Presupuesto y Estimación de Gastos Previstos Cuando te despiertas cada mañana para ir a la escuela, sabes que necesitas ducharte, vestirte, desayunar y correr a la parada del autobús. Si dedicas demasiado tiempo a cualquiera de estas tareas, podrías perder el autobús. En otras palabras, cada mañana tendrás que administrar tu tiempo o afrontar las Read More…

Creando tu fondo de emergencia Una encuesta reciente de CareerBuilder a trabajadores estadounidenses reveló que un impresionante 78 % vive al día. De igual manera, otra encuesta reciente de Bankrate reveló que el 60 % de los estadounidenses no podría cubrir un gasto inesperado de $1,000. Esto significa que la mayoría de los estadounidenses no Read More…

Comparación de precios Ya has tomado decenas de decisiones de gasto a lo largo del juego, generalmente con pocas opciones. En la vida real, necesitarás dedicar mucho más tiempo y esfuerzo para asegurarte de conseguir la mejor oferta. Aquí tienes algunos consejos rápidos para empezar con buen pie. Consejo 1: Céntrate en las compras importantes Read More…

Instituciones financieras A medida que envejece y comienza a vivir por su cuenta, llegará el momento en que necesite abrir su propia cuenta corriente, cuenta de corretaje y cuenta de jubilación. Cuando esté listo para abrir estas cuentas, debe comprender las diferencias entre las distintas instituciones financieras que las ofrecen para que pueda tomar la Read More…

Conceptos básicos del seguro Probablemente hayas notado que debes pagar el seguro de tu auto cada mes, que suele ser la mayor preocupación de un estudiante universitario. Sin embargo, a medida que se acerca la fecha de graduación, existen otros tipos de seguro que pueden ser importantes. Seguro de Auto Si conduces un auto, por Read More…

Your Savings and Inflation Throughout the game, we hope you have been hitting your monthly savings target and have built up a healthy Emergency Fund. Just like a real savings account, your savings account in this game has been earning interest every month too – you might notice a few extra dollars or cents added Read More…

Understanding Your Paycheck By now, you’ve received your first few paychecks on Fridays, but do you understand everything on the pay stub? Knowing how you’re paid, and what is deducted, is important when trying to budget for the future – knowing your gross pay isn’t going to cut it! Paycheck Explorer – Click the info Read More…

Your Debit and Credit Cards Once you get started on progressing through your first month, you’ll notice that you have two different ways to pay for almost every expense – your Debit Card or Credit Card. Understanding the two, and how to use them, will be essential to effectively managing your budget. Your Debit Card Read More…

Your Credit Score and Report You’ve probably already taken note of your Credit Score at the top of the page – hopefully this has been steadily moving up as you play: Your Credit Score is more than just a number, it is a single metric that has a huge impact on your ability to borrow, Read More…

Writing A Check You get your paycheck every week of the game, but we haven’t asked you to write out a physical check yourself. These days, most transactions in a “Checking Account” come from debit cards or other direct withdraws. However, there are still some situations where you might need to write a physical check Read More…

Net Worth Your “Net Worth” is kept in a running tally across the top of the screen – and you probably wish it were a lot bigger! Net Worth and Loans When you apply for a loan, banks will often ask for a calculation of your net worth.  If you make a list of all Read More…

Preparing For Spending Shocks Spending shocks are large, irregular expenses. Spending shocks are the #1 reason why budgets end up abandoned, and being prepared for them is the best thing you can do to keep your personal finances healthy. There are two types of spending shocks: budgeted and unbudgeted. Budgeted Spending Shocks A budgeted spending Read More…

Opportunity Cost “Opportunity Cost” is what needs to be given up to get something. This is different from an item’s price. Imagine you want to buy some stock – you can afford one share of either Apple (AAPL) or Alphabet, Inc. (GOOG). Your Opportunity Cost of buying one is that you cannot also buy the other, meaning you’ll Read More…

Needs vs Wants For most working people who are paid a salary or given a fixed number of hours to work a week, there is not much they can do to increase their income from week to week.  So, like most working Americans, the best way to manage your personal budget is by controlling your Read More…

Mortgages – Facts and Fiction So far in the Budget Game, you have been renting an apartment. In the real world, after a few years of working in the real world you may want to buy a house or condo – and to do that you will need a Mortgage. Can’t view on YouTube? Click Read More…

Managing Your Bills You’re making progress on your second month of the game – how’s your Checking Account holding up? Just like the real world, there is a lot of uncertainty with your budget. You might have been able to pay for every bill directly with your Debit Card so far, but you will find Read More…

Manage Your Credit Card Bills In some ways, credit cards are a good thing.  Credit cards help us pay for things when we are low on cash, or pay for an unexpected expense.  Using credit cards properly also helps us build our credit history and increase our credit score.  A strong credit score helps us Read More…

Investing in Stocks When most people think investing, they think the stock market. If you find yourself with more money in your savings account than you need for your Emergency Fund, investing in stocks might be an opportunity to get a better return on investment than your savings account interest rate. Can’t view on YouTube? Read More…

Investing in Mutual Funds and ETFs When you hear about a retirement account, or a “401k”, most individuals do not want to buy a single stock – there is a lot of risk, and it requires you to pay a lot of attention to your portfolio. Most investors saving for the long-term do not necessarily Read More…

Investing in Bonds If you are looking for a consistent return on investment without worrying about the ups and downs of the stock market, you might want to consider investing in Bonds. Can’t view on YouTube? Click Here Bonds typically have lower returns than stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds, but have a consistent interest payment Read More…

Insurance Basics You probably noticed that you need to pay your car insurance each month, which is usually the most a college student needs to worry about. However, as you get closer to the graduation date, there are several other types that can become important! Car Insurance If you drive a car, you MUST have Read More…

Income Tax Return When you get your first job and move out on your own, you will be responsible for filing your own your tax return. In the U.S., tax returns are due on April 15th of each year. The tax return is called a Form 1040.  On the Form 1040, you will add up Read More…

Financial Institutions As you grow older and start living on your own, at some point you will need to open your own checking, account, brokerage, and retirement accounts. When you are ready to open these accounts, you need to understand the differences between the various financial institutions that offer each of these accounts so you Read More…

Comparison Shopping You’ve already made dozens of spending decisions throughout the game, usually with just a few options to choose from. In the real world, you will need to spend a lot more time and effort into making sure your get the best deal! Here’s a few quick tips to get you started in the Read More…

Building Your Emergency Fund A recent survey of U.S. workers by CareerBuilder found that a whopping 78% are living paycheck to paycheck. Similarly, another recent survey by Bankrate found that 60% of Americans would NOT be able to cover an unexpected $1,000 expense. This means that most Americans don’t have enough in savings to cover Read More…

Budgeting and Estimating Expected Expenses When you wake up each morning to go to school, you know that you need to shower, get dressed, eat some breakfast, and run to the bus stop.  If you spend too much time on any of these tasks, you might miss your bus.  In other words, each morning you Read More…