Your personal saving rate is the percentage of your income each month that you are able to save. If you earn $2,000 and you spend $1,500, than your saving rate is 25%. You are saving 25% of your money each month. Personal finance experts will tell you that increasing your saving rate is the key… Read More
Free Tools to Help You Manage Your Investments (as reported by Drew Housman on www.thesimpledollar.com)
In order to grow your wealth over time, you need to invest some percentage, however small, of your income. And you have a number of options for doing so – an employer-sponsored retirement account, a personal IRA, ETFs, mutual funds, stocks, bonds, etc. Many people will choose to have an experienced financial advisor manage their… Read More
Asking for More Money (as reported by Kathryn Vasel on money.cnn.com)
Do you deserve a raise? Most of us, when asked that question, will answer in the affirmative. “Of course I do,” you think to yourself. But have you tried asking for one? Too many people suffer in silence, worried that simply asking for a raise will draw unwanted negative attention. But the truth is, you… Read More
Bringing Down Your Credit Score (as reported on John Ulzheimer on www.thesimpledollar.com)
If you know anything about how credit cards work, you know that paying off your balance in full by the due date each month is key to managing debt and keeping your credit score high. However, many of us are not aware that there are other things you could be doing that will negatively impact… Read More
Building a Credit History (as reported on blog.mint.com)
When it comes to credit, an individual can either have good credit, or bad credit. Right? Actually, there is a third option, which is often the least understood. And that’s having no credit at all. Having no credit, in some circumstances, is just as bad as having bad credit. That’s because lenders use your credit… Read More
Financial Implications of Divorce (as reported by James Brewer on www.forbes.com)
Though we don’t like to think about it too much, divorce is a possibility with any marriage. And while there are a slew of things to worry about if and when you have to go through a divorce, there are definite financial implications to consider as well. Sometimes a couple will try to make things… Read More
Do You Have Too Much Cash? (as reported by Maurie Backman on money.cnn.com)
You may be surprised to hear it, but there is such a thing as too much cash. Now let me backtrack for a second, because most of you are already sounding the alarms on this post. The keyword in that first sentence is “cash”. Notice I didn’t say money. Cash, as opposed to investments, doesn’t… Read More
Student Loan Refinancing Options (as reported by J. D. Roth on www.getrichslowly.org)
There are many reasons why someone might decide to refinance their student loans: To move to a lower interest rate To consolidate multiple loans into one To find a better student loan servicer But for many people, this means leaving the “relative comfort” of the loans provided by the federal government and their contractors and… Read More
16th National MoneyPOWER Conference
NEW YORK, N.Y. – On Tuesday, November 6, middle and high school educators will attend W!se’s 16th National MoneyPOWER Conference for Financial Literacy in New York City. Hosted by Citi at its World Headquarters, the Conference will feature experts in finance and education, with a focus on strengthening teachers’ knowledge of personal finance and providing instructional… Read More
Are You Ready to Buy a Home? (as reported by Zina Kumok on blog.mint.com)
Buying a home is a big deal. And the combination of high student loan debt and the increasing cost of real estate in the US is making home buying even more difficult than it has been in the past. But there are still some things you can ask yourself to know whether or not you… Read More