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The beginning of a new year is a time many people use to take a fresh look at their physical health, evaluate how well they kept to their fitness goals last year, and either renew them or take a different approach. The same process should apply to financial health.
Looking at the good, bad, and everything in between on our financial ‘report cards’ can provide useful insights about what we’ve got right and what we need to work on. While most people have a fairly good grasp on what constitutes physical wellness, there are few consensus of the definition of financial well being.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a report defining financial well being as: “a state of being wherein a person can fully meet current and ongoing financial obligations, can feel secure in their financial future, and is able to make choices that allow them to enjoy life.” The Bureau settled on this definition after collecting research from both consumer surveys and financial experts, but it didn’t end there. They also took it one step further and released a testing tool composed of 10 key questions based on this definition. [ continue reading… ]
We all end up in situations where we have unexpected expenses. This subject is especially poignant for me this year because my husband asked for a divorce back in May, and that resulted in some major costs that I wasn’t expecting.
I was fortunate in many ways, considering the situation. My ex wasn’t interested in fighting over resources. Instead, he just wanted things to move as smoothly as possible. All he wanted was some help setting up his own living situation and asked nothing beyond that. I ended up moving across the country, which was the biggest expense and one I was able to handle.
As I thought about how I made it through the divorce with my finances intact, I realized that I used three different strategies to handle my unexpected expenses. Let me share them with you today and hopefully it’ll help you: [ continue reading… ]
My method for setting resolutions has changed over the years.
At first, I used to make lists of things I wanted to accomplish throughout the year. Then, as I realized I could rarely get through my laundry list, I began narrowing things down. I’d pickone big goal to work on for the whole year in different areas of my life, which worked really well.
I liked setting one big financial goal (such as working up to maxing out my Roth IRA or refinancing the house) for each area of my life and then spending the whole year working on it.
Last year, I didn’t set any New Year’s resolutions. Reeling from my divorce and my second cross-country move in as many years, I used the year to explore and figure out what I wanted from life. I wanted to try new things, and evaluate what to keep and what to shed.
In personal finance, there are two key tenets to building wealth: spending less and earning more. In theory these concepts may seem rudimentary but in reality they can be complex things to maneuver. If they were easy, many of us would be in a better position financially and there would be less problems related to money.
So how can you implement these concepts into your life and save and earn more money? Use these six money moves to get started.
The idea of retiring early and living on a beach somewhere sounds like a dream to many people. And for most, it may be a harder-to-reach goal than they realized. According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, 57% of workers have less than $25,000 saved up for retirement when they estimate that they’ll need $500,000. Being prepared for retirement can seem like a world away, let alone early retirement. However, retiring early is definitely possible.
More and more people are striving to retire early. Why? Simply put: time. Retiring early gives you the ability to spend more time with the people you love and do things that excite you. It isn’t easy but it can be done. You have to start preparing now in order to do that. Here’s how: [ continue reading… ]
April 15th may well possibly be the most dreaded day in America. It is otherwise known as Tax Day. Many of us often go into a mad scramble the weeks or even days leading up to April 15th, trying to collect tax documents and getting all our questions answered. It’s a vicious cycle that seems to happen every year.
Do you want to change that? Then start early this year.
It’s not too early to start thinking about tax day even though April is still a few months away. Getting a head start now will help relieve the stress you go through every year trying to file your taxes and actually make it quite simple. There are plenty to things you can do now to prep. Consider these 5 action items to help you prepare for tax season: [ continue reading… ]
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