Articles Index
Top Five Money Mistakes College Students Make
College students face many hard financial decisions. As a young adult they need to figure out how to pay for college, earn some spending money, and still get a good education. This is a tall order for anyone, so it’s no wonder that many college students end up making some costly money mistakes.
How Not to Pay Off Debt
Getting out of debt is a major financial goal for many people. While it’s important to reduce your debt load and try to begin creating wealth it’s also important that you take the right steps toward repaying your debt. In fact, there are a few common methods people use to help them get out of debt that can end up doing even more harm than good. Here are a few things you may want to think twice about in your quest to become debt free.
How to Calculate Your Debt to Income Ratio
Two major components of tracking how you’re doing financially can be broken down into your income and debt levels. ¬Obviously, you’d like to have more income coming in than debt payments going out, but even if you are making more money than you owe, how can you tell if that’s good enough?
Everything You Need to Know About Your FICO Credit Score
You may have heard that your credit score is important, but what is a FICO score? FICO is short for Fair Isaac and Co. The Fair Isaac Company developed custom software back in the 1980s that helped other companies determine a credit risk based on a number derived from a person’s credit history. This number soon became a standard that was adopted by the three main credit bureaus: Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. The FICO score ranges between 300 and 850.
Comparing Term, Universal, Variable, and Whole Life Insurance Policies
Navigating the life insurance landscape can be tricky. You are sure to encounter a number of different policies and terms such as whole life, term life, cash value, variable life, and much more. How can you make sense of all the different types of policies and know that you’re making the best choice?
Make Saving Automatic
Do you have a savings account yet find it difficult to find money to deposit into it? This isn’t an uncommon problem and most people find it hard to save.
Earn More Interest at Online Banks - Online Savings Accounts Offer Many Benefits
When the markets turn volatile, people tend to seek out safer places to stash their cash. Naturally, some have turned towards the high-yield savings accounts of online banks. The appeal of these banks is clear -- many of them offer interest rates that are far higher than traditional brick and mortar banks.
Save Money on Groceries - Grocery Shopping Tips
Have you been shocked by your grocery shopping bills recently? You’re not alone. Inflation always has, and always will be around, but it is affecting food prices more than others. Most families find that when creating a budget, more effort is being made trying to save money on gas and groceries. Here are some tips that can help you keep your grocery budget under control.
Money Tips for Singles - Saving Money When You’re Single
Being single presents some unique financial planning challenges. Whether you’re single by choice, or as a result of a recent breakup or divorce, there are a few things you need to keep in mind when managing money just for yourself. Since you’re the only one earning income and still have bills to pay, you need to be sure that you’re making the most of what you have since you don’t have someone else to fall back on.
How to Deal With a Financial Emergency – Coping With a Financial Crisis
Have you just been blindsided by an unexpected financial emergency and don’t know what to do? Whether it’s a job loss, medical expenses, or an emergency home repair, an unexpected change in your financial situation can be incredibly stressful. The bills still need to be paid, the utilities need to stay on, and you need to put food on the table, so how should you cope with a financial crisis?
Determining if You Can Afford to Stay Home with Your Kids
One of the big questions many new parents are faced with has to do with deciding whether or not one of the parents should stay home with the child. Obviously, if you’re accustomed to living on dual incomes, the thought of giving up an income may sound like a daunting task. Even so, if you sit down and crunch the numbers, you may find that it might be more doable than you thought.
How to Contact the IRS by Phone, Internet, Mail, or Fax
Have questions on your tax return, refund status, or need help? The IRS makes itself quite accessible. You don’t have to fear the IRS. While nobody wants to talk to them about an audit, they are there to help you with your taxes.
Using the Right Federal Income Tax Return Form
Taxes are one of the certainties in life, and the IRS doesn’t make filing a tax return the easiest thing in the world. For individuals, there are a number of variants for the same form. You have form 1040, 1040A, and even 1040EZ.
Financial Planning Considerations With a Special Needs Child
Everyone has financial needs, but if you’re the parent or guardian of a child with special needs, some unique considerations need to be made. There are a number of legal, medical, and financial issues you should plan for.
Should Teens and College Students Have Credit Cards?
Credit card debt is a major problem, and every year millions of people find themselves in over their head. Interest rates rise, payments get missed, and credit scores are trashed. While credit card debt can be financially devastating, credit plays an important role in our lives.
Managing Money - Budget Basics
A budget is nothing more than a breakdown and plan of how much money you have coming in and where it goes. Could you imagine a business becoming successful if it didn’t keep track of its income and expenses? The same holds true when it comes to your personal finances. If you don’t know how much money you have coming in and where it goes, your road to financial success will be a difficult one.
Financial Considerations When Changing Jobs
Whether it’s a planned job change or a sudden job loss, planning ahead can save you from heading into a financial disaster. Changing jobs or your entire career is an exciting, and possibly frightening journey. During this transition, it can be easy to overlook some basic financial issues that can end up costing you.
Deciding Wheather or Not You Should Itemize Your Deductions
When it comes to reducing your tax burden, itemizing deductions may be the way to go. The standard deduction is certainly easier, and might be a better option if you have a simple tax situation or don’t own a home, but if you determine that itemizing is right for you, it could lead to substantial savings.
Investment Considerations in a Bear Market
The idea of investing is to make your money grow, but there are times when the stock market doesn’t want cooperate. Regular market fluctuations are common and expected, but extended periods of decline can strike fear in even seasoned investors. These bear markets can last months or even years. So, what should you do when faced with a bear market?
How to Get Your Free Credit Reports
In 2004, an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act was made that states that you can obtain a free copy of your credit report from each of the three main credit reporting bureaus once every 12 months. Your credit report contains the following information:
Financial Aid Basics
While college may be expensive, thankfully there are numerous sources of financial aid available to ease the pain. Financial aid comes in two forms: money that is gifted, such as grants and scholarships, and money that is borrowed.
All About 529 Plans
Section 529 plans are a relatively new college savings vehicle that can make saving for college even easier.
Types of Individual Health Insurance Policies - Fee-for-Service, HMOs, and PPOs
If you are self-employed, or otherwise find yourself in a situation where you need to obtain your own health insurance coverage, the choices available to you can be confusing. You'll be sifting through terms like HMO, PPO, premiums, co-pay and deductibles, which can be intimidating if you don't know what you're looking at.
What is a 401(k) Plan?
Don’t let the cryptic name of the plan confuse you, these plans are actually fairly easy to understand. A 401(k) is a retirement plan offered by some employers in the United States. The plan received the name from the section of Internal Revenue Code it was named after.
Ways to Improve Your Credit Score
Your credit score is a very important number that lenders use in order to determine whether or not to extend credit to you, and what the interest rate and terms of the credit or loan are.