Latest news with #personal finance
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Looking to AI for a financial plan? Take it more as guidance than gospel, experts say
As Canadians increasingly turn to AI chatbots for help with everyday tasks like meal planning, workout routines and even mapping out vacation itineraries, some are also using it to help manage their money. "It's a personal financial assistant," said Martin Dasko, a content creator focused on personal finance. One way Dasko uses AI is to set up savings plans for upcoming vacations by giving ChatGPT a prompt about his savings target and asking for a plan on how to achieve that amount within a specific timeline. "It'll give you a monthly plan to follow," he said. "It's all in one spot … You can get a table, a chart and it's easier than ever." In the age of do-it-yourself investing and robo-advisers, AI chatbots have become another go-to for many young Canadians to set up budgets and map out financial goals. But experts say you need to have a solid sense of your finances first in order to get suitable answers. "There is a little bit of work that the individual needs to do to be confident and accurate in the numbers that it produces," said Sun Life financial planner Katelyn Aitcheson of AI chatbots. That means knowing the basics such as the difference between your fixed and variable expenses, recurring versus one-time expenses and even what your net worth is. Aitcheson recalled a client who recently bought a new home and turned to a generative AI chatbot to help decide whether to get life insurance or mortgage insurance for the house. "It did give her a high-level overview of the differences between personally-owned life insurance and mortgage insurance," Aitcheson said. But the AI response was missing the nuances. The chatbot didn't tell the client that she could buy additional insurance coverage to cover income replacement or that she could potentially reduce her coverage in a personal life insurance policy over time, Aitcheson said. Still, AI chatbots are finding a place in managing everyday money. "For a lot of people, the ability to grab some basic information very quickly and easily, and kind of cut through the noise, I think, is very powerful," Aitcheson said. She said the technology can offer a fairly accurate breakdown of money allocation for financial goals such as saving for retirement or paying off a student loan — or at least putting a user on the right path. Dasko said the most common prompt people can use is: "Help me create a monthly budget with (insert) income and (insert) expenses." AI would then offer a budget style people can choose from, he said. Then, Dasko suggested customizing the plan with prompts such as: "Where can I cut $100 to start saving more?" or "Help me save $10,000 in the next year," and "What's a realistic monthly plan, or weekly plan or quarterly plan?" But it's not always safe to ask AI questions that may contain sensitive information, Check Point's cybersecurity evangelist Jane Arnett warned. Canada doesn't yet have any legislation protecting AI users, and it's hard to know how the data is stored or used. "Stop and think: 'Okay, with this that I'm putting in here, what would happen if I was giving this to someone who was trying to rob me right now?'" Arnett said. "Basically, assume that anything you're putting into these systems is public information," she said. She also cautioned that users might receive incorrect or half-baked information if the prompts aren't specific enough. "You could end up with advice that is wrong, that is maybe for people in the United States but doesn't apply to people in Canada, maybe advice that's outdated," she said. Arnett suggested verifying the information or financial plan spat out by the AI chatbot with a human financial adviser. "You'll walk in knowing more and having a better and deeper conversation with your financial planner," she said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 15, 2025. Ritika Dubey, The Canadian Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The No. 1 Key To Wealth, According To Wahei Takeda, the ‘Warren Buffett of Japan'
In the U.S., every serious investor is familiar with Warren Buffett, who built his $143 billion fortune primarily through investing. Though Buffett's influence isn't limited to the U.S., he's not necessarily the most iconic financial figure in other countries. In Japan, the late entrepreneur Wahei Takeda is a legend in the investing space. According to Ken Honda, a Japanese financial expert whose 2019 book 'Happy Money' was translated into 15 languages, Takeda is sometimes called the 'Warren Buffett of Japan.' Find Out: Read Next: In 2021, Honda published a story on CNBC Make It about Takeda, describing him as 'one of the most remarkable individuals I've ever met.' In the piece, Honda discussed Takeda's philosophy about success, happiness and wealth. Sit back and relax — this is probably the least stressful advice about personal finance you've read in a while. Takeda's philosophy focused on living in a state of 'maro.' The word 'maro' has a few meanings in Japanese; the interpretation Takeda was referring to is the one short for 'magokoro' which in Japanese means a sincere heart. 'You could say that your maro is strong if you have pure intentions and lead an upright life,' Honda wrote. Essential to the concept of maro is the sense of inner contentment and gratitude. Learn More: To practice and embody maro, you must be genuinely positive. This positivity will, according to Takeda and Honda's beliefs, emanate from you in a magnetic way, attracting other positive things. 'This surrounds you with good people and things you truly care about, which then creates a cycle of happiness and abundance,' Honda wrote. Part of having a sincere heart is having passion and honoring that passion by always being in touch with your intuition. This enables you to make the best choices for you and your future. To put it more basically, you follow your passions and do what you love. Doing so 'constantly opens doors to exciting new opportunities,' Honda wrote. A main pillar of maro and the ultimate key to building wealth is gratitude — something any of us can tap into, regardless of whether we're presently happy or pursuing our passion. 'Since gratitude is contagious, others start to express gratitude and welcome more abundance into their lives as well,' Honda wrote. 'In a money-obsessed society, the simplest way to reach a state of maro to express gratitude and give to others, instead of always wanting or asking for more.' More From GOBankingRates Mark Cuban Warns of 'Red Rural Recession' -- 4 States That Could Get Hit Hard How Much Money Is Needed To Be Considered Middle Class in Your State? The 10 Most Reliable SUVs of 2025 This article originally appeared on The No. 1 Key To Wealth, According To Wahei Takeda, the 'Warren Buffett of Japan'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Humphrey Yang Reveals How He Would Invest $1,000 If He Had To Start All Over
Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Financial guru Humphrey Yang has been answering people's personal finance questions for several years, and he recently entertained what he would do if he had to start all over again with $1,000. Yang's insights aren't specific to him. They can help people who aren't sure how to get started with investing and give them ideas of how they can use their money. "You want individual companies that will still be around in 40 years," Yang mentioned in the video. He elaborated on how he would divvy up the $1,000 and offered valuable lessons along the way. Don't Miss: Warren Buffett once said, "If you don't find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die." Here's , starting today. $100k+ in investable assets? – no cost, no obligation. Yang starts by saying that he would put $400 into an S&P 500 ETF. That comes to 40% of his $1,000. He specifically mentions the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY), but any fund that tracks the S&P 500 will produce nearly identical results. It's typically the largest holding in any of Yang's starter portfolios, and it's roughly doubled over the past five years. The S&P 500 contains the 500 largest publicly traded U.S. corporations, and it places a strong emphasis on the Magnificent Seven stocks. Each stock in the fund must be profitable, and the index regularly cycles out of bad stocks and replaces them with better ones. S&P 500 ETFs are also known for their low expense ratios since they don't require active management. For instance, VOO has a 0.03% expense ratio and SPY has a 0.09% expense ratio. Low expense ratios let you keep almost all of the profits you generate from your shares. Trending: The secret weapon in billionaire investor portfolios that you almost certainly don't own yet. Yang then suggests putting $200 into the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ), which tracks growth stocks that are primarily in the tech sector. You can also get the Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF (NASDAQ:QQQM), which is the same exact fund, but with a lower expense ratio. The fund has more than doubled over the past five years. It has a stronger concentration in tech stocks and the Magnificent Seven stocks than the S&P 500. QQQ regularly outperforms VOO and SPY during bullish market cycles, but it is more vulnerable to corrections. Younger investors who have lengthy time horizons can benefit more from growth and tech ETFs like QQQ. However, if you are just getting started, you may want less volatility in your portfolio. That may be why Yang suggests putting more money into VOO or SPY than you have those two ETFs, Yang suggests finding three individual stocks and putting $100 into each pick. These stocks give you the opportunity to outperform a benchmark like the S&P 500 or the Nasdaq Composite. Yang suggests narrowing the search to companies that will likely be around 40 years later. It's better to make some money than to make a high-risk investment that falls to zero. If you're just getting started, it is easier to make that type of mistake with an asset that you don't know very well. That accounts for $900 of the $1,000. Yang suggests putting the remaining $100 into a high-yield savings account. That way, your money will collect risk-free interest. It offers a safety net as your stocks and ETFs compound in the background. Read Next: Over the last five years, the price of gold has increased by approximately 83% — Investors like Bill O'Reilly and Rudy Giuliani are . This article Humphrey Yang Reveals How He Would Invest $1,000 If He Had To Start All Over originally appeared on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
4 Ways To Save Money After Cutting Your Cable Bill
For years now, personal finance experts have been recommending cutting the cord on cable and using streaming services as a way to save money. It's no wonder, as average cable bills can come in around anywhere between $150 and $200. Try This: Read Next: Although consumer spending has gone up year-over-year — largely due to inflation — cable and internet bills have dropped. It would seem that more and more people are opting to stream. Simply put, consumer consumption has changed. Nowadays, cable and internet are a small percentage of consumers' household bills, indicating that, beyond cutting the cord, there could be other ways to cut back on your household expenses. If you've already canceled your cable package in an effort to save, here are five more ways you can keep your costs low. One of the big-ticket items for many families is mortgage payments. Even though interest rates have risen in recent months, you may still save money by refinancing depending on your loan. Start by evaluating options from a range of lenders and mortgage providers and do some research to ensure that refinancing makes sense for your monthly payments. If a re-fi doesn't make sense because you purchased your home when rates were historically low, you might consider a cash-out re-fi — and use the money you've pulled from the equity in your home to consolidate higher interest debt, especially since credit card rates are continuing to rise. For You: Home and auto insurance also provide opportunities to save money. On average, customers can save almost 16% by bundling their home and auto insurance policies. Insurance companies make these discounts available because bundled customers have lower claims costs, so it's a win-win situation for both your convenience and your finances. When you're shopping around for new insurance policies, you may also ask about other coverage lines that can provide greater peace of mind. You can often personalize your policy with coverages that accurately reflect your way of life through a variety of options. Often, the more you bundle, the more you save. Mobile carriers have been offering savings for trading in old devices recently. Often, you can save money by changing your cell phone provider. But before you jump ship, ask your current company if they have a better deal for you. Whether you make a phone call or walk into a smartphone retailer, you'll want to have as much knowledge as you can to negotiate. Make sure to do your research as hard data makes your plan negotiating much easier when directly dealing with providers. Some of the highest annual bill increases are within the utilities category, whether it's heating oil and propane costs, natural gas or electricity. However, consumers can control some of these costs by changing their behavior in small ways — or by making minor upgrades to their home. You don't have to negotiate to adjust a lot of these expenses. You can make living adjustments such as investing in energy efficient appliances or improving your home's insulation. You can also incorporate smart devices to help monitor and reduce usage and ultimately save money. The bottom line is that Americans are making these streaming services an increasingly large part of their household budgets, and that is not the same thing as saving money after getting rid of cable. Make sure you aren't paying for monthly subscriptions you don't really use or need. Simply put, just because you're saving on cable and internet doesn't mean you should go out and double your household spending on other media consumption — or anything else, for that matter. Once you start the ball rolling with saving on cable, you'll be motivated to save in all these ways around your house and more. More From GOBankingRates 3 Luxury SUVs That Will Have Massive Price Drops in Summer 2025 3 Reasons Retired Boomers Shouldn't Give Their Kids a Living Inheritance (And 2 Reasons They Should) I'm a Retired Boomer: 6 Bills I Canceled This Year That Were a Waste of Money This article originally appeared on 4 Ways To Save Money After Cutting Your Cable Bill Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
