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7 Tactics for a Financially Sound Year
It’s official: The New Year is here. What better time to give your finances a fresh start? Maybe you’d like to make this year the year you pay off that high-interest credit card debt or the year that you finally buy a home or bulk up your emergency fund. Maybe you’d just like create a better budget or get your finances a little more organized. Whatever your goal, you... -
Cut These Expenses and Watch Your Savings Grow
Want to make this a great year for your finances? The new year is a great time to set some money-related goals, whether you’d like to pay off your high interest credit card debt, beef up your emergency fund, or save up for a big purchase like a vacation or a down payment on a house. Of course, whatever your goal is, you’ll need to free up some extra... -
Not-So-Frugal Mistakes that Frugal People Make
Not-So-Frugal Mistakes that Frugal People Make A new year is just around the corner, and for a lot of folks that means a fresh start on finances: A chance to pay down credit card debt, save money, and create a budget. And if you’re planning on making 2016 the year of living frugally it’s important to make sure that your attempts to save money and scale back spending don’t... -
8 Spending Habits that Can Cost You
You’re not a big spender. You don’t drive a fancy car. Your rent/mortgage payments aren’t astronomical. In fact, you consider yourself to be fairly frugal. You should have no problem saving money. But somehow, all that extra cash you should have seems to disappear by the end of the month. Why? Where does it go? And how does it get there? Is there some kind of financial Bermuda Triangle... -
6 Ways to Avoid Bank Fees
Do bank fees have you at a breaking point? From ATM fees to overdraft protection to fees for online bill pay and maintenance (whatever that means, exactly), it seems like most banks today are more interested in taking your money than helping you manage it safely. But the good news is that, if you’re willing to put in a little time and effort, you can find ways to sidestep... -
How To Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck
When you’re living paycheck-to-paycheck, few things are as stressful as the last day or two before your next payday: Your bank account is running on empty – and so is your gas tank. You’ve got a stack of bills waiting to be paid, and your refrigerator is looking pretty bare. And when payday finally comes, you find that by the time you fill the car, pay the bills, and... -
What is APR? CRA? FICO? A Guide to Common Credit Acronyms
As someone who works in finance and gives debt advice for a living, I’ve gotten used to all of the acronyms that tend to go along with discussions about debt and credit cards. And I think that, as a result, I sometimes lose sight of just how confusing a lot of these terms can be to everyday people. That’s why I decided to kick off this month with a... -
Predatory Lending Scams and Fast Cash Gimmicks to Avoid
Predatory Lending: Scams and Fast Cash Gimmicks to Avoid It’s a sad fact that there’s always someone out there looking to take advantage of folks experiencing money woes or debt problems. From short-term loans with astronomical interest rates to less-than-legit prepaid credit card offers, there’s no shortage of predators out there, just waiting to take advantage of people in tough financial circumstances. These scams and tricks promise financial solutions and... -
Should You Take on Debt? How to Decide
Should You Take on Debt? How to Decide It might surprise you to know that I’m not 100 percent anti-debt. As someone who has made a career out of giving debt advice, I know that debt problems can be devastating – especially when there’s high-interest credit card debt involved. But I also understand that, in some cases, debt is hard to avoid. That’s why, to me, debt management isn’t... -
Credit Card Balance Transfer Pros and Cons
If you’re carrying a substantial amount of credit card debt, there’s a good chance that you’ve probably at least considered using a credit card balance transfer to pay off credit card debt that have high interest rates. And with good reason: With super-low interest rates, balance transfer offers can seem like a ray of hope in an otherwise bleak debt situation. But are credit card balance transfers a good...