In my prior post on protecting yourself from cybercriminals, I shared steps you can take to stay ahead of fraudsters trying to use your personal data against you and steal your identity. While all of those actions should be used to protect yourself, there is one action I recommend you consider implementing now:
Create a fraud alert or freeze access to your credit reports.
Continue reading “How to protect your credit reports”As referenced in my new book Making Big Money Decisions and recent blog posts, transaction fees can take a big bite out of your returns. The good news is that the costs for holding investment funds and selling a house in the USA continue to decline, allowing you to keep more of your money. Since these investments are usually large, even small differences in the fees you pay can add up to significant amounts of money. If you are interested in finding out more about these transactions costs and tips for ensuring you are paying the lowest fees, then please read on.
Continue reading “How to minimize fees to maximize your big money returns”Statistics on the state of personal finance show that many adults, particularly young adults, struggle with financial literacy and are concerned about their ability to fund life goals like buying a house and retiring comfortably.
One way to overcome these concerns is by making the unknown known through financial planning and money management. Like many things in life, getting started is probably the hardest part. Time is an essential element in both life and personal finance, so use it to your advantage by starting your planning as early as possible.
Continue reading “16 online resources for making big money decisions”If you regularly track your Fun Money spending but are struggling to stay within your budget, then you will benefit from my Fun Money Spend Analysis Tool.
Continue reading “Help! How do I control my Fun Money spending?”60% of people don’t use budgets to manage spending, according to the 2017 Consumer Financial Literacy Survey from The National Foundation for Credit Counseling. 
While that number may be surprising, what is more shocking is that this number has not changed much since the 2007 survey. For all the advances in technology, including spreadsheets and online budgeting software, people’s habits related to managing money and tracking spending have not really changed that much over the last decade. Continue reading “You don’t need a budget to manage spending”
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”
Financial literacy (a.k.a. FinLit) is the education and understanding of various financial areas, such as saving, spending, investing, insurance, budgeting, retirement and tax planning. The positive impacts of financial education on people are clear, as are the negative impacts to those that lack FinLit.
Continue reading “Have we declared our financial independence?”
Free money does exist, but you need to know where to look for it and how to get it. Free Money is available when you save by compounding savings and through employer-sponsored matching of retirement savings. For spending, you can get access to Free Money through cash back credit card programs and federal grants for college. Technically, these methods are not entirely “free” in the true sense of the word since you need to give something to get something, but I consider using these methods like getting Free Money since you need to spend and save any way. Continue reading “4 ways to get free money from spending and saving”
Many thanks if you downloaded my book on Amazon!
Your efforts helped me achieve a #1 ranking in 3 Amazon Business & Money categories during my free promotion launch.
A BIG thanks if you also provided a review! If you downloaded the book, but haven’t had the chance to review yet, you can still do so at any time. Every review helps!
Also, if you liked the eBook, then check out my website at DIYmoneytrack.com, and follow me by downloading the playbook tools, and/or by signing up for my blog.
I’m already working on a second book that will help Millennials understand the cost of making big financial decisions, like raising children, so stay tuned!
Thanks again for your support and enjoy the holidays!
When my kids were younger we taught them to save money by using three envelopes: One to save money for charity, another for short-term spending, and the last one for longer-term savings (deposited into a bank account). For example, if they received a $25 gift for their birthday then the money needed to be split as evenly as possible among those three envelopes. This approach was a very useful way for my wife and me to help our young children understand the importance of saving for different purposes and timeframes. Continue reading “Savings evolution: Use these three measures to become a money master”
