Personal Finance
Dig into the big picture with these personal finance topics for a holistic look at your money and relationship for growing your wealth.
Watch Your Money Grow
Starting a budget is like planting a seed for a money tree, but you’d better know something about gardening if you expect to see it grow. Do you know what to do if there’s an income drought? How to sidestep expense pests? What works best as financial fertilizer?
We took the metaphor too far with the fertilizer bit, didn’t we? It happens.
Build stronger budgeting roots with better spending and savings habits by learning more about growing that greenery.
Let’s Talk Personal Finance
More on Personal Finance…
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How Big Should Your Emergency Fund Be?
~~~ As the season of spontaneous summer spending comes to a crashing halt, we thought it might be a good refresher (for all of us!) to get back to basics. A little “Budgeting 101” to help us reset and refocus on the “why” and “how” of budgeting, prioritizing, saving, spending—all of it! There may even …
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10 Ways to Get a Month Ahead on Bills
Learn how to get a month ahead with your bills and budget for less stress, and you’ll never have to worry about late fees or overdrafting. We’ve got some ideas to get you started. Picture this: ten bills with the same due dates and instead of wallowing in despair, you just pay them—without panicking over …
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Living Within Your Means
What does it mean to live within your means? Living within your means is when you are making more money than you are spending. Creating a monthly budget and sticking to a spending plan can help you get to a point where you have enough money to routinely cover your monthly expenses, financial priorities, and …
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Is It Bad to Keep Money in a Savings Account?
Kids, gather round, because an old man wants to tell you a story of the glory days. It was 2007, and you could put your money in a savings account earning an annual interest rate of 5 percent. It’s true! I have the receipts! Nowadays, even if you open a “high yield” savings account at …
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Which Comes First: Emergency Fund or Pay Off Debt?
You might be asking yourself, “Should I build my emergency fund or pay off debt first?” If you’re debating between paying off debt or saving more cash, your emergency fund should come first! You heard that right, debt—we’ll deal with you later (soon, but later). See, they’re both good options, but there is a gooder, er, …
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How to Get Rich Fast (& It’s Not Budgeting)
When I graduated from college, I spent every dollar that I had on an incredibly used VW Jetta and drove across the country to Nashville for my very first job. I remember calling my mom and saying the following: “Mom! I’m going to make twenty-four thousand dollars! HOW WILL I SPEND IT ALL?” Direct quote. …
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What's the Difference Between a Roth IRA vs. a Traditional IRA?
What’s the difference between a Roth IRA vs a traditional IRA? I could explain it in one sentence: With a Roth IRA, you tax the seed. With a traditional IRA, you tax the tree. All right, there you have it. Do you get it? Let me explain a little bit more. With a Roth IRA, …
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How to Get a Month Ahead With Your Budget
How do you get a month ahead in your budget and start living on last month’s income? We’re so glad you asked! As you get going with your budget, getting a month ahead is key if you’re someone who is trying to break the paycheck to paycheck cycle. And it might take time, but you’ll …
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Do I Need An Emergency Fund?
You may ask yourself, “Do I need an emergency fund?” The answer is a resounding yes! An emphatic yes! A yes yes yes yes kind of yes! Having an emergency fund is a little money saving trick that is often overlooked. But, I want to drive home some things about them: how to start one, …
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How to Spend Less Money Starting Now
Everyone deals with excess spending a little differently: some of us opt for an intense all-out sprint approach to financial health while others plod on with slow, steady consistency like hitting a daily step goal. Whatever your intensity level, we’ve got ten ideas on how to spend less money. Prefer to watch instead of read? …
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How to Avoid the Slippery Slope of Lifestyle Creep
If you’ve ever received a raise at work or switched to a higher paying career, you’re familiar with the exciting rush that comes with that first paycheck. You’ve marveled at the practically sparkling new number and thought about how magical your life will soon be because of all this extra income. Or, if you’re anything …
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The Secret to Successful Investing
When payday arrives, do you give every dollar a job? Does your budget, more or less, account for all of your needs (even the less frequent, larger expenses)? Do you adjust, as necessary, so that your income supports the things that you need and want the most? And, finally, do you live comfortably on last …
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You Can Do This! Today! Right Now! For Free!
Budgeting is not restrictive. You won’t be spending less, you’ll be spending right. So what do you have to lose? Except all that debt and stress?