I’m sure you’ve heard the following financial advice: pay off debts, save an emergency fund, invest in stocks, contribute to a 401(k), contribute to an IRA, etc. But how do you know which to do when you don’t have enough money to do all of those things? And now that you’re saving at least 10% of your income, where should … Full Article
After evaluating your spending history and committing to tracking your spending, the next step is to create a surplus. By this I mean, find a way to spend less than you earn. This step must be taken even before you start saving for an emergency fund or start investing. Skipping this step is like trying to fill a bucket with … Full Article
Once you’re tracking your spending and saving money, it’s important to track your net worth. Your net worth is a measure of your financial health and indicates how close you are to financial independence. Net worth is simply all of your assets (things that have monetary value) minus your liabilities (money you owe to others). Basically, it’s a snapshot of your current financial worth, and is commonly how people measure their financial independence (or lack of)… Full Article
You may hear a lot of people talk about their credit score, and maybe even about wanting to improve them. Someone has probably advised you to “start building credit” at some point in your life. But why is it important, and what determines a credit score? Credit scores are basically your financial rating. It’s like your grade report for finances (and just when you thought you were done with school forever). Lenders, landlords, credit card companies, and insurance companies may pull your credit score… Full Article
Once you’ve thought about your “why” behind wanting to improve your financial position, it’s time to start taking action towards it. First things first: you need to evaluate your current spending habits. You can’t improve or achieve a goal if you don’t know where you’re at and where you’ve been. Tracking your spending is the #1 way you can start to improve your spending habits, because it shows you where your money is going and what you’re… Full Article