When people think about “getting their credit together” they usually call on the assistance of a credit repair specialist without fully understanding what services they actually need. A low credit score can be the result of several different factors, and while credit repair may help you achieve your goals, it’s important to understand that credit repair and credit building are not one in the same! With that being said, there will be certain things that a credit repair specialist just can’t do for you! What is Credit Repair? Credit Repair is simply the process
How to Talk Money With Your Children!
As a child, I can’t remember ever discussing money or credit with my parents. I did however observe the way they dealt with their finances, good and bad, which led to me eventually adopting some of their bad money habits as a young adult. Unfortunately, this is common amongst most households. For some it may be taboo to discuss money and finances with your children, however as parents we must overcome the reluctance to have these tough conversations with our kids. The lack of conversation regarding money in the household along with the lack
Thinking of buying your first home? Read these tips first!
I know that the American Dream has always been to get a good job, get married, have children, and then buy your dream home! However, the more people are becoming familiar with the concept of financial freedom, the more people realize this may not be the dream they want for themselves or their family, at least not how it has traditionally been done in the past. People are starting to be very careful on their first home purchase, and this is a great thing! Deciding to purchase a home is a personal decision. Where
It’s My Fault!
So as we embark on this New year of 2019 and many of us apply resolutions to better ourselves and our personal and financial lives it is important to ask ourselves what outside factors stopped us in the previous year from reaching our goals. Was it the dead end job, the holidays, your spouse,or unexpected vehicle expenses? We could go on and on about the variety of challenges that life will undoubtedly throw at you but ultimately and decisively the problem believe it or not is YOU! Own It! Taking accountability and ownership for
How the Envelope System Can Save Your Budget
So you’ve finally mastered excel and established a budget that works for you! Only problem is, you still seem to end up short each month without really understanding how! Trust me, it happens to the best of us! With most of us using debit cards for our monthly bills as well as miscellaneous and household expenses, the lines of how much money to spend on what can become very blurred! This is why I absolutely LOVE the envelope system! What Is The Envelope System? The envelope system is simply a budgeting method in which
What the Tax Reform Bill Means for your 2018 Return!
This article contains affiliate links for services and sites we trust or use. To learn more, please read our full disclaimer. Last year the Tax Reform Bill was signed into law and its been called “the most sweeping changes to the tax code in 30 years!” The law is 1,000 pages long but what most of us want to know is, “How does this affect my 2018 taxes?!?” Don’t worry; below we’ve included the changes that will affect most tax returns this upcoming tax season! Child Tax Credit Under the Tax Reform Bill the
Avoid Overspending This Holiday Season!
This article contains affiliate links for services and sites we trust or use. To learn more, please read our full disclosure. With the Holiday season quickly approaching, it can be easy to overspend while in the holiday spirit. It’s the season of giving and we all want to put a smile on our family and friend’s faces! Sadly, its also the season most people rack of enormous amounts of debt! Just remember, once the holiday season is over you’ll be responsible for all of the debt you accumulate! Use the following tips to avoid
How to Save, Pay Debt, and Maintain Bills on a Stretched Budget
This is a question that I get a lot, “How do I save, maintain my monthly expenses, and paydown debt at the same time! When you are drowning in debt while trying to pay your monthly bills it can seem like an impossible task to keep your head above water and saving seems out of the question! I know many have trouble prioritizing what to they should be paying first or if they should be saving at all while in debt. Sometimes it can be discouraging getting advice to just “budget” and “cut back your
Stop Letting Your Bank Rob You!
One thing that our family has been going through is the decision of where to sit money in the down time between investing and actually accumulating the capital necessary to make the investments. While many banks and credit unions are paying you roughly around 0.09 % there are other options to explore online called high yield savings accounts with APY ‘s (annual percentage yields) from around 1.75 % to as much as 5.15%. This allows you to earn as much as 10 times the amount of interest you would earn in traditional brick and
Why an Emergency Fund is Vital for Good Credit!
This article contains affiliate links for services and sites we trust or use. To learn more, please read our full disclaimer. I have seen people who were genuinely committed to building their credit. They were using their credit cards responsibly, staying away from unnecessary debt, and paying their bills on time and then some unforeseen emergency happened to where it completely derailed their progress. They had to either utilize their credit cards or take out a payday loan with an extremely high interest rate. In some cases, this emergency would put them behind on