Feed items
The Best Budgeting Tools Out There
Are you struggling to stay on your budget? Maybe it’s because you don’t have one in place yet. Or maybe, it’s because keeping track of expenses is just plain tough.
No matter the reason, there are plenty of amazing budgeting tools available these days, which can make the entire process easy to implement (and stick with). Some are for your smartphone, while others work best on your desktop.
Each of these tools has its own pros and cons, and will fit certain types of budgeters. Here are the top three that I most recommend, and why:
1. You Need a Budget (YNAB)
This is the tool that I use personally, which says a lot as I’m a bit of a passionate budgeter. It’s perfect for money geeks who like to get down into the nitty gritty of the family budget.
YNAB has a few great features, including:
Should You Be a Full-Time Employee or a Freelancer?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the rise of the gig economy is the industrial revolution of our time — and we are only at the beginning of the journey. Some one in three Americans already freelance in some capacity, in fact. This includes both those that use it as a side hustle to supplement the 9-to-5, as well as the full-time, self-employed worker.
Building an Emergency Fund
I’m sure that you’ve heard this before, but it bears repeating: when you’re getting your financial house in order, your first step should be to build up an emergency fund.
An emergency fund helps you get through financial rough patches in your life — broken washing machines, unexpected medical bills, and the like — without derailing the rest of your financial plan. The keys are to have this fund built up before disaster strikes and to save it for true emergencies.
How Being Unhealthy Can Impact Your Finances
You may not think about it, but your health can affect your finances… sometimes in ways you wouldn’t expect. There’s the immediate cost of unhealthy behaviors, such as buying cigarettes or fast food. Then there are the long-term expenses, such as medical care for preventable diseases. Medications, days off of work, increased health insurance premiums — the added costs are wide and far-reaching.
Curious how your lifestyle may be affecting your bank account? Let’s take a look at two leading unhealthy habits that cost you money: smoking and poor diet.
What Does TaxAct Have to Offer for 2017?
Tax season is upon as, and many are in the market for a preparation software to file their own tax returns. You may have heard of TaxAct before, as you filed in past years. In 2017, though, they’ve made quite a few changes to improve their software, mobile app, and support… ultimately giving you a better tax filing experience.
Here’s an overview of what TaxAct has to offer in 2017:
Everything You Need to Know About Renter’s Insurance
If you rent your home, you may be wondering what protection you have in the event of vandalism or a natural disaster. Renter’s insurance is designed to provide financial coverage for renters, since homeowner’s insurance and landlord’s insurance typically don’t cover things like a tenant’s personal property.
Despite this, only 37% of renters currently have renter’s insurance. Let’s take a look at the details of renter’s insurance, and discuss why you need it if you are currently renting.
Things to Consider When Applying for a Credit Card
Whether you’re applying for your first credit card or your tenth, there are key factors you should always consider. These include things like your credit score, income, and what you want out of a credit card.
Your Creditworthiness
The first thing to consider when applying for a credit card is your creditworthiness. Creditworthiness is a lender’s judgment on your ability to pay back money that you borrow. The better you rank, the wider range of credit cards you’ll be able to get.
As you can imagine, your credit score plays a major factor in determining your creditworthiness. So, it’s important to know your most current score when applying for a new card. You can find out your credit score in a number of ways, including:
Rebuilding Your Savings After An Emergency Expense
Few of us are strangers to unexpected expenses. A financial emergency can occur at any given time, no matter how diligent and prepared you think you’ve been. Whether it’s a sudden job loss, large medical expense, or major home repair, life throws obstacles at us that sometimes come at a large cost.
This is why those in the personal finance realm preach heavily on the importance of an emergency fund. This money stash can help you when an unplanned expense pops up, without your having to dip into things like retirement accounts or lines of credit. If you prepare and have an emergency fund ready, it can lessen the pinch of these sudden bills.
So, what if you’ve spent a great deal of money on a financial emergency recently, pulling from (or even depleting) your cash stores? Here’s what you can do to quickly and effectively rebuild your savings:
How to Prepare to Shift Into a New Career
Whether you’re driven by practicality or passion, the reality is that for many of us, career change is “the new normal.” This trend is largely due to a potent combination of a volatile employment landscape, and an increasing number of innovative ways that we can strike a new balance between work and life. All of this combined means that more of us than ever will switch careers during our working lifetimes.
As a coach, I have worked with dozens of clients who are seeking positive change in their careers. But the fact that career change is becoming more common on a global scale doesn’t necessarily mean it’s any easier for individuals going through this transition. Moving from a tired day job — even to something that fits our passion more closely — is an exciting, but daunting, challenge.
You Can Only Spend Each Dollar Once
Over the weekend, I sat down to talk a bit about money with our oldest son. He receives a decent monthly allowance; he got some gift money for his birthday back in October, and he also makes money from random jobs like pet sitting, etc. Yet, he was broke… and more importantly, he wasn’t sure how it happened.
Obviously, the root cause was that he had spent all of his money, but he couldn’t figure out how or why it was all gone. The culprit? Mental accounting.
Related: 7 Tools for Tracking Your Money
Facebook
Become a fan
Twitter
Follow us
RSS
Subscribe