Many of us are taught that the creation of financial wealth and the development of a strong moral compass cannot go hand in hand. Despite this prevalent belief in today’s society, it’s the farthest thing from the truth. According to Stephen Covey in his landmark The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, character and effectiveness… Read More
Top 5 Personal Finance Apps (as reported by Rebecca Sheppard of bezinga.com)
The winter weather doesn’t have to stop you from working on a budget. One of the key tricks to staying on top of personal finance is being aware of precisely how much money is coming in and how much and where money is going out. In this technological age, personal finance apps have come to… Read More
7 Easy Ways to Raise Your Credit Score This Year (as reported by Mikey Rox of wisebread.com)
So what if the first of the year has already come and gone? It’s never too late to establish yearly money goals for yourself. If your credit score needs work (or if you’ve been denied credit), there’s no time like the present to raise your personal FICO score. Obviously, you’re not going to improve a… Read More
Obama’s About-Face on 529 Plans Could Save the Middle Class a Bundle (as reported by Amey Stone, the Fiscal Times)
In his State of the Union speech last Tuesday, President Obama proposed tax breaks for college saving accounts known as 529 plans. A week later, that major policy proposal is dead, dropped by the administration in the face of opposition from Republicans and Democrats alike, as well as state treasurers, financial firms, educational institutions and… Read More
You Have to Invest (as reported by William Cowie on www.getrichslowly.org)
Investing should be a no brainer for Americans of any age. It is the best way to grow your wealth over the course of your lifetime. But the combination of a recent market collapse and a lack of knowledge, especially among the youngest professionals, have led to a much lower percentage of people who invest… Read More
Finance Lessons for the New Year (as reported by Todd Wasserman on www.mashable.com)
Personal finances are not sexy. And for most young people just starting their professional lives, there are plenty of other priorities to keep them occupied. But the sooner you start to understand how you’re money is working for you, the better chance you have of setting yourself up for a successful future. To kick of… Read More
Millenial Money Tips (as reported by Yohana Desta on www.mashable.com)
Young people today are coming of age in a difficult environment. Those in their 20s graduated from college and joined a working world that was still struggling to recover from one of the worst financial breakdowns of all time. And it can be hard for many just to find solid work in the field of… Read More
The Secret to Dividend Investing (as reported by Andres Cardenal on money.cnn.com)
New investors are confronted with a lot of different tips and theories and strategies for choosing the right investments. One oft-heard suggestion is to invest in dividend paying stocks, stocks of publicly traded companies that return some of their profits to shareholders in the form of dividends. And the reasoning behind this strategy is deeper… Read More
Nothing Saved for Retirement (as reported by Nancy Hellmick on www.usatoday.com)
Bankrate.com, a personal finance website, recently surveyed over one thousand adults across a variety of ages and found some disturbing information. Over a third of them, fully 36%, had nothing saved for retirement. That’s bad enough, but when you break it down into the different age groups, it gets worse. 14% of people 65 and… Read More
Setting a Budget (as reported by Dylan Matthews on www.vox.com)
Setting a budget can be a great way to get a handle on your finances. It helps you determine what you want to spend your money on, and helps you cut costs by identifying how much money you can afford to spend in all areas of your life. But how do you set an effective… Read More