Personal Finance
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What is a Credit Score and why is it important?
Let’s say you have a friend named Alex. One day, Alex asks if he can borrow $5 from you and promises to pay you back in a week. Now, you know Alex is good for it because he always keeps his promises, so you lend him the money. A week later, Alex returns your $5 just like he said he would. In the future, if Alex needs to borrow money again, you’d be more likely to lend it to him because he has proven to be trustworthy. A credit score is kind of like that. It’s a number that banks and other lenders use to decide if they should lend…
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How to get a free Credit Report
Your credit report is like a snapshot of your financial behavior. There are three main companies in the U.S. — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — that collect information about your financial habits to create this picture. This report includes things like how often you pay your bills on time and how much you owe. Good news is, you can get a free copy of your credit reports from each of these companies every year. To do this: Go to a website called AnnualCreditReport.com. This is the official place where you can get your free credit reports. When you get to the website, it will ask for some details about you.…
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What is an Index Fund?
Imagine you want to invest your money. One way you could do this is by buying stocks, which are small pieces of a company. If the company does well, the value of your stock goes up, and you can sell it for more money than you bought it for. But choosing which stocks to buy can be hard. It’s like trying to guess which apple in a basket will be the tastiest just by looking at them. This is where index funds come in. Instead of trying to pick one or two “best” stocks, an index fund buys a little bit of a lot of different stocks. It’s like if…
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Where are all of the billionaire lottery winners?
Where are all of the billionaire lottery winners? I think I solved the mystery!! If I asked you to think of a list of rich people, I would imagine that you could think of a bunch. Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos. The Waltons from Walmart. We can think of many examples of rich people. How did they make their money? Most people made it through starting a company, or being the heir of someone who started a company. While you can think many entrepreneurs that had their start by creating a company, can you think of a single person who got their fortune started by winning the lottery? Richard…
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Law of 752
If you are like me, you enjoy an occasional coffee at an overpriced coffee bar. It’s fun to get out, sit down with a friend, and have a tasty warm drink. Financial experts love to talk about how your lattes and avocado toast are killing your financial future! But is that reeeeeally the case? What’s up with everyone trying to shame you out of your guilty pleasures by telling you how they will add up? Will they add up? If so, to how much? Maybe it’s still worth it! In today’s post, I am going to teach you a quick and easy way to quantify your expenses so you can…
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Snowball vs Avalanche debt methods
Are you or someone you know in debt? It’s 2020. Of course you or someone you know id in debt. What if I told you that if you have more than 1 debt, there is an optimal way to pay off your debts that will help you pay the debt off as quickly as inexpensively as possible? Have you heard of the Snowball Method or the Avalanche Method of paying off debt? The Snowball Method and the Avalanche Method are simple to calculate and follow, and will help you get out of debt quicker than any other way. Some financial experts will usually recommend only one of these two methods,…
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The Power of Compound Interest
What is the most powerful force in the universe? Some might say gravity. Some might think it is love. But you are all wrong. The most powerful force in the universe is….compound interest! What? If you don’t know what compound interest is, don’t worry. I’ll explain. Have you ever heard the story of the king that wanted to repay a loyal subject that saved the life of the king? To say thank you, the king instructed the subject to ask for what his heart truly desired, and if reasonable, the king would fulfill his wishes. The Loyal Subject’s Request The loyal subject pulled out a chess board. “Your majesty, your…
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A Budget – The First Big Step
Do you ever run out of money and wonder how there can be so many days of the month left before your next pay check? If so, let me ask you, do you have a budget? I would guess you probably don’t have a budget. If that’s the case, do you really know where your money is going each month??? You need a budget! Just as no two fingerprints are the same, no two budgets are the same. While I know everyone is different, I am going to break down budgeting for a diverse group of people. Some of the income and expenses won’t apply to you, while others will.…
