In 2020, most of us stayed home and skipped the traditional holiday get-togethers. While that didn’t make for a fun holiday, a lot of my clients have been comparing 2020 when they “saved so much money” to last year where their spending was “way out of control.” If you’re anything like most of my clients, you are probably finding that your spending has been a bit larger than usual thanks to a feeling of wanting to “make up” for 2020. The fact is that holiday spending, for any holiday, can go off the rails thanks to an abundance of advertising, social pressure and media pressure to spend withou ..read more

A few years ago, my husband and I had to decide if we wanted to rent out our home or sell it. To help us make an informed decision, we did the math and the estimated rental income. The results of our calculations helped us see which option was most beneficial for us and from there we became landlords. Before you purchase your first or next rental property, take a second to run the numbers. If your goal is to generate monthly cash flow, estimate rental income before every purchase. Use this guide to help you do the math and decide if you should rent, buy or ditch the investment. How To Estimat ..read more

Jack Bogle is most remembered for founding Vanguard and creating the first index fund in 1976. Since then, several index funds have been established and incorporated into many investors’ retirement plans.  Index funds are an attractive investment because they allow investors to track a segment or most of the financial market. In addition, they can provide diversification to one’s investment portfolio at a low cost.   Remember, all investments come with some level of risk. This article will explain what an index fund is and the pros and cons of investing in index funds. Use this ..read more

While investing in the newest currency, technology, or financial instrument out there can be both interesting and lucrative, the reality is that true sustainable wealth is built when you have a strong financial foundation in place. That means starting with the basics. I recommend streamlining and simplifying as often as possible, which is why I want to spend some time emphasizing the four basic pillars of financial health.  Emergency Fund I’m always confused when I get pushback from my clients on building an emergency fund because this is the most basic and foundational piece of your fin ..read more

The following interview with Monick Halm of Real Estate Investor Goddesses was conducted over email and edited for flow and clarity. Asha Atkins of Wealth Noir (WN): Hi Monick. Thank you for taking the time out of your very busy schedule to sit down with Wealth Noir and the community to talk about your business and your expertise in real estate investing. Can you share with the readers a little bit about yourself and what you do? Monick Halm, Real Estate Investor Goddesses Founder: I am the founder of Real Estate Investor Goddesses. I am an educator and advocate for female real estate investo ..read more

New year, new you! Let’s be honest, most of us have just been hanging on for dear life over the last two years. We all got thrown a major curveball and now we’re finally starting to get back on track inside whatever this new version of life will look like. If you’re anything like me, 2022 feels like a rebuilding year, which makes it the perfect time to actually take those big steps toward getting your finances in order. To help you reset and rebuild I’ve put together seven steps that will help you get your money all the way together.  Budget: Separate your fixed and variable expense acco ..read more

Great news neighbors, last year, I hit my goal of reaching $100,000 in my net worth. That means I calculated all my assets and subtracted my liabilities, which totaled over $100,000 of assets. To say I was excited is an understatement. In addition to accomplishing my goal, I also purchased a brand-new house for $270,000. Last year was a busy one and I am grateful for the blessings it brought me. Now, you may be wondering how I accomplished these two financial goals. Let me start by sharing that I am not a high income earner. In fact, my average annual salary is roughly $55,000. If you do the ..read more

Many millionaires have become wealthy by owning real estate in America, but what if you’re an investor like myself that doesn’t want anything to do with owning real estate for income purposes? Dealing with tenants, fixing items and collecting late payments are the kinds of headache-inducing things that come with real estate ownership. I found the answer to investing in real estate for investors like myself was to not own any tangible real estate outside of my primary home. And that brought me to the best real estate investment strategy for me, which is investing in Real Estate Investment Trus ..read more

The following interview with Lauryn Williams of Worth Winning was conducted over email and edited for flow and clarity. Lauryn Williams is a CFP, an entrepreneur, and a podcast host. She is just coming off the heels of hosting her very first financial retreat, The Worth Winning Retreat, which was a success. As a former athlete who made decent money during her early 20’s, she realized that she needed help managing her money. Her not so pleasant experience with financial advisors is what inspired her to do the work she’s doing now–helping her clients build better relationships with money.  ..read more

Sponsored Article The first time I tried to refinance my home I was not approved. I’d owned my house for two years, but I did not qualify because my debt to equity ratio was not at least 80/20.  Three years later I tried again and here’s what happened.  The process started just like before. My lender kept sending me letters in the mail suggesting I refinance to take advantage of lower interest rates and lower monthly payments.   At the time the real estate market was hot. It was a great time to sell or refinance. I looked up the estimated value of my home and not only had ..read more