REPOST: New Tools for Nest Eggs

Work your way to a financially sound and comfortable retirement with the help of these financial tools listed by the Wall Street Journal.

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The right tools can make investing for retirement easier, by helping you manage the details of particular investments or by managing your entire portfolio. Here's a look at some services that do just that.

Annuity Review ( annuityreview.com )

Millions of new and would-be retirees find themselves holding—and trying to decipher—variable annuities. Annuity Review analyzes variable-annuity contracts (and any supplemental riders) and explains, in plain English, how your annuity works and how to get the most out of it.

The service does well at helping buyers understand the basics of their annuity contracts, such as investment restrictions and the impact of excess withdrawals. It was developed by Mark Cortazzo, a senior partner at Macro Consulting Group, a financial-advisory firm in Parsippany, N.J.

"They have been able to point out things about my clients' annuity contracts that I…would not have been able to figure out, even after scouring the prospectus for 10 hours," says Dana Anspach, the founder of Sensible Money LLC, a registered investment adviser in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Cost: $199 for an analysis of as many as three contracts. Each additional contract is $49.

Wealthfront (wealthfront.com)

Wealthfront Inc.'s software-driven investment management "basically replicates what the larger registered investment advisers do with their rebalancing/trading software," saysMichael Kitces, publisher of the Kitces Report and director of research at Pinnacle Advisory Group, a wealth-management firm in Columbia, Md.

Wealthfront, whose chief investment officer is Burton Malkiel, author of "A Random Walk Down Wall Street," will craft a diversified, low-cost portfolio for you and rebalance your investments automatically as necessary. If your account is $100,000 or more, the service also will help you harvest tax losses—that is, use your investment losses to offset taxes due on investment gains and income.

Wealthfront, in Palo Alto, Calif., uses only exchange-traded funds when managing your money, not individual securities or mutual funds.

Cost: None for the first $10,000 of assets under management. On amounts over $10,000, a monthly advisory fee is charged, based on an annual rate of 0.25% of your assets. There are also fees embedded in the ETFs the service buys for your portfolio.

Betterment (betterment.com)

Betterment LLC, like Wealthfront, offers low-cost portfolio-management services. And it can help transfer your retirement savings from a 401(k) or other accounts into an individual retirement account in as little as 60 seconds.

The New York-based registered investment adviser has a team of representatives who can help answer questions about IRA rollovers. And if need be, a rep will "join a call with [your] existing provider" to smooth the process, says Joe Ziemer, Betterment's communications manager.

There are no fees or minimum balances for the IRA rollover service, but the account that's created will be subject to Betterment's regular fees. Like Wealthfront, Betterment uses only exchange-traded funds when building your portfolio.

Cost: A management fee of 0.15% to 0.35% annually, depending on your balance, plus the ETFs' fees.

Matt Sapaula is a seasoned financial coach known in the industry as the Money Smart Guy. Go to this website to learn about his unique approach to entrepreneurship and financial literacy.

REPOST: Why Many Young People Need More Money Management Education

The article below discusses the significance of financial discipline in helping students resist financial pressures and get by with economic realities.

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Financial education is something that can benefit everyone, no matter how young. Once a person enters the workforce, they may have to deal with difficult decisions that they would be better prepared for if they learned how to manage money early on.

Close to half of those in their teenage years are not well-educated about financial discipline, a report for TCF Bank conducted by the Opinion Research Corporation noted. Nearly 30 percent of those who were 17 years old explained that they didn’t think they would have the tools necessary to manage finances properly when they left high school.

This could be worrisome to many people, as it can be difficult to get finances right without the proper level of guidance and education on the matter.

“Every high school student, and every adult, should have a firm understanding of money management,” said Tom Jasper, vice chairman of TCF Bank. “This survey demonstrates the urgent need to give young people the tools to better manage their personal finances in order to set them up for a brighter, more successful future. We believe that the more informed people are about money management, the more it benefits them and the communities in which they live.”

Student loans an issue for many Americans

This lack of financial knowledge could put some young people at a disadvantage once they obtain a higher education degree, especially if they are trying to manage everyday bills with student loans. This could call for a revamped financial strategy from these people.

Approximately 17 percent of Americans are dealing with student loans they have yet to pay off, according to a report from FindLaw.com. The majority of the group who had loans still have to pay off less than $25,000, while more than 5 percent explained their debt was upwards of $50,000.

“As the cost of a college education has risen, so has the number of graduates carrying a substantial amount of student loan debt,” said Stephanie Rahlfs, attorney-editor at FindLaw.com. “Ideally, students use their degrees to land well-paying jobs and quickly pay off their loans. But job markets are cyclical and careers don’t always go according to plan. Student loans can be a big financial burden, but there are various options available to those who are unable to repay their loans.”

Less than half of those polled explained they were able to pay off their loans in full, the report added.

Matt Sapaula is a financial coach, author, and media personality. Visit this website to learn how he helps clients attain financial security through wealth-building strategies and tools.