When I started my career after college, retirement was the last thing on my mind. I was 22, and it hardly seemed important. Luckily my employer (the state government) required that I contribute to my retirement account — otherwise, I probably wouldn’t have! As I learned more about finance, I began to see the importance […]
Here’s how most people approach saving money: They tell themselves that they’ll save whatever is left at the end of the month. But someone there never seems to be anything left when the end of the month rolls around. I was stuck in this pattern for years, and I know how frustrating it can be. […]
When I started budgeting, I thought I was doing great. I had plenty of money left over in my budget after accounting for all my expenses, and I thought for sure I’d be able to save a lot and pay off my debt quickly. But somehow, the end of the month would roll around, and […]
The average American family has more than $5,200 in credit card debt, according to the Experian 2021 Consumer Credit Review. And as a nation, we hold nearly $900 billion in credit card debt. This type of debt can be especially discouraging. The interest rates are notoriously high, meaning we end up paying back far more […]
More than 97 million people plan to set financial goals for themselves. But without a solid plan in place and the right habits to back it up, it can be challenging to reach those goals. Trust me – I was the queen of setting goals and new year’s resolutions for myself. But then, I would […]
When my husband and I got married, we knew the only way we would be able to pay off our six-figure student loan debt while also saving for our other goals was to increase our income. Finding ways to save money is great. But you can only cut so much from your budget. And we […]
One of the most common questions I get from people who are ready to get serious about investing is the best tool to use. Of course, many of us get our start investing in a workplace retirement plan, such as a 401(k) or 403(b). But there are also options to help you invest for retirement […]
I was in my mid-twenties before I created my first budget. I was out of college and had my first full-time job. I made decent money, but I never seemed to have any left at the end of each month. And I couldn’t seem to figure out where all my money was going. When I […]
I didn’t start tracking my net worth until I was in my late twenties. If I’m being honest, I didn’t think it was all that important. I thought my income was the metric that really mattered. But here’s the problem with that: your income is just a snapshot of your finances. It doesn’t show the […]
When Brandon and I got engaged, we had some pretty lofty goals. We planned to plan and pay for a wedding in four months, travel to Spain for our honeymoon, pay off our non-student loan debt, and save for an RV to travel the country. Oh yeah, and we hoped to do it all within […]
