Looking for your first house is an exciting time. Whether you’re moving from your parent's place, going from an apartment into a home, or you’re newlyweds looking at your first property together as a couple, home-buying is thrilling. If you’re not prepared though, looking at homes can be overwhelming, disappointing, and discouraging. There are steps to take before you look, during the process of viewing homes, and while you put in your offer. All of these steps help to ensure that your home-buying experience goes as smoothly as … [Read more...] about Buying Your First Home? 5 Steps to Take to Get Ready
Should You Save For a House or Save For Retirement When You Have Student Loans?
The student loan debt bubble recently approached the $1.5 trillion mark, with few signs of slowing down. This problem isn’t isolated to recent college grads and 30-somethings, either. Parents and grandparents are on the hook for millions of loans both as current and former students themselves or co-signers of loans. Even more alarming is the fact that 40% of the 65+ year-old borrowers or co-signers are in default on their loans. The personal and societal consequences student loan debt, combined with the problem of people not saving enough … [Read more...] about Should You Save For a House or Save For Retirement When You Have Student Loans?
What Are American Depositary Receipts?
American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) are stock in foreign companies that are traded in the U.S., just as you would buy and sell stock in America, and are valued in U.S. currency, thereby also paying money in U.S. dollars. American Depositary Receipts represent the acquisition of American Depository Shares, otherwise known as ADSs. Both ADR and ADS are often used interchangeably. What Are American Depositary Receipts? An ADS shows that you own a piece of equity in a company outside the U.S. Therefore, the certificate supplies individuals in the … [Read more...] about What Are American Depositary Receipts?
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
**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. 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 … [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