People should think about several facets of planning beyond budgeting and paying bills to achieve true financial wellness. Financial planning involves covering current obligations, saving for the future, eliminating or minimizing debt, and creating a budget. While those aspects are essential, planning differs from overall financial wellness, which encompasses your entire economic life and uses planning tools as building blocks to get there. Here are four ways the two differ.
Author: Deb
Loan Repayment: What’s the Difference Between Principal and Interest?
People have two options when they want to buy something they can’t afford to purchase entirely with cash: borrow the money or save up the funds for later. While seeking out a loan is a viable choice, remember that debt has two distinct parts — the principal and interest.
3 Ways Practicing Delayed Gratification Might Help You Save Money
In the world of technology, where information is at your fingertips, and you can have pretty much anything delivered right to the door, it’s easy to get lost in the sea of instant gratification. But doing so can come at a high cost. Delaying gratification can help pay for things with cash rather than living beyond one’s means. Incorporating some delayed gratification practices might also mean the difference between whether or not you can even retire. Here are three ways the technique can help save you money.
3 Smart Ways To Pay Off Student Loans
In 2022, the national Chamber of Commerce released data concerning student loans indicating that the average balance on student loan debt hovered around $37,000. That amount could be daunting to any former student, and the obligation’s long-term nature can impact a person’s financial wealth. Paying down loans as soon as possible can positively affect an individual’s money situation. Here are three smart ways to rid yourself of student loan debt for good.
3 Reasons To Comparison-Shop Banks
Choosing where to keep money is a big decision. Luckily, technology has brought with it lots of competition benefitting you, the consumer. Banks can differ significantly in their offerings, services, and charges, so looking at several and comparing features becomes key. Similar to buying groceries, knick-knacks, and even cars, comparison shopping is crucial to obtaining the best value and features. Here are three reasons why choosing a bank this way is so important.
Investing on a Shoestring Budget
Investing remains one of the best ways to grow money. But when you’re living paycheck to paycheck, how do you start? The truth is, you don’t need a lot of money to start. Investing on a shoestring budget is entirely possible. Still, it’s important to eliminate as much debt as possible before you start. For example, if you’re paying out 10% in interest to a credit card company and only bringing in 6% on an investment, your wealth will shrink. Once you’ve eliminated those obligations, here are a few easy ways to start an investment journey.
How and Why to Diversify Investment Strategies
All the financial advice you ever received likely encouraged you to save money, whether for retirement, an emergency, or a rainy day. But sticking that money in a savings account won’t net you very much over the short or long haul, so what do you do? You need an investment strategy. The bottom line is that you want your funds to grow steadily and protect them as much as possible from dips in the financial market. A great way to do that is through diversification. This approach has you put your money in various types of investment vehicles so that when one part of the portfolio dips, the other parts keep the balance at least steady. At least, that’s the hope. Here are some strategies to consider.
Watch Out! 3 New Scams for 2023
Scammers will go to nefarious lengths to trick people out of money or sensitive information, which they might use to steal directly from their victims’ accounts. Sometimes these individuals assume a victim’s identity, spending their cash, taking out loans, and creating a tangled financial mess that can be difficult to unwind. The best way to avoid getting taken for a ride is to avoid the scam in the first place. But it’s hard to know what to look for with technology advancing and thieves becoming more creative. Look out for these three top ruses.
3 Best Budgeting Apps for Couples
Managing money on your own is challenging enough, but add another person to the mix, and it can get downright confusing. Still, if you have a partner and combine finances, there’s no better way to stay on the same financial track than to budget together. Planning where incomes go is the first step, but staying within those parameters will take cooperation from both people. Enter apps. Using applications you both can access is a great way to see where you stand financially at the push of a button. Here are three of the best to consider.
How To Transform Your Life Using Geoarbitrage
Where you live and the personal costs associated with a chosen location greatly impact daily life and your financial future. For example, living in California, where taxes are high and property prices are through the roof, might direct all your money toward owning a home and paying the government. On the other hand, you could move to Nevada, where state income tax costs zero and houses cost about half as much as they do in California — that’s geoarbitrage. Moving to optimize finances could be just the thing you need to transform your life. So, how do you do that?