The holiday season is one of the busiest traveling seasons of the year. Not only are many traveling to visit families but they’re also making use of leftover vacation days and planning getaways. While you may be busy planning your itinerary and deciding what to pack, don’t forget one of the most important items on your vacation prep list: securing your money. Being a tourist in an unfamiliar city makes you susceptible to fraud and theft. Whenever you’re away from home, you need to take the necessary precautions to make sure your wallet, money, and important documents are safe. You don’t want ..read more

Earlier this year, my husband received an unusual letter from his credit card company. He had not used his card in two years, and the bank alerted him that he had two months to make a purchase on the card, or else it would be cancelled. This particular card, which he’s carried for over 15 years, has gotten dusty because we share a Upromise reward credit card that we use for all of our spending. We pay that card off monthly, and have no other need for credit. At first I thought there was no need to keep an unused card around. We didn’t need it, and it was just one more thing to keep track ..read more

Many of us try to think of ways to make extra income anytime we are aiming to reach a financial goal. There are so many ways to ‘side hustle’ online these days, from freelance writing to selling used items. Earning more on top of your full time salary is entirely possible, but it’s only one small piece of your financial puzzle. Reaching your financial goals isn’t only about making more money. It’s also about spending your existing income more wisely. And just bringing your coffee to work every day may not cut it either. Having optimal financial health can sometimes require larger lifestyle ch ..read more

Survey after survey indicates that Americans aren’t saving enough for retirement. While retirement is one of the biggest fears that Americans have, they aren’t confident in their ability to enjoy life. A Wells Fargo survey recently indicated that 22% of middle class Americans would rather die early than be unable to have a comfortable retirement. This is very alarming information! Americans say that saving for retirement is harder than expected, and many think that they will be able save later, to make up for a lack of savings now. However, this could backfire in the future as ..read more

Do you understand your overall financial health? Are you ready to handle unexpected financial situations? Your overall financial success depends on your readiness, so be prepared and you will prosper. Start by evaluating your situation. Recently, USAA released a tool called the Financial Readiness. While you can’t use the tool if you aren’t a USAA member, you can still use the methodology of the tool to figure out your financial readiness by using the four categories used to determine your score in your own personal evaluation. Evaluating Financial Readiness in Four Categories As you consider ..read more

For those with children, toy shopping is admittedly a large portion of your holiday spending. This time of year, retailers are especially eager to cash in on this category of sales and they will use the media to make sure you (and more importantly, your child) know what’s new and exciting. There’s nothing wrong with buying new toys for your children every holiday season, but the problem is that, they will be either: Become broken or outdated Need new batteries or repairs Discarded for something new As parents, it’s hard to justify purchasing new toys when perfectly good ones are sitting at ..read more

When the leaves begin to change colors and the year draws to a close, people think about many things: the football season in full swing, apple picking, maybe even a thought or two about finding your rakes before the leaves start to fall all over your lawn. Fall is a great time to think about your finances, too. As the year begins its last act before drawing to a close, here are five things to do to get your finances in top shape for year’s end. Assess Your Status Summer’s end is a great time to take stock of your overall financial status. Look back on the goals you had for the year. Have you ..read more

We live in an exciting era if you are a techie. New electronics with never-before-seen features are coming out all the time. My wife’s had the same computer for about four years, and it’s starting to show signs of wear and tear. It’s slowed down a lot and freezes occasionally. We’re nearing the time when she’ll need a new one, but how do we decide when? And where do we look? These are a couple of things everyone should carefully consider before replacing their electronics. Try to Fix Your Current Device Sometimes, computers and other devices get clogged up with too many documents. They can ev ..read more

My ex-husband and I had a “big pot” financial management style when we were married back in the day. We tied the knot young, when neither of us had anything, and it was easy to combine finances. Later, I added a retirement account and a taxable investment account, as well as a savings account and a Health Savings Account (HSA). I tried to get him interested in our shared finances and to share some of these accounts, but he never wanted to be bothered. He eventually got a retirement account through his work and set up his own HSA. This turned out to be fortunate since we eventually w ..read more

The Department of Labor reports that job openings and unemployment numbers continue to be very healthy. Still, there are still 6.4 million people who aren’t able to find work and millions more who only work part-time. Being unhappily unemployed or only working part-time isn’t ideal, but reports show that the majority ‘not in the workforce’ are retirees, students, and stay-at-home parents (it may be their choice). The increase in part-time employment may also have more to do with the trend toward a ‘gig economy’ than the availability of full-time work. Are you among those avoiding a full-time ..read more