Money Tips Network

Frugality is simply seeking out the most effective use of your money and other resources, allowing you to enjoy life now while also preparing for a wonderful future. It’s like thinning out the garden of life — you’re removing the weeds and unhealthy plants so that the healthy plants can really thrive and bear abundant fruit.

Unfortunately, frugality can look a lot like deprivation. Frugality inherently means figuring out which things aren’t providing much value to you and saying no to them, but that’s often incorrectly translated into saying no to the things that bring us great pleasure in life.

Higher education in the United States has become very expensive. One of the main reasons is deep state budget cuts, which place a heavier financial weight on students. On a typical college or university bill, you’ll find tuition, room and board (unless you’re living off-campus) and a list of extra fees. And, this year, you might find another charge — the extra college COVID fee.

Today’s reader mailbag discusses credit cards, from getting your maximum cashback value and the basics of annual percentage rate.

1. APR vs. APY
2. Getting maximum Amazon rewards value
3. What are finance charges on a credit card?
4. Are Visa/Mastercard debit cards safe?
5. Which credit card debt should I tackle first?
6. How to destroy credit cards

Jobs numbers are improving, and the stock market is doing well, but millions of Americans are still in need of assistance. Federal unemployment benefits expired a few weeks ago. These benefits provided people with an extra $600 a week to help get them through the pandemic. And as work on a new relief bill has stalled, Democrats and Republicans remain far apart on a variety of issues.

The August recess means new legislation isn’t likely until sometime in September, at the earliest. Not wanting to wait, President Trump issued a series of executive orders, including one that would encourage businesses to stop collecting payroll taxes.

[Read: Biden’s Economic Plan, Explained]

A frequent reader of The Simple Dollar named Jim recently shared a really thought-provoking question about building a home:

A recent question about LED bulbs made me wonder — if you were buying a new house, or building it, what materials or features would you include “from the ground up” to maximize saving money? LED light bulbs, solar panels (depending on location), presence of ceiling fans in every room, efficient washer/dryer — what else would you add?

First of all, we need to make some assumptions about the question.

You want to know which are the best VA refinance rates and loans, so let’s get straight to it. The most overall affordable VA refinance rates are from Bank of America, which we explore more fully in this post. We also look at the best VA customer service for VA refinance rates (Navy Federal Credit […]

The post Best VA Refinance Rates and Loans appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

On August 10, a derecho blew through a large band of the Midwest. Stretching across central Iowa, northern Illinois, and portions of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana, this “derecho” was a megastorm, featuring 80+ miles per hour sustained winds and gusts up to and over 130 miles per hour.

Unfortunately, my home was directly in the line of the worst part of this storm. While our home did not receive too much direct damage, many homes, apartments and businesses near us — including our neighbors — received significant damage, with some homes suffering a total loss. Coupled with the damage was a lack of electricity for several days, which meant dealing with refrigerated and frozen food loss and a severe reduction in food preparation options, among other concerns.

Over the years, we’ve done lots of things to prepare for various kinds of natural disasters. We learned pretty quickly that some things did not help, while other things were extremely helpful.

Back in June, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed that the Civil Rights Act applies to sexual orientation. Moving forward, Americans don’t have to worry about losing their jobs for being who they are. However, the ruling didn’t address other areas of prejudice — including the discrimination LGBTQ homebuyers face in the mortgage industry.

“There are more than 35 states where it is perfectly legal for a bank or credit union officer to say, ‘We do not loan money to your kind,’” says Justin Nelson, Co-Founder and President of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce. According to a study based on two decades of mortgage data from Iowa State Univerity’s Ivy College of Business, same-sex couples are 73% more likely to be denied a mortgage. And those who are approved are charged noticeably higher fees.

As a father of three children, I find it very important to support them in a variety of different ways. One of the most important subjects I feel my kids need to know, they might not learn in the classroom — either online or in person. Teaching my kids about credit and general financial education will help them make their own important financial decisions in the future, which is something that I didn’t have.  Here’s why you should teach your kids about credit, what exactly it is and how to start those conversations early enough that they have the time to learn and ask more questions.

Why teach your kids about credit?

When I first became an adult, I really didn’t understand the impact that credit would have on my life. I didn’t understand the value of a good credit score or how to build it.