Are you getting the best rate of return on investment? Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine annually discusses ways to boost your investment yield in their latest issue. I have to say that I am always pretty disappointed in their recommendations. I love the magazine, but I didn't really care for a list of mutual funds and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). But, I wanted concrete ideas on how to earn a 10% annual rate of return on my investments. US Treasuries are earning less than 1% and money market funds are not fairing much better. … [Read more...] about Ten Ways to Earn a 10% Rate of Return on Your Investments
Review of Cozy: Free Property Management Software
Although owning and renting out properties can be a lucrative opportunity, being a landlord can be incredibly challenging. Dealing with unexpected property maintenance problems, unpredictable tenants, and the occasional prolonged vacancy are the banes of many landlords’ existences. But, these issues shouldn’t get in the way of growing your rental income as a property owner. Fortunately, there’s an easy way to avoid these common mistakes made by new landlords, and that's the Cozy app. Launched in 2012, Cozy has become the premier app for … [Read more...] about Review of Cozy: Free Property Management Software
4 Simple Tips to Help You Pay Cash for Your Next Family Vacation
Traveling can be incredibly expensive, especially if it’s a family vacation involving more than a short road trip to the nearest campground. A major problem with traveling expenses is that they are not consistent. Depending on the season, gas prices, and other related factors, you could vastly underestimate or overestimate your projected expenses for your next vacation if you don’t plan carefully. In order to stretch your travel budget without sacrificing any fun, there are several useful strategies you should incorporate into your … [Read more...] about 4 Simple Tips to Help You Pay Cash for Your Next Family Vacation
Drop App Review – Earn Cash Back on Your Everyday Purchases
There are plenty of personal finance apps and browser extensions designed to help consumers save more money. However, few apps have the seamless user experience and popularity of Drop. Drop is a free savings app with more than one million users who have earned over one billion points and redeemed over $3 million worth of rewards. This flexible, intelligent mobile app functions as a consumer’s wallet-saver. By linking your credit or debit card to your Drop account, you can earn points and redeem them for rewards within a few days of … [Read more...] about Drop App Review – Earn Cash Back on Your Everyday Purchases
The 7 Wonders of the Personal Finance World
When it comes to money management, there’s so much more to the world of personal finance than just budgeting and saving. Almost everyone knows about the importance of maintaining a budget and spending less than you earn. But, there are many other benefits of personal financial literacy that countless people miss out on. If spending more time on your hobbies, dining out, living without financial stress, or traveling, perhaps to see the seven natural wonders of the world, are on your bucket list, then you won’t want to miss these seven wonders … [Read more...] about The 7 Wonders of the Personal Finance World
ProActive Digital Envelope App Review – The Simple Budgeting App
Have you wanted to try the cash-only budget method, but you’ve held back because of the impracticality of using only cash in this digital age? If so, then a new app called ProActive Digital Envelope might be the solution you’ve been waiting for. The way ProActive works is fairly simple. You transfer funds into your ProActive account whenever you get paid and determine how those funds should be allocated into different expense categories before you ever make a purchase. When you use your ProActive card at checkout, the amount you spend is … [Read more...] about ProActive Digital Envelope App Review – The Simple Budgeting App
Top 5 Money Moves to Make Now in the New Year
The end of the year is a time to reflect on only the previous year but also the new year to come. Now that we have all survived the year-end Apocalypse, the holiday season's frenzy and the new year is upon us, now is the perfect time to not only take stock of where you want to go in the next year but also where you should take your finances as well. There are money moves to make now. The new year is an excellent time to look at your total financial picture and consider making changes to your strategy. There are several key financial … [Read more...] about Top 5 Money Moves to Make Now in the New Year
7 Steps to Paying Off Your Credit Card Debt in 2019
The following is a guest post from Conor Richardson, CPA is the author of MILLENNIAL MONEY MAKEOVER: Escape Debt, Save for Your Future, and Live the Rich Life and founder of MillennialMoneyMakeover.com, where he helps Millennials master essential money matters. If you'd like to submit a guest post to Money Q&A, check out our guest posting guidelines. Americans love credit card debt. The heady elixir of easy money is hard to resist. But as you enter into the New Year, carrying over a credit card balance from the previous year can … [Read more...] about 7 Steps to Paying Off Your Credit Card Debt in 2019
How to Actually Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions This Year
I'm horrible at keeping my New Year's resolutions year in and year out. They typically fall by the wayside a few weeks into the new year. I don't mean to give up on them so soon. Are you the same way? Do you know how to keep your New Years resolution this year? I continue to make the same mistakes when designing my New Year's Resolutions year after year, but I am bound and determined to make this year different than the past few. Did You Make Too Many New Year’s Resolutions? Did you make too many New Year’s Resolutions? Do you make several … [Read more...] about
The Importance of Adding Fun Money to Your Budget
The following is a guest post from Choncé, a budgeting guru, who chronicles her journey with balancing motherhood, a home-based business, and finances on her blog, My Debt Epiphany. If you'd like to submit a guest post to Money Q&A, be sure to check out our guest posting guidelines. In 2015, I made a horrible mistake. I chose to cut fun and entertainment money out of my budget. I was feeling overwhelmed with my debt. I owed $30,000 between my student loans and my car loan. My future husband (boyfriend at the time) owed … [Read more...] about The Importance of Adding Fun Money to Your Budget
Military Blended Retirement System (BRS) Deadline Is December 31st, 2018! #BRSBlitz
Note - The following post is part of a military personal finance bloggers #BRSBlitz education campaign and sponsored by USAA. All opinions are my own. Time is running out for members of the military to choose whether or not they want to opt into the new Blended Retirement System (BRS). In fact, you only have until midnight TOMORROW - December 31st, 2018 to choose the BRS over the current military retirement plan, which is called the High-3 Retirement Plan. The government created and officially started automatically enrolling new … [Read more...] about Military Blended Retirement System (BRS) Deadline Is December 31st, 2018! #BRSBlitz