.It tracks the FTSE Global All Cap Index: roughly 10,000 large-, mid- and small-cap stocks across developed and emerging markets – around 98–99% of the world’s investable market capitalisation.Both share classes went live together on 20 August: Accumulating (IE000VAHT5T0) and Distributing (IE000CVUM3N6, quarterly payouts). A currency-hedged class at 0.10% is provided for in the prospectus but has not been listed. VGLA starts trading on five exchanges replicating an index with roughly 10,000 stocks VGLA physically replicates the FTSE Global All Cap Index, a market-cap-weighted benchmark of roughly 10,000 stocks across developed and emerging markets and capturing approximately 98–99% of the world’s investable market capitalisation. The addition of small caps is what separates it from the FTSE All-World range, which stops at large and mid caps and covers around 90% of the investable universe. Key Information FieldDetailFund nameVanguard FTSE Global All-Cap UCITS ETF (USD) AccumulatingISINIE000VAHT5T0TER0.07%IndexFTSE Global All Cap Index (net total return, USD)Index coverage~10,000 large-, mid- and small-cap stocks, developed + emerging markets (~98–99% of investable market cap)ReplicationPhysical (optimised sampling)Use of incomeAccumulatingDomicileIreland (UCITS)Base currencyUSDShare class inception18 August 2026First trading day20 August 2026The fund lends securities (agent/counterparty Brown Brothers Harriman), with lending income accruing to the fund and helping offset the 0.07% fee. Where it trades

A reader writes in, asking: “You have said, and I have read elsewhere also, that passkeys are ‘phishing resistant.’ I’m ready to believe that, because everybody ‘in the know’ says so, but I haven’t really been able to wrap my head around WHY that’s the case. Is that something you could write about?” Broadly speaking, phishing happens in either of two ways: You somehow end up on a malicious website (one designed to look like […]

Summer is finished. We had a great one. The last few weeks I am a tired though- I do need that ‘camp’ time where the kids are in school or learning something or keeping busy to recharge and work on things I want to work … Read morePF Blog Round Up: Back to School Edition The post PF Blog Round Up: Back to School Edition appeared first on Genymoney.ca.

The title sounds ridiculous but hear me out because actually it happened. A German citizen who worked for Amazon had shares of stock. Lots of shares. But because of an address mix up, the financial institution that held them was unable to reach him for several years via mail. Because of this, after a few years (3), the institution deemed the property as abandoned and turned it over to California’s unclaimed property division. Three years of returned mail is all it took for the shares to go to the state. California, completely within its rights, then sold the stock and held the cash until the citizen claimed it. I don’t know why selling it was necessary from the perspective of the owner (I know why from the state’s perspective, they can use the cash until he shows up!). By the time he did, the stock was worth significantly more. The case worked its way to the Supreme Court but the court declined to hear it. And if you’re wondering – this was all completely legal per state unclaimed property laws. Quick Answer: Yes, it is possible.Every state has laws allowing financial assets, including stocks, to be transferred to the state when they’re legally considered abandoned. In most states, the dormancy period is three or five years, but each state defines the triggering event differently.Once securities reach the state, some states eventually sell them, potentially leaving you entitled to cash rather than the shares and any future appreciation… which can be significant. Table of ContentsThe Government Isn’t “Taking” Your StockThe $1.6 Million Amazon Stock StoryHow Do You Avoid This?Securities Unclaimed Property Rules by StateReview Specific State Laws for AbandonmentIllinois: Where Logging In MattersNew York: Returned Mail Is ImportantSouth Carolina: Several Different Events Can Start the ClockReview Specific State Laws for LiquidationWhy Do These Laws Exist?How to Keep Your Investment Accounts From Becoming Unclaimed PropertyCheck for Unclaimed PropertyBottom Line The Government Isn’t “Taking” Your Stock I learned this story through a Fox News opinion article sensationally titled “Governments can take your stocks without your permission. It happens all the time.” It’s inaccurate because the government doesn’t really “take it.” It’s been deemed abandoned and so it has to go somewhere. They don’t seize it in some kind of asset forfeiture situation. The end result is messy. The process begins when a financial institution can’t reach the owner within a specified period of time, which varies by state. If a bank has your money and can’t seem to find you, what are they supposed to do? If someone sends you a check that you never cash, they still owe you the money but they can no longer find you. They can’t be forced to look for you forever, that’s just not reasonable. They also shouldn’t just hold it and wait for you to remember because youwon’t. So, they send it to the state’s unclaimed property division and it’s now on you to recover it. The legal process is called escheatment, when financial institutions

Housing affordability is at a crisis low. You’ve read that headline a hundred times. Incomes have to rise or home prices have to crash to return to the housing affordability levels pre-COVID. It’s true if you measure a home in dollars earned. It is not true at all if you measure a home in stock […] The post Build A Taxable Stock Portfolio The Size Of Your Dream Home appeared first on Financial Samurai.