Author: Money Mechanics

Couple moving abroadgettyI sold everything. The furniture, the car, and decades of accumulated stuff were all hauled away by strangers. Then I bought a one-way ticket to Italy. It was the most stressful thing I’ve ever done, but also the best.The visa paperwork was almost too much. Buying a medieval farmhouse in a country where I hardly spoke the language pushed my patience further than I imagined. Now, over a year later, I live in Italy full-time, and I still can’t believe it actually happened.Here’s why I gave it a shot: trying to save for a comfortable retirement in America…

A “rare opportunity” to own one of just two Robert A.M. Stern-designed estates in Nassau County has come onto the market for $8.3 million, just a stone’s throw from the Oyster Bay Harbor waterfront.Known as Miramar, the four-bedroom estate was built in 1982, but recently underwent a multiyear renovation that was completed in 2025—bringing a fresh perspective to Stern’s jaw-dropping design.This marks the first time that the Mill Neck, NY, dwelling has been put on the market since the late 1980s, having been owned by the same family for decades.”This is the first time the property has been available in…

(Image credit: Getty Images)The flames of a crackling fire pit cast a warm glow on your family’s faces. Your newest grandchild drifts off to sleep, snuggled in his aunt’s arms while his parents begin to doze beside them.Nearby, your oldest grandchild roasts marshmallows to a perfect golden brown — just as you taught her to minutes ago — and she gleefully runs up to you to offer a taste. You recline into your seat next to your spouse, who is gazing up at the clear night sky.The moon is full, the stars are bright, and everything is just right. You’re…

(Image credit: Getty Images)As summer approaches, so do the storms. Tornado activity often peaks in the spring and early summer, and the Atlantic hurricane season starts in June.In 2024, there were 27 weather- or climate-related disasters that each had losses of $1 billion or more, according to the most recent data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.In case severe weather or another catastrophe hits, now is a good time to make sure your home insurance coverage is up to snuff. It’s also a good idea to make a regular practice of reviewing your policy before it renews each year,…

The newest fund, IBIM, holds just one TIPS, but will expand. I have cautions. AI image for “money slipping away.” Perchance.org By David Enna, Tipswatch.com Blackrock’s iShares division in March launched a unique ETF holding just one bond: CUSIP 91282CPU9, a 10-year TIPS that matures in January 2036. The formal name is the “iShares iBonds Oct 2036 Term TIPS ETF,” with the ticker IBIM. The goal: To track the performance of U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities maturing in 2036. Later this year IBIM will add a second TIPS, to be issued in July, and then add two more 5-year TIPS to…

I have accomplished the unthinkable: I have learned to sleep soundly through the night without my phone at my bedside. Please, hold your applause. If it weren’t for the Dreamie alarm clock, I’m not sure that this Herculean feat would have been possible. If it feels as though I am bragging that I brushed my teeth this morning, then you are not Dreamie’s target audience. But I certainly am, and I’m not alone in feeling so attached to my phone that I’m basically a cyborg. I know that using my phone in bed interferes with my sleep, and poor sleep…

(Image credit: Getty Images)For most Americans, the weeks and months following Tax Day are characterized by a collective sigh of relief. Returns are submitted, checks are cut, and paperwork is filed away for another year.This year, complacency is a risk you can’t afford.As a wealth planner, I view our current environment as a rare “golden hour” for taxpayers — a confluence of low marginal rates, expanded deductions and a historically quiet enforcement landscape. From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues CLICK…

(Image credit: Getty Images)Have you ever noticed that many people only talk about working on their taxes in late winter or early spring during what’s traditionally referred to as “tax season”?I feel that’s when everybody seems to be looking for tips on how to lower their annual tax bill or even get a refund (or they head to their local tax preparer with a pile of paperwork and hope for the best).But I believe taxes aren’t a once-a-year problem — not when you’re working and definitely not in retirement. From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance Become a smarter,…

(Image credit: Getty Images)Inflation used to be a headline. Now it’s a line item.It shows up in your grocery cart, your insurance bill, your property taxes and — most expensively — in your healthcare.And while headlines sometimes suggest “cooling” inflation (though not right now), don’t be fooled: Prices don’t go backward. They simply keep rising. From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues CLICK FOR FREE ISSUE Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice…

(Image credit: PHOTO BY ALIYAH OTCHERE)There is more great music being made today than ever before. Yes, we said it. Whatever you may consider the “golden age” — the ’60s, the ’70s, the ’80s, the Jazz Age, the Baroque period, you name it — there is simply a greater quantity of top-flight creativity coming from every continent, every culture, every style, every genre today.Sorting through it? Well, that’s the problem. You can ask your kids, or ask your grandkids, or let the algorithms do their stuff. But let us give you a hand with our annual “Grandparents’ Guide,” here with…