No more worries about money

Most money matters and financial problems connected with them seem full of ghosts and monsters as they are often too complicated for an ordinary person. The main causes of fear are the fluctuations in the stock market. But the things that really should worry Americans are not always obvious. Below are the reasons you should spend more time worrying about.

Contents:

Downward flows of the stock market.

Rising interest rates.

The solvency of social security.

Bank charges and expenses. 

Downward flows of the stock market. 

On those big down days when the Dow Jones Industrial Average drops a few hundred points, fear and anxiety spike. After nine years of calmness market prices rose to record levels.

At such moments, it's easy to forget that volatility is a normal part of the cycle. It is also worth remembering that over the years the potential of stocks growth of shares significantly overshadowed the losses. Don’t forget that volatility can be a benefit, for example, for investors who are on average worth the dollar and rebalance their holdings. It’s unlikely that anyone has all their money in the stock market, so periods of softness make it possible to buy shares at cheaper prices.

Investors should be concerned about inflation, not volatility. It's a subtle demon that can undermine the value of your savings on, especially if you keep your money in low-yield deposit accounts. Stocks actually have excellent rates of outstripping inflation over the decades. On the contrary, investors clinging to ultraconservative instruments are highly susceptible to inflation goblins.

Rising interest rates. 

After years of recession interest rates began to make funny noises as if something was coming from a graveyard. It scared the stock market. Bond investors also have reason to be concerned. Bond prices tend to fall, while rates are rising. And rates with long-term maturities are most susceptible to price declines.

In addition, people with different types of loans can be haunted by rising rates. This is very dangerous for people with large, protracted credit-card balances.

But don’t forget about the advantages of raising rates. Especially, if these changes are gradual. Certificates of deposit and other ultraconservative accounts are beginning to yield slightly more generous returns. And this trend should continue! This can help millions of depositors. Especially those who have lost ground to inflation over the past decade.

In fact, this prolonged period of ultra-low interest rates, which past for last few years was actually a dangerous scenario.

"One of the good things about raising interest rates is that it gives the Federal Reserve some leeway to lower rates at some point in the future when we have another recession. This is more useful for economy to have interest rate... at more traditional levels, " said Harry Papp, managing partner at Phoenix investment firm L. Roy Papp & Associates¹.

The solvency of social security. 

It has become too obvious that the social security system will face enormous challenges in the future. The surplus of the trust-fund is planned to be exhausted around the year 2034. At this point, in the absence of the necessary reforms the system will pay out less than its promised obligations. According to the latest forecasts by Social Security's trustees² ,  pensioners can receive an average of about 78 cents per dollar.

People began to think in advance about the solvency of the system. In this regard, they began to claim their pension benefits as early as possible, at the age of 62. For some retirees, another motivation is not expecting to live that long. At this time, others are so financially tapped out by age of 62 that they start receiving benefits as soon as possible to make ends meet.

It is not necessary to act so radically, although these are legitimate concerns. Many people underestimate is the risk that their retirement assets will live much longer than expected. Delaying Social Security can help here. Every year when you wait to claim Social Security, your benefits increase by 8%, up to age 70. So for people who wait until 70, monthly checks can be 75% more than for those who start at 62.

"We should worry less about dying early in retirement. We have to pay attention to life than we ever imagined, " wrote Jonathan Clements, a financial journalist and author of the book How to Think about Money. "Faced with this risk, most of us have to delay Social Security. This will help to get a larger monthly check, " he suggests³.

Bank charges and expenses. 

Many people are too wary of financial companies. And they’re right. Trying to navigate the fine print on mortgages and other loans is like whistling past the graveyard. In addition, it can be easy to cause a variety of charges. With banks these include charges for overdrafts, fees for late-payment, and many more.

On the other hand, a lot of bank charges can be avoided. This is especially true of people who pay attention to their balances and watch out for expenses. Most banks offer free verification to customers who agree to make direct deposits of paychecks or other regular income. Many banks also offer free bill-paying services. In addition, customers can sign up for messages warning them about low balance, suspicious activity. These actions can reduce the potential of problems.

One thing that people may need fear more when it comes to banking is not having an account at all. Regular customers are likely to be financially successful. They will have access to low-cost financial services, check cashing services, avoid costly payday loans, pawnshops and the like. However, about a quarter of U.S. households either don’t have traditional banking relationships or rely more expensive alternative services from time to time. This pattern was discovered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp⁴  in a recent study.

In short, banks are not financial zombies that are often portrayed. Banks can be useful for your finances if you approach the situation correctly.