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”
Tag: financial products
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 maximize the money you make from payments
Individuals can use similar methods employed by businesses to monetize payments made to vendors. For individuals that diligently optimize payments the results can generate hundreds, and even thousands, of dollars in extra cash with the same level of budgeted spending. Continue reading “How to maximize the money you make from payments”
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”