Personal Finance

Articles on Money Q&A about personal finances and how it affects and interacts with your money and finances every day.

5 Simple Ways to Save Money During the COVID19 Pandemic and Beyond

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The coronavirus pandemic has thrown most non-essential business operations and work schedules into disarray. Many companies have laid off their employees, and many are unsure of when they’ll receive their next paycheck.  Adopting new saving habits is a smart move during these uncertain times. Save money during the COVID19 is almost inevitable if you wish to get by.  While your finances may seem messed up at the moment, worry not. I have come up with five ways to help you free up some cash and rack up your savings. Don’t Stockpile Unnecessary Items As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, most people are racing to stores to buy just about everything – toilet paper, disinfectant, bleach, pasta – you name it. … Read more

Have an Extra $1,000 in Your Savings Account? Here Are 3 Ideas!

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Money Puzzle

Did you know that you’d only earn about $8 in interest if you put $1,000 in a savings account for 10 years? Where to invest 1000? The national average interest rate for savings accounts is a measly 0.08%, which is a drop in the bucket compared to the potential returns you could get if you invested that money instead of leaving it in a regular savings account. Of course, the next option – Certificate of Deposit – isn’t much better, with current rates hovering around 1-2% for 24-48 month terms ($40 in interest for a $1,000 CD at 24 months or $82 for the same amount at 48 months). Savings accounts are good for having easily accessible cash in case … Read more

Wismo Review – Budgeting and Expense Tracking Smartphone App

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In an ideal world, humans would be great at keeping track of their own expenses and savings or we would have robots and algorithms smart enough to autonomously manage all of our financial matters for us. Since neither of these ideal scenarios exists, it’s up to us to figure out the best solutions for managing our finances, tracking our expenses, calculating our budgets and figuring out how to avoid/overcome common personal finance problems like accumulating debt or saving money inefficiently. There are plenty of budgeting apps, robo-advisor platforms and other great fintech apps available for everyday consumers today, but few offer the same social experience as Wismo, the budgeting and expense tracking app, made for people seeking self-improvement and social … Read more

You’re Collecting Information You Are Not Using

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We all understand that companies collect information on our behaviors, our shopping patterns and the like. But we collect data about ourselves, too. The problem is that we’re not analyzing much of it. And we’re missing a big opportunity to improve our lives and our finances. A friend was recently asking me about Fitbit. Most of my friends know that I’m a huge fan of Fitbit, those little pedometers on steroids, that help you monitor the number of daily steps you take and things like calories burned, food consumption, weight, sleep patterns and other health statistics. I love the service and what it tells you about your health. My friend was curious about how it can tell if you got … Read more

Review of Zirtue – How to Lend and Borrow Money With Friends and Family

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Understanding the purpose of life insurance

In the past, sending money between family and friends could pose a challenge for many people. You either had to mail a check, complete a wire transfer, or wait to see them in person before delivering cash. Borrowing and lending would take at least a couple days, if not weeks to complete the transaction, assuming no issues arose along the way (e.g., check lost in the mail). Nowadays, money transfers are more cost-effective, secure and instantaneous than ever. While some payment apps may require you to wait a day or two for transferred funds to reach your bank account, the convenience of digital money transfers arguably outweighs any downsides. Of course, money transfer apps like Venmo or Google Pay aren’t … Read more

How Can You Qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness?

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Should You Take Out Private Student Loans for College?

The government-funded Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program launched in 2007, but despite high hopes for this program – which was designed to bring financial relief to thousands of Americans struggling with student loan debt – the results have been abysmal so far, with only 1,216 applicants achieving loan forgiveness as of September 2019. Compare that to the 100,000+ applicants who have been rejected by the program, whether due to ineligible employers (“public service” isn’t as clear-cut as you might expect), missed payments (or applying for forgiveness before the minimum payments threshold is met), ineligible loans (not all student loans qualify) or simply filling out the request form incorrectly. If you think you may qualify for the Public Service Loan … Read more