The other day I finally got to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and I really loved the Niffler. I think it might be my spirit animal. Especially going into work layoffs. The term layoff tends to make people freak out – and it almost always makes people outside the entertainment world think…
For most of us, our lives are full of unexpected twists and turns, many of them are unexpected minor issues that need our immediate attention, even when we haven’t planned for them. If your car breaks down or the washing machine needs repairing, it might be that you need a bit of short-term finance from…
Do you have money set aside for a rainy day? We can’t always prepare for unexpected expenses, and financial experts all agree having an emergency fund is a non-negotiable. If your emergency fund is not as stacked as it could be, or you don’t yet have money set aside, use these tips to grow your…
Update: 4/18/17: In light of digit’s move to start charging $2.99/month for their services, you may want to check out my post What Are Some Other Ways to Save besides digit? Since I’ve started paying more attention to my finances, I’ve tried a lot of websites and apps to make my life easier. Some start off strong…
Also known as… why freelancers need a Stark mentality. I’ve recently gotten into watching Game of Thrones, after giving up waiting for the next book, and that Stark motto has really resonated with me. Winter is coming. When the show opens, you meet the Stark family and they are a group who clearly have it…
Spending money is fun, but saving money is smart. No you can’t take it with you once you leave, but I’m sure we’ve all had at least one happenstance in our lives in which having a lump sum of cash tucked away could have done some good. Whether you’re financially well off or you’re struggling…
I am a list maker and a goal setter. How else do you achieve things if you don’t know what you want to achieve? I’ve never actually been a huge fan of New Year’s Resolutions, but since I started blogging, I’ve used that as my time each year to reassess my financial goals and sort…
So many personal finance articles harp on the importance of an emergency savings account. I completely agree, but I feel like for some people, the idea of starting an emergency savings account is like trying to wring blood from a stone. My emergency savings have saved my butt and opened the door to better opportunities…
I’ve been 100% sold on Ally for about 5 years. It’s a terrific bank with few downsides, but every once in a blue moon, I need a brick and mortar institution to help me out with something like a cashier’s check or a large cash deposit. I’ve banked with Wells Fargo (who made my life…
I realize in the entertainment industry, periods of collecting unemployment are the norm. I’ve never thought twice about a friend telling me they were on unemployment. Until the friend became me. Or might become me. I’m still not 100% decided. I’ve always thought of unemployment as a drastic final measure to make sure you’re fed…
Update: 4/18/17: In light of digit’s move to start charging $2.99/month for their services, you may want to check out my post What Are Some Other Ways to Save besides digit? In early January, one of my credit cards had fraudulent activity or something on it and was cancelled. Since I’ve been traveling, I haven’t had a…
No, really… can you? Because I am totally not sure what to do here and I’ve noticed it’s become a trend among the late twenty/thirty something bloggers – medium term financial goals. Retirement is an easy one for me – it’s ages away and the stock market is clearly the way to go. It will…
A few weeks ago we discussed the different times it’s totally ok to use your emergency savings and judging by the replies I got – most of us have tapped our emergency savings at one point or another. So you’ve finally gotten through the emergency: your first paycheck is in from your new job, the…
Emergency funds are awesome! I can honestly say that how well I sleep at night is effected by the balance in that account. I got it up to $2,000 pretty quickly in my early 20’s but hitting the goal of $5,000 took some time – partially because of paying off debt and partially because of…
Update: 4/18/17: In light of digit’s move to start charging $2.99/month for their services, you may want to check out my post What Are Some Other Ways to Save besides digit? A few months ago, I wrote about an app called Acorns that helps automate your savings and lets you take baby steps into investing.…
A few months ago I wrote about how I felt stuck in neutral. As I’ve been reviewing my New Year goals, I realized I don’t feel that way at all anymore. I think there’s always a period of transition when things in your life change. It’s nice to think that after you’ve gone full tilt…
Trying to take giant steps towards your goals is awesome, but sometimes getting started is difficult. Or things may be going well, but you still want to improve your finances a little more and you’re not sure where to start. I was thinking about that this past week as I’ve been adjusting to an entirely…
I mentioned the other day that I’ve been feeling stuck in neutral. I was writing about money in that post, but honestly, I feel that way about a whole lot of things in my life right now. On the plus side, neutral is not reverse. So I decided to work on something pretty concrete that…
I’m looking for a new bank for my emergency savings account. I’ve had those funds stashed in a CapitalOne360 account since well before it was called CapitalOne360. It was awesome when I opened it, honestly, one of the best on the market back then, but now it’s offering me a measly .5%. Part of this…
Maybe you’ve found 529 Savings Plans aren’t for you. Maybe you’re uncomfortable about earmarking all that money as “college only,” because maybe your kid is not college bound (and really, that’s not the end of the world – check out this great article on trade schools). Maybe you live in a state with no income…
College these days is ridiculously expensive. I’ve ranted about it a few times. However, the goal of today’s post is not to rant, but to overcome. As much as I wanted my angry keystrokes to take down the system, the fact remains that college is still necessary for most. So what’s a parent (or a…
On to the 50s. I think I’m actually looking forward to this decade. I mean, I rarely meet a 50 year old who doesn’t seem like they’ve at least got some of life figured out. On the flip side, I do not. Financially speaking, at least, I’ll let you folks benefit from my research… if…
If you got down and dirty with your finances in your 20’s, you are probably in an entirely different spot than other 30 year olds who are now facing The Great Depression. That point when club hopping, hot shoes and all night benders don’t cut it anymore and they wonder exactly where the heck all…
Your twenties are pretty awesome, because I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I will ever have as few responsibilities pulling at me for an entire decade ever again. Don’t get me wrong, my income bracket also reflects the whole just starting out thing, but still, it’s easier to make decisions as a…
So now we’ve calculated your net worth. Based off your net worth, we’ve set up budgets for each month. Now is the time to start building an emergency fund, because you never know what life is going to throw at you… and mostly, it seems to like cruel tricks. The idea of an emergency fund…