Choosing your financial institution What was the very first financial choice you ever made? Think about it. It likely took place before your first job, even as far back as when your annual income consisted of Tooth Fairy money and lucky pennies. The very first financial decision you ever made is also one of the […]
Why Is It Called A Credit Union? While bank and banking are universally understood and accepted terms, the term credit union is still largely misunderstood and unknown to many. Credit union is an unusual term, isn’t it? Is it just another name for a bank? Is it a credit card company? Do I have to […]
It Pays To Start Saving Now In case you haven’t heard, compound interest is the best. You may remember it as an equation you had to memorize for math class, but it’s so much more than that. It’s the concept that powers all sorts of savings and investment products and, over time, allows you to […]
Budgeting Basics Budgets are like the New Year’s resolutions of personal finance. We all know we should have one and we all know it’s a fairly simple thing to follow—at least in theory. Like resolutions, we often map out personal budgets with the best of intentions only to abandon them a couple of weeks later. […]
Boost Your Credit Score: 4 Myths to Avoid Credit scores are an area of personal finance that seem a lot more mysterious than they actually are. Many people believe that improving them is a matter of trial and error, and as a result there’s a lot of “credit score advice” floating around that can end […]
Be Prepared, Because Life Happens An emergency fund is an essential part of your personal finances. Its importance is stressed in almost every personal finance book and budgeting blog, and yet 26% of Americans currently have no emergency fund in place. Of those who do have an emergency fund, up to two-thirds do not have […]
What’s The Best Card To Use? Think fast: what’s the most recent financial decision you made? You likely won’t have to think too far back. It’s not the last account you opened, or the school loans you consolidated—it’s something much simpler that’s part of your daily routine. Think back to the last thing you purchased—your […]
To Lease or To Finance: That is the Question! When it comes to buying a new car, you have three options: purchasing it with cash, purchasing it through a loan (also known as financing) or leasing it. For most shoppers, the decision comes down to buying or leasing. On the surface, the differences between leasing […]
Living On Your Own And “Bill Time” Living on your own for the first time can be empowering. It means having independence and all the things that come with it. Some of those things—like not having to share a bathroom—are wonderful. Others—like killing spiders yourself—are not so fun. And leading the pack in the not-so-fun […]