There are a variety of ways you can look to save money for yourself and others, particularly if you're interested in helping fund your children's college education. Mark Stratis, senior financial planner for Szarka Financial, joins Tim Muma to discuss the details and benefits of a 529. Mark explains how this goes beyond your traditional savings and the bevy of options it gives you from start to finish. The information...

While everyone could use a little advice when it comes to planning and preparing for a successful retirement, single women have a set of unique challenges they may need to overcome. Chuck Conrad, senior financial planner for Szarka Financial, talks with Tim Muma about the various circumstances that can put single women at a disadvantage. He also explains the best strategies for staying on top of everything and ensuring an e...

It’s no surprise that most adults are overworked and overwhelmed but the counterintuitive reality is that many are not taking all the paid time off they’ve earned.According to Project: Time Off“After years of being asked to ‘do more with less’ workers are overstretched, stressed out, and exhausted. The always-on, 24/7 American work culture is taking a heavy toll, leading to 429 million wasted vacation days that undermine ou...

In "Life Reimagined - The Science, Art, and Opportunity of Midlife," NPR reporter Barbara Bradley Hagerty shares the story of her own middle age challenges. She writes with humor and honesty about her concerns about aging and her efforts to rethink her career. And at the same time she takes a deep dive into cutting-edge research that could change how you think about life for people in their 40's, 50's and beyond. After inte...

As a 55-year-old former corporate VP turned career consultant and entrepreneur, I’m always fascinated to hear stories of “boomer” professionals who’ve achieved great success managing and collaborating with Millennial teams. As I know from experience, there’s inner and outer work and self-evaluation necessary for leaders to learn to adapt to working effectively with different generational groups . Flexible and responsive lea...

Lately, I’ve been hearing a common theme from managers of millennials. They’re hiring you for your record of strong performance, and you deliver. But two little words are holding you back: soft skills.Most professional newbies are unaware of a paradigm shift that happens when you segue from school to the workplace. Your whole life you’ve been striving to deliver the goods to earn the grade, but in a professional setting, pe...

Lately at speaking events I've been hearing some complaints from Millennials about their Gen X bosses. Because Gen Xers are only a few years older than Millennials, the younger group is often surprised that members of the older cohort my contemporaries aren't always as supportive and attentive as millennials might want or expect. While this post only represents the views of one Gen X manager, you might find them valuable in...

The world of compensation is changing – with far reaching consequences.Two big pieces of salary-related news hit the Internet recently. Credit card processing company Gravity Payments’ CEO was forced to defend his decision to standardize all employee pay to $70K, and the SEC finalized a long-delayed rule forcing businesses to share their “pay ratio,” or how CEO pay compares with that of the average company worker. How might...

As workplaces adjust to (and increasingly embrace) millennials’ needs and priorities, many forward thinkers are already wondering what’s next. At speaking engagements, I’m frequently asked about Gen Z: How are they different than Gen Y? What do managers and business leaders need to know about this new generation?Here is my take:BACK UP. WHAT IS GENERATION Z?Given that there is no exact science to how we define generations,...

There has been remarkable growth in the number of women of color business owners—and this figure is poised to increase as the women of color population grows. From 1997 to 2013, the number of female-owned firms in the United States grew by 59 %—one-and-a-half times the national average. A closer look at the statistics shows that women of color are the catalyst behind this growth:• African American women-owned businesses gre...