financial information Archives

How biased are your information sources?

As a personal finance author and advocate, I do my best to create useful content based on unbiased information. I’m able to do this because I don’t take compensation to promote products and services offered by others so I’m free to “tell it like it is.” A benefit of being financially independent.

A financial services company or advisor that advertises or sells specific investments or brands, may have an inherent bias and conflict of interest. In other words, if an advisor is compensated to push specific products or services, then they are biased. This doesn’t necessarily mean you are getting ‘bad’ advice, but you may not be getting the ‘best’ options.

When it comes to media sources, even financial media, there are different degrees of bias. If you are interested in expanding your media literacy by learning more about news and information biases and how to ensure you’re getting the most impartial information, then please read on.

Buying a vehicle? Check the TCO

If you are in the market for a new or used vehicle, then it is important to do some homework before you settle on make and model. Here are a few things to consider before you pull the trigger on buying that new or used vehicle: Continue reading “Buying a vehicle? Check the TCO”

Don’t pay to manage your credit score

I was asked earlier this week what’s the best way to check a credit score? There are a few ways to get your credit score, but check to see what your credit card company offers first. Many credit card issuers now provide cardholders with their credit score as a free benefit. The card issuer I use provides my FICO® score, score history, key factors affecting my score, and suggestions on how to improve my score. Continue reading “Don’t pay to manage your credit score”

How to prioritize your list of colleges

My son will be going to college next year and we are working with him to narrow down his choices. After a first cut, we arrived at a list of 6 schools that he would be interested in attending based on location, programs, admissions requirements, and taking a campus tour. He applied to all 6, and we expect that he will get into at least 4 of them, but he could get into all 6. We now need to figure out how to help him further prioritize that list.

To help us make informed decisions, we are going to weigh both qualitative and quantitative criteria to prioritize the list. Continue reading “How to prioritize your list of colleges”

Great sites for staying up-to-date on money matters

If you read my prior post on developing financial know-how, then you’ll know that keeping up to date on personal finance news and information is one of the steps in the advancement cycle. The great thing is that in this age of online subscription services you can select topics that matter to you and have the information delivered directly to you. I have a few different information services that feed updates on personal finance to my email and Twitter accounts. These feeds provide information on a range of topics and are particularly useful if you are nearing a significant life goal like starting or changing careers, or deciding when and where to retire. I receive feeds from a number of different sources, including those specific to industries or technologies I’m following for investing purposes. It’s easy to get overloaded and overwhelmed with all of the different sources, so I recommend getting started with a few that allow you to better understand how to financially plan for life events, stay on top of your money, and comparison shop products and services.

Continue reading “Great sites for staying up-to-date on money matters”

Developing financial know-how by learning to speak money management

You may have heard the term “financial literacy” which by definition is the education and understanding of various financial areas, such as saving, spending, investing, insurance, budgeting, retirement and tax planning.

Financial literacy fundamentals are often taught in schools starting in middle or high school, with mixed results at best. A study completed by George Washington University and PwC proves this point. Based on a survey of over 5,500 Millennials, it was determined that only 24% of Millennials exhibited basic financial literacy, and only 8% demonstrated high financial knowledge. Part of the problem is that school-taught financial literacy focuses on concepts with limited application to the school-age audience. To help this young audience succeed over time, we must be prepared to offer timely support to foster “financial know-how”. Continue reading “Developing financial know-how by learning to speak money management”