September 2019

Top 5 Saving Rules to Use Every Day and Increase Your Net Worth

Dave Ramsey’s Baby Step One - $1,000 Emergency Fund In The Bank

Budgeting your money each month might not be something that you look forward to, but it is one of the most important things you can do to maintain financial independence. The more you know about the amount of money that you have coming into your bank accounts each month, and the amount of cash that you have going out, the easier it is to avoid over-spending and getting yourself into problems. There are some saving rules you need to follow. Top 5 Saving Rules The good news is that if you dread the idea of saving, there are some quick steps you can take to make your budgeting experience more sleek and streamlined. Today, we’ve put together a list of … Read more

Pros and Cons of Paying Off Your Mortgage Early

by Hank Coleman

Understanding The Types Of Mortgages Available To Save You Money

One of the most significant financial events in an adult’s life is the moment when they pay off the mortgage on their home. It’s something we spend decades preparing for by faithfully making our payments on time and in full, month after month until the home finally belongs to us. As of 2017, 34% of Americans had 100% equity in their homes, which means they either paid off the mortgage or bought their homes outright and never had a mortgage loan in the first place. If you’d like to join the mortgage-free club in the future, there are many reasons why you might (and might not) want to pay off that mortgage loan early if you have the means to … Read more

Long Game Review – How to Turn Saving Into a Game

by Hank Coleman

Americans are not very good about saving money, as the latest statistics from a Bankrate survey suggest. 19% of Americans don’t save anything, 21% of Americans save 5% or less of their annual income, and 25% only save about 6-10% of their annual income. Yikes! Combine these gloomy stats with the fact that about 40% of Americans retire with less than $10,000 saved up and a financial disaster is surely waiting to happen. Most people know how important it is to save money for unexpected expenses and long-term goals like retirement, so why are so many Americans still living at their means instead of below them? There could be many possible explanations. Money is tight, income-boosting opportunities are scarce, an … Read more

10 Things You Didn’t Know Bad Credit Affects

by Hank Coleman

You know you should improve your credit score. You hear over and over again that having bad credit can affect your interest rates on credit cards and loans, but if you think those are the only things poor credit affects, think again. 10 Things Bad Credit Affects 1. Your Mental Health Did you know that psychological and social epidemiological research has linked household debt to higher instances of depression, greater feelings of stress, lower quality health, and higher blood pressure? This may sound obvious, but the connection between debt, poor credit, and poor mental health is oftentimes ignored in favor of pretending the problem will magically go away on its own. Having high levels of debt and a poor credit … Read more

Can Your Credit Score Affect Your Dating Life?

by Hank Coleman

How Your Bad Credit Can Affect Your Love Life

Even if you’re single, your personal credit score matters to other people beyond just your landlord and lenders. In fact, a new survey from Discover Financial Services and Match Media Group (parent company of the Tinder dating app) found that 69% of the 2,000 people surveyed agreed that financial responsibility is an extremely important quality to them when it comes to finding a romantic partner. Surprisingly, financial responsibility ranked higher than a sense of humor (67%), attractiveness (51%), and ambition (50%). What does this mean for your dating life? If you have a good credit score, then perhaps that is one detail worth mentioning at some point in the dating phase. But, on the first date, it might be a bit … Read more

Could Social Media Be Ruining Your Finances?

by Jennifer Davies

Did you know that there are over 3.2billion daily active social media users? Or that we spend an average of 2 hours and 22 minutes browsing through our favorite social media channels? When you take these stats into account, it’s easy to see just how powerful these platforms can be, and businesses have certainly caught onto that trend. With 73% of all marketers believing that their social media marketing efforts have been somewhat or very effective for their business, studies are suggesting that social media could be one of the key influencers on how we spend our finances. Studies also suggest that more and more of us are ruining our financial situations thanks to the influence of social media – … Read more