Personal Finance

We often talk about the importance of saving an emergency fund. You’ve probably heard financial experts suggest building an emergency fund that is equal to three to six months’ worth of expenses. Have you ever thought about just how long it takes to save even one month of expenses? The formula to figure out just…

Recently I helped a family member get a copy of their credit report and credit score. One thing they found confusing was just what the difference was between the two. Contrary to what many believe, a credit report and a credit score are not one and the same. A credit report is just that, a…

Your car insurance provider frequently tells you to report even the most minor car accident.  Contrary to these instructions, sometimes it’s best not to file an insurance claim. A few years ago, I was in a minor fender bender with another car.  I admit it: the accident was definitely my fault.  But the damage was…

“How much should I have saved by retirement?” It’s a question we get asked all the time, and it is definitely a valid one. Of course, it’s also a very difficult question to answer. The truth is that everybody’s retirement number is different. The amount of money that you need to retire is based on…

Grocery shopping is an activity almost everyone has to do at some point in their life. If you want to eat anything at home without ordering takeout for every meal, you’ll probably buy it at a grocery store. Groceries cost money and food is often one of the biggest line items in the average American…

Welcome to our series on crushing your credit card debt. In this third of five articles, we look at how to supercharge your get out of debt program with the Debt Snowball. We’ll cut right to the chase: using the debt snowball method can save you thousands of dollars in interest payments. On top of that,…

Managing your money can take hours out of your week. Between paying bills and saving for retirement, it can be stressful, and it’s easy to drop the ball. You can save yourself time and stress these days by setting up most of your monthly tasks on autopilot. While it may take a little time to…

Have you ever tallied up what it costs to own a car? I don’t mean on a year-to-year basis, but the total cost of owning a car over a lifetime? According to the American Automobile Association (AAA) it costs $8,876 per year to own and operate an average car. Now if you add that up…

When I first began really taking my personal finances seriously, I can remember setting a random dollar amount in my head as my monthly savings target. I also committed to myself that I would raise my savings amount by $50 per month each calendar year. There’s nothing terribly wrong with this savings plan. It did…