To be “in debt” means to owe money to someone else, usually making fixed payments to pay back the amount over time, plus interest.
A contract is a legally binding agreement between two parties (people, companies, or both) in which something of value is exchanged. One party promises to do something in return for a something else. Since a contract is legally binding, if one party does not do what was agreed upon, the other party can sue them in court to either enforce the contract or receive compensation. Contracts are involved in personal and business dealings, so it is important that you understand the rules governing them.
Credit is when you use borrowed money with a promise to repay it at a later date. Credit comes in many forms from credit cards to mortgages. There is a wide range of ways to use credit, which means that it is often a challenge for beginners to learn all the ins and outs of using credit wisely.
Hojas de cálculo: uso de hojas de cálculo para comparar préstamos Finalmente tomaste la gran decisión: vas a comprar un auto. Investigaste y probaste el auto; encontraste tres autos que te encantan en tres concesionarios diferentes. Te encantan todos, pero al final, tu decisión final se basará en el precio. ¿Pero en qué precio te Read More…
How to Spot a Scam in Canada In the past, information about your bank transactions, credit card transactions, investment statements, and other financial paperwork came through paper documents. People were told to keep these documents safe or shred them when they were not longer needed. Today, the majority of our financial records can be accessed Read More…
Insurance Basics Everyone Should Know The idea behind insurance is that random bad thing can happen to just about anyone, and sometimes those random things are expensive to resolve. Car crashes, medical emergencies, and flooding can destroy your personal saving and investing accounts if they happen to you and you’re not prepared to deal with them. Read More…
Credit reports contains your credit history – both the good and the bad. If you watch late-night TV, you may have seen a few commercials offering free credit reports, so you might know a little about them. Most people don’t know how important a credit report can play in their financial lives.
On every payday, start by taking out money for savings and put it directly into your savings or investing account. Most banks have accounts that will let you do this though automatic transfers. This is one banking service that you should definitely take advantage of.
Once your savings is taken care of, use the remaining cash to pay your bills. Any money remaining can be used for fun and leisure. This method is a no excuses savings approach. No matter what else is happening in your life, you are paying yourself by contributing to your savings. This habit ensures that your savings and investments experience a steady growth rate.
Find Your Best Car Loan Deal You finally made the big decision – you are going to buy a car. You did your research and the test drives – you found 3 cars that you really like, from three different dealerships. You really love them all – but at the end of the day, your Read More…
A student loan is exactly what it sounds like – a loan given to students to finance their studies. This is most common for college or university students, but also works for trade schools and other vocational studies.
The cash flow statement allows company management to see where the company’s money is coming from and how it is being spent. Most companies will complete a cash flow statement at least quarterly because it the best financial report to show how well the company generates cash to pay its debts and fund its operating expenses.
How to Read a Balance Sheet Businesses keep financial records to understand how their company is performing financially. For publicly traded companies (a business that sells shares of stock to the public on stock exchanges), these records are also shared with investors. The three main financial statements companies use are the income statement, the balance sheet, Read More…
The income statement primarily focuses on the company’s revenue and expenses (what they’ve earned and what they’ve paid for) during a particular period of time. The bottom line shows a net profit or a net loss depending on the company’s performance during that time period. Companies may complete an income statement whenever they want, but typically they are completed quarterly (every three months) or annually.
An investing strategy is a plan for how to save money and help it grow. Sometimes an investing strategy can be as simple as “plan for trading stocks,” but it really means a lot more.
Starting a Business 101 Building the next “big thing”. Being your own boss. Getting the full rewards for your work. There are a lot of reasons to start a business, but taking the plunge is a step entrepreneurs have to face if they plan on striking out on their own. Why Do People Start Their Read More…
The Secret to a Comfortable Retirement You may think that retirement is something that only old people must worry about, but that’s not true. Retirement is when you stop working and live off your savings and other sources of income. It may seem like a long way off, but the sooner you start planning for Read More…
A Strategy to Build Wealth, Not Debt Building wealth is a long-term financial goal that provides financial security, and sets the stage for a comfortable retirement. Although there is no secret formula for becoming wealthy, the process involves developing a solid financial plan, sticking to it, and creating a sustainable strategy that grows your wealth Read More…
The Cost of Raising a Family Before starting a family, you have to know how to manage a household. You probably have an idea about how to be a good housemate from the things that you like and don’t like about living with your family. There’s more to it than who will wash the dishes Read More…
A mortgage is a type of secured loan, with real estate or a house used as collateral. This means you will make an agreement with your bank, credit union, or savings & loan institution to borrow a large sum of money, with a piece of property as collateral.
The Car Buying Checklist Buying a car is usually the first big purchase a person will make. A car loan is a type of consumer loan, also known as installment credit, where you borrow a lump sum and pay it back in fixed monthly payments. There is also no shortage of horror stories of people immediately Read More…
“Spending Shocks” are large, irregular expenses. According to CBS, more than 60% of Americans cannot absorb a $500 spending shock: spending shocks are the #1 reasons why budgets end up abandoned, and being prepared for large spending shocks is the best thing you can do to keep your personal finances healthy.
Public Financial Assistance Programs Building your personal finances from the ground up is something most of us face. You may already have faced times when you had very little or no income, and you were just trying to get to a point where you felt like you didn’t have to worry about paying your bills. Read More…
Proven Techniques to Stop Overspending Building a budget or a spending plan is tough. Sticking to the plan is even tougher. Thankfully, there are a few strategies designed to help you develop positive habits. These strategies will help you learn to save, stick with your budget, plan for emergencies, and control your impulse spending. Budgeting Strategies Budgeting strategies refer Read More…
On every payday, start by taking out money for savings and put it directly into your savings or investing account. Most banks have accounts that will let you do this though automatic transfers. This is one banking service that you should definitely take advantage of.
Once your savings is taken care of, use the remaining cash to pay your bills. Any money remaining can be used for fun and leisure. This method is a no excuses savings approach. No matter what else is happening in your life, you are paying yourself by contributing to your savings. This habit ensures that your savings and investments experience a steady growth rate.
What’s in Your Compensation Package? To be self-sufficient in our economy, everyone needs some type of income; which is money to pay the bills and other living expenses. This comes in many shapes and forms. The foundation of your income potential is often set by your education and career choice. There is a strong relationship Read More…
Bankruptcy is a type of forced debt settlement, and it is a legal procedure. When you declare bankruptcy, the court will gather all your unsecured creditors together to hear about the debts you owe. They will then examine all your assets and determine a plan to pay out as much as they can to settle as many debts as possible.
Getting Help With Debt Repayment If you find yourself over your head in debt, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. Credit counseling agencies, both for-profit and non-profit, exist in every state to help people build a clear, workable path back to a healthy personal financial situation. If you do need Read More…
Consolidating your debt means taking out one big loan and using that money to pay off all outstanding balances from your previous loans.
How to Negotiate With Creditors Most adults have faced a financial emergency, when an unexpected event has broken their budget or spending plan into pieces. Sometimes more than one emergency has occurred in a short period of time, causing debt balances to spiral out of control. Even in extreme circumstances, it is still possible to keep your Read More…
The Art of Juggling Many Bills in a Pinch Financial emergencies happen to everyone; like your car breaks down and it drains your bank account to pay for the repairs. However, that doesn’t mean your bills will be put on hold while you catch-up. They will continue to be due, even though you won’t have Read More…
How Do You Stop Impulse Purchases? Every person makes hundreds of purchase decisions every month. Think about how many individual items you choose when buying groceries. Which fruits or vegetables will you buy? Which cleaning product will you pick up? What if you need new batteries… An important step in managing your personal finances is Read More…
Go to College or Start Working? Every high school student makes a choice when they are about to graduate – enter the job market right away, enter a trade school, or enroll in a university? Everyone will make the same kind of choice many times throughout their lives. If you first choose to work, the Read More…
How to Avoid Identity Theft, Scams & Fraud In the past, information about your bank transactions, credit card transactions, investment statements, and other financial paperwork came through paper documents. People were told to keep these documents safe or shred them when they were not longer needed. Today, the majority of our financial records can be accessed online. Apart Read More…
Evaluating Big-Ticket Purchases When evaluating how to spend your money, most people make a fairly simple comparison. If the benefit they believe they will receive from the purchase is greater than the cost, then most people go ahead with the purchase. To master your personal finances, you need to start thinking long-term. There are many Read More…
A contract is a legally binding agreement between two parties (people, companies, or both) in which something of value is exchanged. One party promises to do something in return for a something else. Since a contract is legally binding, if one party does not do what was agreed upon, the other party can sue them in court to either enforce the contract or receive compensation. Contracts are involved in personal and business dealings, so it is important that you understand the rules governing them.
Protect Yourself as a Consumer Every time you buy something, you are considered a consumer. The noun consumerism refers to the idea that spending money and consuming goods is good for our economy. Because you are willing to spend money on goods and services, businesses can produce items, people can have jobs, money can flow, and our Read More…
Health insurance is usually the most complicated and expensive insurance you need. Unfortunately, it’s also usually the most important, making it very difficult to avoid the cost. With very few exceptions, health insurance is mandatory for all citizens in the United States, but the way you become insured will change drastically based on your age, income, and the company you work for.
Life insurance is an insurance policy designed to pay out if the insured person dies. These policies were created so that if the main income holder of a household died, the payout from the policy could be used to support his/her family. Over the last 50 years, life insurance policies have greatly expanded in both form and function. Sometimes they look more like investment vehicles than simple insurance policies.
Homeowner’s Insurance is a broad type of insurance coverage designed to cover a home, its contents, and the property it sits on. This insurance is very broad, wrapping many different types of coverage into one package.
Renter’s Insurance is taken out on property you rent to insure against damage or loss. Renter’s insurance works in a similar fashion to homeowner’s insurance. Homeowner’s insurance is designed to cover damage to a home’s interior and exterior, the theft of possessions, and personal liability for harm to others, for example if someone fell down your porch steps and sued you.
Car Insurance: How to Lower Your Rates If you drive a car, you need to be covered by some sort of automobile insurance. You have probably seen dozens of advertisements from insurance companies claiming to help lower your rates, improve your coverage, or just encouraging you to compare rates, but before you buy your first insurance Read More…
Insurance The idea behind insurance is that random bad thing can happen to just about anyone, and sometimes those random things are expensive to resolve. Car crashes, medical emergencies, and flooding can destroy your personal saving and investing accounts if they happen to you and you’re not prepared to deal with them. How Does Insurance Read More…
Once you file your income taxes, the IRS will review all the forms you submit (your tax return) and either accept your submission or reject and return it to you for a correction, usually with very little turnaround time. This can happen whether you are paying what you owe or receiving a refund. However, occasionally the IRS will decide to “audit” your tax return, asking you to provide some supporting documentation before your tax return is accepted.
Do You Need a Tax Professional? Most young people are perfectly capable of filing their own taxes using the IRS Form 1040. However, as your personal finances grow more complex and you become eligible for tax credits, have multiple sources of income, or need to report common tax additions, filing your own taxes becomes more Read More…
Uncovering Hidden Income Taxes You Owe Everyone loves getting tax breaks, but what can really impact your finances is forgetting about tax additions – extra taxes and fees you owe for income that should be reported when you file your income taxes. Forgetting to include this income and not paying the taxes owed on this amount Read More…
Tax Credits & Deductions You Need to Know When you file your income taxes, you can “write off” certain expenses, and get extra tax credits based on your living situation. This means that if you had a qualifying expense over the course of the year, you basically get to subtract that expense from the income Read More…
Income Tax Filing Tips & Tricks What is income tax? Income tax is the tax you pay on your income, usually directly taken out of your paycheck. Everyone who works in the United States should be paying income tax on their earnings. Income is more than just wages and salaries too. If you earn rental Read More…
“Sales Tax” is a tax that is charged on goods sold to end customers, the final user of that product. The sales tax is a set percentage of the sale price of the goods sold, and individual states set their own sales tax percentages. Most states use sales taxes to generate revenue to pay for the state’s operations, but some charge no sales tax at all.
Credit reports contains your credit history – both the good and the bad. If you watch late-night TV, you may have seen a few commercials offering free credit reports, so you might know a little about them. Most people don’t know how important a credit report can play in their financial lives.
Short-term financing means taking out a loan to make a purchase, usually with a loan term of less than one year. There are many different types of short-term financing, the most common of which are “Buy Now, Pay Later,” “Unsecured Personal Loans,” and “Payday Loans.”
A credit card is a form of unsecured credit (meaning a loan without collateral) that you can use to make everyday purchases. All credit card purchases are made using a loan. You borrow money from your credit card issuer to make the purchase and pay it back later, plus interest.
How to Use Debt to Your Advantage Beginners trying to tackle their personal finances for the first time see debt as sort of a boogeyman. A specter that looms overhead trying to trap people into inescapable cycles of minimum payments and late fees. Or at the very least, something to be avoided whenever possible. Deep Read More…
To be “in debt” means to owe money to someone else, usually making fixed payments to pay back the amount over time, plus interest.
Credit is when you use borrowed money with a promise to repay it at a later date. Credit comes in many forms from credit cards to mortgages. There is a wide range of ways to use credit, which means that it is often a challenge for beginners to learn all the ins and outs of using credit wisely.
How Debit Cards Work Can’t view on YouTube? Click Here Before Debit Cards Before the 21st century, if you wanted to buy groceries or visit the mall, you had 4 options that you could use to pay, all of which had their own drawbacks: Cash, checks, credit cards, and short-term financing. Cash is always reliable Read More…
What is Money? Can’t view on YouTube? Click Here Many years ago, before the concept of money existed, if an individual needed something they couldn’t provide for themselves, they would exchange something they owned with someone who had it. This was called bartering. Every item would be traded for a different item. For example, if I needed Read More…
Automatic Payments: Convenience vs. Risk That title may be a bit hyperbolic – Automatic Bill Payments can be a huge time saver, and do help make sure your bills get paid on time (avoiding late fees and general headaches). This does come at a price, though – when your bills are automatically paid, you may Read More…
A “Spending Plan” is exactly as it says – a plan of what you will be spending each month. There are usually two parts – your “fixed” spending and your “variable” spending. The fixed part is usually the same every month, with things like rent/mortgage payments, grocery bills, insurance, and car payments. The variable part changes a lot from month to month, and can include things like Christmas shopping, buying new furniture, and paying for repairs.
Break Free From Money Stress with a Budget When learning about managing your finances, many experts will recommend you begin with a budget. A budget is a tool that tracks your income and expenses, and it allows you to set goals and make plans for the future. Developing a budget for a specific project, a special event, Read More…
Receipts: What to Keep and Why When you organize your financial records, it’s important to keep track of your spending, and with your spending comes receipts. When going on a typical shopping trip, it’s easy to accumulate multiple receipts quickly, as you may visit several stores, grab a meal, and fill up your car with gasoline. Beginner budgeters Read More…
Balance Your Books in 10-Minutes Your parents probably have experience reconciling their checkbook by comparing your own written records with their bank statements. In today’s world, reconciling your checkbook isn’t a common activity for two reasons: This does not mean you can skip the account reconciliation though. In fact, the way instant payments and other conveniences Read More…
Choosing the Best Banking Option for You When talking about Banking, people generally group Banks, Credit Unions, and Savings & Loan companies all in one group. They do provide similar services, but they each have specific differences that might make one a better fit for your financial needs than another. What They Have In Common Read More…
“Wealth” means having an abundance of something desirable. This can be tangible, like money and property, or intangible, like good health or freedom.
Tame Your Financial Paperwork As you begin working with financial institutions to secure your money and process your financial transactions, it is important that you learn to keep good financial records. These records, both on paper and electronic, will allow you to know where your money and assets are and exactly how much you have at Read More…