What Is a Good Amount for an Emergency Fund?

Emergencies happen to everyone, regardless of whether you have a steady income or are struggling to manage your finances. Unexpected expenses can throw your life into turmoil — and if you don’t have the money to resolve the ...

Why is Financing Better than Leasing?

Navigating the car buying process can feel overwhelming, confusing and inaccessible for many people. One of the most complicated parts of the experience can be trying to parse out how to get the best deal on a car that suits your ...

Identifying Your Wants Vs. Your Needs

The foundation of successfully managing your finances is budgeting, and a pillar of budgeting is learning to distinguish your needs from your wants. If you can’t differentiate those, you could wind up overspending on luxuries ...

3 Reasons to Maintain a Physical Check Register

Thanks to the internet, it’s a snap to open up your account information with your financial institution and look at how much money you have available. That might convince you that some tasks, like balancing a checkbook and maintaining ...

Pros and Cons of Automatic Payments

Do automatic payments make sense for your finances? Setting up regular withdrawals for your bills and subscriptions can make life significantly more convenient, but it can also come with some downsides. Keep these pros and cons ...

What to Do If You Can’t Afford Your Car Payments

Thanks to rising prices, it’s easier than ever to buy more car than you can afford — and fall behind on your monthly payments. If you’re facing this risky situation, be sure to educate yourself on how you can turn things ...

How to Collect Social Security

Designed to help support you after you’ve stopped working (a minimum of 10 years) and complement your savings account and other investments, Social Security is based on the taxes you’ve paid on the money you’ve earned in ...

Should You Become a Landlord?

When you’re looking for places to invest your cash, buying a rental property might seem like an ideal investment. Money that comes in from rent payments is called passive income according to Investopedia because you aren’t ...

Easy, Reliable Ways to Make Extra Money on the Side

You’ve likely heard the term side hustle quite a bit of late. Having an additional gig or two outside of your regular 9-to-5 job is becoming more common, and it’s never been easier than it is in 2020. Whether you want to help ...

The Importance of Separating Spending and Savings Accounts

Whether you’re great at managing your money or bad at it, chances are that you have room for improvement. Accelerate your savings goals while staying on top of routine expenses when you establish two different accounts for your ...