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While teens should start with the basics of personal finance, like saving and budgeting, learning how to grow their money through investing is also essential. While investing may initially seem complicated, teaching teens about financial literacy can simplify the process. Starting to invest at a young age allows teens to take advantage of time and the power of compounding, giving them a head start toward building long-term financial stability and wealth.
While teens cannot open a brokerage account independently before age 18, they can collaborate with an adult to start investing. This collaboration can set the foundation for a solid financial future, equipping them with knowledge and practical experience to serve them throughout their lives.
Why Teens Should Start Investing Early
Investing at a young age gives teens the benefit of time and the power of compounding, which can significantly grow their investments. Investing early in their lives helps teens build a strong foundation for long-term financial stability and wealth.
The Benefits of Early Investment Include:
Investment Options for Teens
Although teens cannot open a regular brokerage account until they are 18, they can open a custodial account under the supervision of an adult. In a custodial account, an adult manages the investments on behalf of the teen until they reach the age of majority, typically 18 or 21, depending on state laws.
The Uniform Transfer to Minors Act (UTMA) and the Uniform Gifts to Minors Act (UGMA) deal with custodial accounts. These acts enable the transfer of assets to teens while giving adults legal responsibility over the accounts until the minor reaches adulthood.
Teens Have Access to Various Investment Options, Including:
Tips for Teen Investors
Parents and guardians can help teens develop strong investing habits by providing guidance and support in key areas:
Understanding the Basics of Investing
Introduce teens to fundamental investment concepts, such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. Simplify complex ideas like compounding and risk diversification to help them grasp the importance of these principles.
Setting Investment Goals
Help teens define clear investment goals, whether saving for college, a car, or long-term wealth building. These goals will guide their investment decisions and make their efforts more purposeful.
Opening an Investment Account
Teens need a brokerage account to start investing. Since individuals under 18 cannot open accounts independently, they have two primary options:
To keep costs low, look for brokers offering features like no account fees, no minimum deposit requirements and commission-free trading for stocks and ETFs.
Selecting Investments
After opening an account, teens can choose investments in familiar companies or industries they understand. As their knowledge grows, they can diversify their portfolio to reduce risk and maximize returns.
Takeaway
Although teens cannot independently open brokerage accounts, they can start investing with the help of a parent or guardian. Custodial accounts, joint accounts or other supervised options allow them to gain early exposure to investing, which is essential for financial growth. By learning the basics of investing and developing strong habits, teens can lay the groundwork for long-term financial success and prosperity.
Child Tax Credits are tax breaks the federal government offers to support U.S. taxpayers with eligible dependent children under 17. These credits aim to reduce the economic burden of raising children and make it easier for families to afford essential expenses.
What is the Child Tax Credit?
The Child Tax Credit is a federal tax benefit that financially supports taxpayers with dependent children under 17. The base credit is $2,000, but the amount varies depending on the taxpayer’s modified adjusted gross income (MAGI). High-income earners may receive a reduced amount or become ineligible altogether.
Eligibility for the Child Tax Credit depends on factors such as the caregiver’s filing status, relationship to the child and age. This benefit is supposed to provide significant relief to needy families while incentivizing care for dependent children.
The Child Tax Credit is nonrefundable, reducing taxes dollar-for-dollar, although some taxpayers may qualify for a partial refund depending on their financial situation.
Additional Child Tax Credit
The Additional Child Tax Credit is the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit, capped at $1,700 for 2025. This credit is available to taxpayers whose tax liability is lower than their Child Tax Credit amount or individuals who do not file a tax return. By providing a refundable portion, this credit ensures that low-income families can still benefit, even if they owe no taxes.
Adoption Tax Credit
The Adoption Tax Credit is a non-refundable federal tax credit designed to assist families with adopting a child, including legal fees, travel expenses and other qualified costs.
2025 Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) benefits individuals and families with moderate to low incomes. Eligible income includes wages, self-employment earnings, or income from an owned farm or business.
The investment income limit for EITC eligibility is $11,950 or less.
Child Tax Credit 2025
For 2025, the Child Tax Credit has the following features:
These thresholds ensure that middle—and high-income earners can still benefit from the credit while targeting low-income families for the most significant assistance.
Requirements to Qualify for the Child Tax Credit
To qualify for the Child Tax Credit, both the taxpayer and the qualifying child must meet seven key requirements:
While most travel insurance policies provide certain trip cancellation benefits, they often only cover specific reasons like natural disasters or medical emergencies. Cancel-For-Any-Reason (CFAR) insurance could be worth considering if you need more flexibility with your travel insurance.
CFAR insurance is an optional add-on to a standard travel insurance policy. It allows you to recover a significant portion of your non-refundable travel expenses if you cancel your trip for reasons not covered by standard policies.
What Is CFAR Insurance?
Cancel-For-Any-Reason (CFAR) insurance is supplemental coverage that refunds a portion of your non-refundable travel expenses if you cancel your trip for any reason not included in your standard travel insurance.
However, CFAR is not a standalone product. Instead, you can purchase it as an add-on to your standard travel insurance policy, making it ideal for travelers seeking maximum cancellation flexibility.
How Does CFAR Work?
Standard travel insurance protects against specific trip-related losses, including cancellations due to medical emergencies, severe weather or other specified reasons. CFAR expands cancellation options by allowing you to cancel for almost any reason, provided you meet specific conditions.
For example, CFAR can help if you decide not to travel due to changing personal circumstances, even if your reason isn’t under standard policies.
What Does CFAR Cover?
CFAR insurance offers broad coverage for cancellations, though exact terms vary by provider. Typical scenarios where CFAR may apply include:
It can also cover cancellations due to:
However, CFAR does not reimburse for refundable expenses or interruptions after the trip begins.
Costs of CFAR Insurance
Adding CFAR coverage significantly increases the cost of travel insurance. While standard policies typically cost 5 to 10% of your trip’s total expenses, adding CFAR can raise the cost to 40 – 50%.
For example, if your trip costs $5,000, a standard travel insurance policy might cost $250 to $500. Adding CFAR could increase your total premium to $750 or more. While costly, CFAR’s flexibility may justify the price for high-value or complex itineraries.
Benefits of CFAR Insurance
Limitations of CFAR Insurance
Despite its advantages, CFAR has important limitations:
CFAR also excludes benefits for trip interruptions. For instance, it won’t cover the cost of unused accommodations or additional travel if you need to return home early.
Cancel-For-Any-Reason (CFAR) insurance is a valuable add-on for travelers seeking maximum flexibility and peace of mind. While it increases the cost of travel insurance, it allows you to cancel your trip for almost any reason and recover up to 75% of non-refundable expenses.
For expensive trips, long-term plans or uncertain circumstances, CFAR offers a safety net that standard travel insurance doesn’t. By weighing the benefits, costs and limitations, you can decide if CFAR is the right choice for your travel needs.
FAIR Plan insurance, which stands for Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plan, is a high-risk home insurance policy designed as a last resort option for homeowners who cannot obtain coverage from a standard insurance provider. It helps those who live in areas or have homes considered too risky by traditional insurers.
FAIR Plan policies typically offer less coverage than standard home insurance and are generally more expensive. However, they are an excellent option for homeowners living in high-risk zones or those with other red flags that prevent them from getting standard home insurance.
How Does FAIR Plan Insurance Work?
FAIR Plan insurance is a state-regulated program supported by a pool of private insurance companies. Instead of being directly provided by one company, the FAIR Plan pools resources from multiple insurers to collectively cover high-risk properties. This approach distributes the risk, limiting the exposure of any single insurer while ensuring coverage for homeowners who cannot obtain insurance through standard providers.
When filing a claim under a FAIR Plan policy, the pool of participating insurers shares the financial responsibility for the loss. FAIR Plan insurance is typically considered a last-resort option, and homeowners must demonstrate that they have been denied coverage by private insurers before they are eligible to apply for a FAIR Plan policy.
Coverage and Limitations
FAIR Plan homeowners insurance generally provides more limited coverage compared to standard policies. FAIR Plans typically cover specific perils such as windstorms, fires, vandalism, and riots, but coverage can vary and may be more restrictive depending on the state.
Most FAIR Plans offer:
Some states may expand coverage to include:
In most states, FAIR Plan insurance covers homes at their actual cash value, meaning the home’s depreciated value rather than the cost to replace it.
Eligibility and How to Obtain FAIR Plan Insurance
Eligibility for FAIR Plan insurance varies by state; however, the plan is generally available to homeowners in high-risk areas. These areas may be deemed high-risk due to environmental factors, crime rates, or the condition of the homes.
A property may be high risk if it is:
Homeowners with a claims history may also struggle to obtain a standard insurance policy. They may need to resort to the FAIR Plan. In many cases, high-risk homeowners must make improvements to reduce the risk to their property.
Examples of improvements could include:
Other eligibility criteria may include:
How to Obtain a FAIR Plan Insurance Policy
The process for obtaining FAIR Plan insurance varies by state, but homeowners generally need to follow these steps:
Homeowners should review the specific eligibility requirements for their state to ensure compliance and understand their coverage options.
Living in certain high-risk areas can prevent homeowners from getting standard home insurance. FAIR Plan insurance provides a state-approved solution for these individuals, offering coverage when other options are unavailable. While it may be more limited and costly, it allows homeowners in high-risk zones to protect their property from major losses.
Discussing death and dying with family members is challenging, but it’s essential when it comes to planning for the future. A living will, similar to a last will that dictates asset distribution after death, is a document outlining your preferences for medical treatment if you cannot make decisions yourself.
This document is deeply personal, detailing your specific wishes for medical care under various circumstances.
So, what exactly is a living will? How does it function, what does it encompass, and how can you create one? In the following sections, we’ll address these questions about living wills, providing clarity and guidance to help you understand and prepare one.
What Is a Living Will?
Imagine you’re seriously ill or injured, and someone needs to make an important medical decision regarding your treatment, but you’re unable to communicate. How do doctors ensure they provide treatment consistent with your desires?
A living will answers medical care decisions when you cannot make them yourself. It is a critical component of advance care planning, which involves preparing for future healthcare decisions when you might be incapacitated.
In this sense, a living will is like a durable power of attorney for health care. This legal document dictates your medical decisions on your behalf if you’re incapacitated.
Typically, a living will becomes relevant when an individual faces a medical situation without hope for a cure or recovery. It dictates whether to administer or withhold life-saving treatments or artificial life support. In such circumstances, doctors and family members can refer to the individual’s living will to guide their healthcare decisions.
What Is Covered in a Living Will
A living will includes directives to withhold or withdraw artificial means of life support if a person cannot express their preferences. But what does this mean, and what does it include?
The person named in a living will is the “principal.” A living will comes into play whenever the “principal” sustains an irreversible or incurable medical condition that can result in death within a short period (often six months or less).
Then, the living will addresses and covers preferences for the following:
Other inclusions to consider:
Ideally, you want your living will to be exhaustive so your proxy isn’t making any direct medical decisions. In addition, your living will should list a proxy, someone who will act on your behalf to relay decisions outlined in your living will and ensure they are being adhered to.
Preparing a Living Will
It can be a tricky subject, and you may not want to think about it, but being prepared for the worst puts you in a better position in case the worst does happen. If you wish for life-saving support, you don’t want to risk not getting it. On the other hand, if you don’t want artificial life support in the case of a terminal illness, having a living will is the best way to ensure meeting your medical care desires.
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