Stout Bowman & Associates

World's Cheapest and Safest Retirement Countries

More people each year choose to retire abroad to find a change of scenery, new experiences, and a lower cost of living. Even if staying within a tight budget is your biggest retirement focus, safety is likely to be another top consideration. To help ...

Five Things You Need To Be Pre-approved For A Mortgage

Potential buyers benefit in several ways by consulting with a lender and obtaining a pre-approval letter. First, they have an opportunity to discuss loan options and budgeting with the lender. Second, the lender will check the buyer's credit and unearth any problems. The home ...

When (and When Not) to Refinance Your Mortgage

Refinancing a mortgage means paying off an existing loan and replacing it with a new one. There are many reasons why homeowners refinance: to obtain a lower interest rate; to shorten the term of their mortgage; to convert from an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) to ...

Interesting

Ten Promising Job Prospects for 2020

Although the high unemployment rate of recent history has moderated to about 3.5% in the first quarter of 2020, laid-off workers from the lingering recession are still competing for a relatively small number of jobs. But while in some professions employment options seem ...

Investing

SECURE Act Makes Major Changes in IRA Rules

If you are a small business owner, a part-time worker, approaching or over age 70-1/2, a beneficiary of someone's IRA account or the owner of a 401(k) plan, you MUST read about the changes made by the Setting Every Community Up for ...

Investing

Market Downturns

Wayne Thorpe, the senior financial analyst at The American Association of Individual Investors Journal (a.k.a. AAII Journal) has recently shared the following statistics with its members: Since 1871, market downturns have recovered as follows: 33% of market downturns recover within a month ...

Interesting

How Long Will I Live?

The average American now lives to 88. Find out your customized life expectancy based on 400,000 NIH data samples and a short quiz about your lifestyle. In addition to your life expectancy, the results also quantify the effects of changing your lifestyle habits, ...

Credit/Debt/Loans

Six Ways To Cut The Cost Of Your Car Loan

There are numerous ways to save money on your car payments. A word of advice is to not rush the process of buying a car. From the very beginning, weigh all of your options carefully, and you'll make the choice that's right for you. ...

Insurance

Four Important Steps For Choosing Dental Insurance

Most health insurance policies cover a hefty percentage of even towering expenses once you’ve paid your deductible. But dental insurance policies have an annual limit to coverage, from $1,000 to $1,500 a year, along with a $50 to $100 deductible. To ...

Retirement

Six Surprising Facts About Retirement

Retirement is a topic that regularly makes headlines, and not all of them are encouraging. Americans are living longer than ever before, resulting in lengthy periods of post-career life. However, if you assume most people are saving more in order to prepare for their ...

Credit/Debt/Loans

The Six Worst Student Loan Mistakes You Can Make

No one loves the idea of student loans. But they're often a necessary evil - the only option for financing college, which (despite some debate of late) remains the best route for good jobs and rewarding careers. That being said, here are some not-so-smart ...

Investing

Safe and Liquid Investment Options For Your Emergency Fund

When considering where to put your emergency funds, make sure you'll be able to access the money quickly, easily, and without a withdrawal penalty when you need it. Dave Ramsey, the longtime host of a financial advice radio show, recommends that individuals keep three ...