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Every year, millions of people have to make decisions about the kind of care they need. During the 2018 annual enrollment, for example, nearly 11.8 million people signed up or were automatically enrolled through the ACA. But another choice, known as a short-term health plan, is much cheaper and designed to appeal to younger, healthier people, or people of any age who want to save money. Unlike ACA plans, you can sign up for them throughout the year.

Consumers paid off more of their monthly credit card balance — and whittled down big debts faster — when given the chance to target specific purchases on their statement for repayment, compared to when only offered typical repayment options such as making the minimum payment. In other words, instead of plunking down the minimum $50, you might nix all your Uber rides, that new pair of sneakers and last week's happy hour tab.

According to the 2018 Millennials and Money survey by TD Ameritrade, millennials didn’t expect to be financially independent from their parents until age 25. Nineteen percent of those surveyed don’t expect to ever be completely independent.

Creating an estate plan is a gift to the people you leave behind. By expressing your wishes, you’re trying to guide your loved ones at a difficult, emotional time.....You can reduce the chances of family discord by doing these four things:

Think about how you might want to spend your time. Think about hobbies that have interested you but you never had the opportunity to do them. Make a list and if you can’t think of any go online and just type in hobbies and a hundred will pop up. What sports might you want to try? Consider a new one maybe tai chi or swimming? They are great for your body and health. Check out local clubs and community centers near your home. There may be a lot of resources around that you never noticed before. Start now and make a comprehensive but flexible list. Join a few things now so you are slowly breaking into some activities before you stop the job if at all possible.

Many seniors find that their newly severely restricted itemized deductions fall short of their personal deductions ($24,000 married filing jointly). So their charitable contributions may be worth zero on their tax returns. That’s a little bit of a bummer even though the primary objective was to benefit the charity. Most of us have a soft spot in our hearts for our tax deductions.