Author: Smart Wealthhabits

Smart Wealthhabits shares practical insights on personal finance, wealth building, and small business strategies to help readers make smarter financial decisions and achieve long-term financial success.

If you really love your car, you’ll probably want to keep it in great condition for as long as possible. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the average age of a car on American roads is about 13 years, so many people are doing everything they can to keep their old reliable wheels going for more than a decade. Things like changing your oil regularly, taking care of your battery, keeping your vehicle filled with fluids and keeping your windshield covered can help your car last longer. This will also help keep some unexpected items in your car.…

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Graham Plattner, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate for Maine, during a primary election night event at the Blue Hill YMCA in Blue Hill, Maine, U.S., on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. Graeme Sloane Bloomberg | getty imagesDemocratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Plattner said Monday he is taking “time to reflect” on how to proceed with his 2021 campaign after a woman accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2021. Plattner, 41, and his campaign denied the allegations made by 41-year-old Maine resident Jenny Racicot politico The article was published on Monday. Politico reported that she accused Plattner of sexual harassment. Plattner is…

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iShares Core dividend growth etf (NYSEARCA:DGRO) and this Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (NYSEARCA:Wig) look like siblings on any fund screener: both look for large-cap US companies with a history of raising dividends, both charge single-digit basis points, and both distribute quarterly. The real divergence sits in the fine print of their index rules, and that fine print has put DGRO ahead of VIG on total returns over one-, five- and ten-year windows. What each fund is really betting on VIG tracks the index that requires Dividend increases for 10 or more consecutive years and screens the top 25% of yielders…

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Most pet parents playfully tell their fur children that they need to get a job and contribute to the daily expenses of life. Well, now you have the chance to make that dream a reality. Purina announced on July 6 that applications for its Purina Puppy Chow and Purina Kitten Chow Chiefs are officially open. The pet food brand is looking for a kitten and a puppy to serve as honorary brand ambassadors and help spread the word about healthy eating. For all their hard work, each new employee will receive a “salary” of $25,000, while $10,000 will be donated…

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Mario Tama/Getty Images News/Getty Images You can find the original article here money management. Subscribe to our free daily money management newsletters. Morgan Stanley is looking to bring more customized investment management tools to independent advisors and recently repositioned its services under an initiative called “Integrated Firms for RIAs and Family Offices.” The goal is to unify previously closed business lines in its investment management and institutional equities divisions, and make it easier for RIAs to access them. According to Morgan Stanley executives, the initiative is paying off. Since launching, the company has raised approximately $1.5 billion from the RIA…

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A Money Talks News reader named Joan contacted me a few years ago with a story I’d heard often in my decades as a consumer reporter. She was 76 years old, widowed, and had recently placed a phone call from a man who said he was from the Internal Revenue Service. He told her there was a warrant out for his arrest for tax fraud. Local police were going to her house until she went to the bank, withdrew $8,000 and put it in a Bitcoin ATM at a gas station three miles away. She was halfway out the door…

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When Jeff Bezos said a breakthrough technology would shape Amazon’s destiny, even Wall Street’s biggest analysts were stunned. Fast forward a year and Amazon’s new CEO Andy Jassy describes Generative AI As a “once in a lifetime” technology that is already being used to renew customer experiences at Amazon. Elon Musk predicted this at the 8th Future Investment Initiative conference 2040 will be there At least 10 billion humanoid robotswith a price between each $20,000 and $25,000. do the math. According to Musk, This technology could be worth $250 trillion by 2040. In other words it is approximately equal to:…

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© Andrew Angelov / Shutterstock.com iShares Select Dividend ETF (Nasdaq: DVY) has quietly rewarded income investors with a 21.05% gain over the last year, without losing a single share. Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR | pltr price prediction), the most attractive momentum stock on the market. That absence is inherent in the fund’s design. What exactly is DVY? DVY is a dividend-screened equity fund operated by iShares that targets established US companies with consistent payout histories. As of April 30, 2026, the fund held 104 positions and recorded net assets of $22.86 billion. The current expense ratio was not disclosed in the…

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pixel-shot/Shutterstock.comWith seven people in my house, controlling the clutter is a constant struggle. No matter how many boxes I take to the local thrift store, it feels like we always have an abundance of items spilling out of cabinets, closets, and shelves. The key to creating a decluttered home, as I’ve found, is not to get rid of everything we have. Instead, it is blocking the constant flow of goods coming in…

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Here are 5 important investing skills you must develop for successful long-term investing (typically 10+ years or more). Long-term investing, especially in equities through shares or mutual funds, has historically beaten inflation and created significant wealth for patient investors. However, success depends more on skills and behavior, not on market timing or chasing hot tips.1. patience and emotional discipline – Markets are volatile – corrections, downturns and euphoria are common. Indian equity markets (Nifty/Sensex) have delivered strong long-term returns despite several declines. Panic selling during downturns (for example, the COVID-19 crash or election instability) minimizes losses, while staying invested allows…

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