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Bitcoin is not the answer for beginner investors. The wide world of investing can be challenging to decipher and a little daunting when trying to figure out all the market options. Some beginner investors start with a savings account to see what earning a return on their income could be in the future. With a savings account, you earn interest on what you put into it, resulting in compound interest monthly. Savings accounts can be good for saving for a goal like a car or a vacation. A savings account is also reasonable for short-term goals where you're not looking to make a big profit. So, how do you make a more significant profit through investing? What's the Difference Between Saving and Investing? When you save money in a bank, it's protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation up to a certain amount. The bank must be an FDIC-insured bank for you to receive this protection in case the bank fails. When you save money in a bank, you earn a small amount of interest on your deposits. As you transfer more money into your savings account, you earn compound interest on the money you've deposited monthly. With investing, there's the possibility that you could earn gains on your money, or there's a risk that you could lose your money. Money put into investments does not have guaranteed returns because of the unpredictability of market fluctuations. Predicting a company's sustainability can also be challenging due to unknown financial information not being released in real-time. What You Need To Know As A Beginner Investor Investment Options Stocks  - When you purchase a stock, you buy shares of ownership in a company. You can buy a stock split, one stock, or numerous stocks in a company. Stock splits are used if you don't have the funds to purchase an entire stock. Owning company stock means that you own a percentage of the company itself. Bonds - With bonds, you loan your money to a company or the government in return for interest. The most popular type of bond is a savings bond. These come in EE or I series bonds. You can purchase these independently or when filing your tax return. Savings bonds can also be purchased as gifts for children. See What are Savings Bonds  to learn more. Advertiser Disclosure Retirement Accounts  - There are many types of retirement accounts available. A few options are a 401(k), 403(b), IRA, or Roth IRA. You can invest in these independently or through your employer, and there are pre-tax and post-tax options. Pre-tax means that you will pay less in tax now on your contributions and income. When you reach retirement age and decide to withdraw your funds, you will pay taxes on the distributions. Post-tax means that you've already paid taxes on your investments. Invest Early It's essential to invest early in your financial future. It's never too late to start contributing to a retirement plan. If you start contributing $100 per month into a retirement account when you're 20, you could have $600K when you turn 65. If you contribute the same amount at age 30, you could have about $310K at 65. So, starting and continuing to contribute to your retirement early makes q big financial difference. See my feature in How To Make Yourself A Retirement Millionaire . What's Your Risk Tolerance It's essential to assess your risk when investing. When you assess your risk, you determine your risk tolerance. When investing, there's the possibility that you may lose money, so understanding if you have a low, medium, or high-risk tolerance can help you make the best decisions on what to invest in. A financial planner can also guide you in determining your investing risk tolerance. Make A Plan After assessing your risk tolerance, you want to determine how you want to invest. Do you want to put your money in a savings account, stocks, bonds, your retirement fund, or real estate? And how do you want to portion out your investments? If you are risk-averse and have a lot of debt, you may want to keep your money in a safer option like a savings account. Or, you may pick a combination of two or more investment options. It's essential to weigh your options and plan for your financial future.

It's essential to have a healthy diet that doesn't bust your budget. Healthy eating on a budget can be done using The 3 P's method. The 3 P's are planning, purchasing, and preparing. Planning your meals, purchasing cost-effective grocery items, and preparing your meals at home can help you eat well on a limited budget. Here are a few tips on saving money when grocery shopping. Steps to Take to Plan for Grocery Shopping Clipping Coupons You can save lots of money on couponing if the coupons are for things you usually buy. Coupons for staples like rice, canned vegetables, and freezer items can help you save money on your grocery shopping if they are in your meal plan for the week or month. If you see a coupon in an advertisement, but it's not something that you usually buy, try to avoid purchasing these items that you rarely or may never use. I'm sure you've probably seen a preview of the show Extreme Couponing, and they save hundreds of dollars and spend $20 on their grocery bill. However, those items stay in their garage or pantries for months, or the shoppers end up giving the food away to their neighbors. So, skim the ads and select the coupons for items on your grocery list. Use A Grocery List Creating a weekly or monthly meal plan can help you build your grocery list. You may already have some meals that you eat regularly. For me, my lunch stays the same every day. So, when I create my list, these items are at the top because I know I will need to restock. When you make your grocery list, check your pantry, refrigerator, and deep freezer to see what items you already have. This can reduce the need to spend extra money on food you already have. The most important aspect of taking a grocery list into the store is eliminating wandering around in the aisles because you can't remember what you need to buy. Related: See 4 Strategies To Save Money on Groceries Don't Shop Hungry Now that you've entered the store with your coupons and grocery list, it's time to shop. But try not to shop while you're hungry! Shopping while you're hungry can make everything look so tempting, and you can fill your grocery cart with food that you don't even need. Typically, when I shop hungry, I fill my cart with quick snacks or junk food that I did not plan to buy initially. A good rule of thumb is to shop after breakfast or lunch so you'll be back home in time to prepare dinner at home. Purchasing Groceries Name Brand or Generic Are you loyal to name-brand items when it comes to grocery shopping? Name-brand items may have a generic version available on the grocery shelf. You may not notice them initially, but if you look on the bottom shelves of the grocery store, you can find a comparable item at a lower price. Name-brand and generic items have very similar ingredients and nutrients, but the cost differs. In searching my Walmart app, I found name-brand Quaker Oats for $2.38 and the exact size generic oatmeal for $1.56. This is just one example of a name-brand versus a generic, and there are many other comparisons. The cost of being loyal to name-brand items can add up in one year. Preparing Your Meals Meal Prep At Home Preparing your meals at home can be more cost-effective than eating out. You can also end up with leftovers that can be eaten the next night or frozen for future meals. Eating out may be quicker, but is it better for your health or wealth? Eating out is expensive and should be used as an occasional luxury even when you're not on a limited budget. A Meal Comparison Eating a home-cooked meal for a family of four could cost about $3 per person compared to $7 per person for fast Food. Here's a price comparison. Home Cooked (family of four) Great Value 3lb bag of chicken breast: $7.14 Uncle Ben's Box of Rice Pilaf: $1.98 Del Monte Can of Asparagus: $2.98 Total: $12.10 Fast Food (for one) Whopper Meal: $7 Plus Tax (7%): $0.49 Total: $7.49 Cooking at home for a family of four could save you money and leave you with leftovers for another meal. If you ate out twice a week for a month, you could spend approximately $119. So, what's on your plate?

What are your retirement goals? Have you considered what your retirement future will look like 10, 20, or 30 years from now? If not, it's never too early to start planning for it. Imagine that your retirement will be a world of new adventures and experiences to keep you active and in the game. Here are a few tips to prepare for your financial wellness in retirement. Your Path to Retirement Planning 1. Envision Your Retirement Envisioning your retirement can consist of imagining and writing down how you will enjoy your retirement future. Will you spend time with friends and family? Will you take up a new craft that you've been interested in for years? Will you travel or spend time at home gardening? Whatever you will be interested in, keeping a log of the top five things that you will accomplish in retirement will help you enjoy your first day and beyond. You won't have to punch a clock any longer, so this will be your time to enjoy your 365-day annual weekends. See my feature in the Retirement Planning Guide. 2. Manage Your Cash Flow When you retire, you may be on a fixed income, and the annual increases you may be used to receiving will stop. So, it's essential to manage your cash flow in retirement. If you are 40 today, the Social Security Administration has found that you may live to be at least 90. If you are looking to retire at 65, you will spend about 25 years in retirement. That's why managing your fixed and variable expenses can help ensure you have enough money in retirement. Your fixed expenses can consist of your food, mortgage, utilities, and healthcare. Your variable expenses can consist of vacations, hobbies, gifts, and charitable giving. Identify now what expenses you may have in retirement and the expected costs of each. Three Ways To Plan For Retirement 3. Will You Need To Replace Your Health Insurance? What do you do about health insurance if you are eligible for Medicare? You may have to obtain coverage through your spouse's employer, find an individual health insurance policy, or enroll in COBRA. An article by Fidelity has found that a 65-year old retired couple could spend up to $285,000 on health care expenses in retirement. It's essential to identify now what benefits you can enroll in when you decide to retire and how you can become eligible. For example, some employers require that you be enrolled in their healthcare plan before retirement to maintain your eligibility to stay on their plan. 4. Determine The Income You Will Need Once you envision your retirement and identify the fixed and variable expenses, you can determine how much you will need. A couple of factors to consider are: Your retirement age and your life expectancy Your eligibility for Social Security benefits and the age you will elect them The amount of all of your retirement income sources The rate of inflation in your retirement years Income tax rates Your healthcare needs or the needs of your significant other or dependents See my feature in How To Make Yourself a Retirement Millionaire. 5. Identify Your Income Sources Where will your income come from in retirement, and how much will it be? You may be eligible for social security benefits at the time of your retirement in addition to your retirement income. Will you be eligible to withdraw funds from an IRA, 401(k), company-funded defined benefit plan, with or without tax consequences at retirement? Are other benefits available such as a military retirement or disability income? And how much money do you have in savings? Identifying your retirement income sources and the tax consequences can help you determine which sources to use first. 6. Develop a Financial Support Team On your journey to preparing for financial wellness in retirement, it's vital to develop a trusted financial team to help you successfully navigate your retirement. A financial professional can help answer any questions relating to your financial wellness and help you create a household budget, and recommend strategies for your retirement income. A tax advisor can guide you in choosing the best options for collecting your retirement income and any tax implications of your financial decisions. In addition, an estate attorney can help you develop estate planning strategies for your heirs. Whether you value tranquility, adventure, culture, or community in retirement, coming up with a plan today can help guide your decisions in retirement and beyond. So, catch up on that needed R&R, hike the trails, travel, or volunteer the 10,000-plus days of your retirement away with a secure financial plan in mind. Do you need assistance with planning for your future retirement? Let's work together to see how you can achieve your retirement goals.

It's a new year, and I have new goals. Resolutions are fleeting, so I dumped those a long time ago. In the words of Tony Robbins, "Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible." You want your goals to be visible, and writing them down and tracking them using the SMART method can help you achieve them. You can accomplish your goals by budgeting your income and keeping an accurate record of your weekly and monthly expenses using a budget tracker. Zero-Based Budgeting Using the zero-based budgeting approach, I account for every dollar of income and expenses at the beginning of each month to ensure that every dollar has a purpose. For example, when my paycheck was deposited on December 31st, I ensured that my savings, monthly expenses, investments, and other incidentals were accounted for until my budget reached $0. Creating a budget helps ensure that I don't overspend and guides me in achieving my goals faster. Income & Expenses At the beginning of every month, I use an Excel spreadsheet to track my income. My husband and I have a separate account for household bills and groceries, and we both deposit a portion of our income into our joint account to cover the costs. Every six months, we have conversations to review our expenses and adjust our deposits as needed for changes to our monthly expenses. We also have a joint savings account and separate savings accounts for our individual goals. This helps keep the peace in my household. Calculating My Budget Here's an example of how I distribute my monthly income and expenses: Household Expenses = 15% Utilities, Charity, Tithes, Groceries Joint Savings = 27% Vacation, Home Improvements, Emergency Fund Individual Savings = 18% For Gifts, Treating Myself, and Future Goals Investments = 29% Stocks, Retirement, Wealth Fund Miscellaneous = 10% Gas, Hair Salon, Starbucks! Individual Life Insurance = 1% See my feature in 5 Money Lessons For New College Graduates. What Happens Next? I create a new budget for the next month and continue the cycle. Using a zero-based budget enables me to achieve future goals for myself and my family. We can also pay cash for our vacations and any needed repairs or upgrades to our home. The end goal is that we want to remain debt-free, financially independent, and live life as we see fit.

Over the years, I have been teaching my children how to manage their finances. With this comes questions, and I may not always have the answers. This is common when parents teach their children about finances because we think they should know the answers or the questions have never come up in our personal lives. My youngest daughter continually asks questions about investing, credit, and budgeting. Here are a few of the questions. When Did You Start Investing? My daughter began investing when she was 14, and I have encouraged other family members to start investing for their children even earlier than that. I started investing in my twenties. This combination of investments included savings bonds, certificates of deposits (CDs), and retirement accounts. At that time, I was focused on saving instead of building my wealth using stocks, money market accounts, or ETFs. Now, I invest heavily in these investment vehicles and have started dabbling in cryptocurrency. Whether you started in your teens, twenties, or thirties, it's never too late to begin investing. It's essential to know your risk tolerance when it comes to investing. This is one reason why I delayed the riskier investments. I didn't feel comfortable risking my hard-earned income when I still had kids at home and other financial obligations that were a priority. If you don't know your risk tolerance, talk to a trusted advisor and your partner, so you're all on the same page when making financial decisions. See my feature in How To Make Yourself A Retirement Millionaire. How Often Do You Pay Your Credit Card? I added my children as authorized users on my credit card to get experience managing credit and building their credit scores simultaneously. When you add an authorized user to your credit card, their purchasing and payment activity can affect your credit and theirs. As a result, I had a conversation with my children to let them know that it's essential to stay aware of their credit card balances. This included knowing credit card due dates and knowing when interest would be charged on their purchases. So, I encourage them to pay their credit card balances at least semi-monthly to avoid any late fees or interest. See my feature in 9 Secrets Habits of People With Credit Scores Above 800. How Often Do You Balance Your Checking Account? The answer to this question depends on my purchase activity for the month. I balance my checking account at least twice a month. Balancing my budget semi-monthly helps me ensure that all paycheck deposits, automatic transfers, bills, and regular monthly expenses are accounted for. It also helps me keep my spending in control. If I notice that I'm spending more on groceries than the previous month, I work to find different ways to stretch our meals or cut back on other spending categories. See my feature in Conversations To Have Once Your Teen Starts Earning Money. Getting Comfortable With Questions Whatever the questions are, it's okay to be uncomfortable at first. As I mentioned, I don't always have the answers, and you may not either. But after a while, you will find that it gets easier to answer the questions and share information with your teens. If you don't know the answer, let them know that and find the answer together. Finding the answers together can encourage your teen to continue the money conversation and prepare them for making financial decisions on their own.

I am sure you've heard the phrase that 'nothing is certain but taxes and death.' There are many types of taxes that individuals must pay that consist of federal, state, payroll, self-employment taxes, and more. Taxes paid fund schools, roads, the government, and many other things. So, why do we pay taxes, and which ones apply to you? Here are four types of taxes that you need to know. As an Advertiser, this post may contain affiliate links to E-file. Federal & State Income Taxes You may see federal income tax deducted from your gross pay if you work for an employer. When you completed your W-4, you would have selected the allowances or adjustments you wanted to withhold from your paycheck. You can adjust these withholdings throughout the year if you think too much or too little tax is deducted from your gross pay. State income tax is also deducted from your gross pay like federal income tax. There are seven states with no payroll income tax. Many fixed-income retirees live in states with minimal to no state tax requirements. You can E-File a State Tax Return using E-file. If you qualify for their Basic Software, you could also qualify to file your federal taxes for free See my feature on Yahoo, where I discuss how to manage your tax refund. Self-Employment Taxes If you own a business, you may be subject to the self-employment tax. If you operate your business consistently and its sole purpose is profit, this tax may apply to you. Depending on the type of business you establish, you may be able to file a Schedule C with your tax return, or you may have to file a business tax return. Property Taxes If you own property such as a home, you will have to pay annual property taxes on the home's value. These taxes are collected by the city where you live, and tax rates can differ based on the value of your property. Some states allow property tax exemptions for specific individuals. For example, Florida offers a $5,000 property tax exemption for eligible disabled veterans. If you are a 100% permanent and total disabled veteran in Florida, you can apply for a complete property tax exemption. However, eligible residents must still pay specific non-ad valorem assessments. Sales Taxes Whenever you make a purchase in-store or online, you may see that you must pay tax on your items. Sales tax can apply to groceries, furniture, vehicles, travel, clothes, and any other things you can consider. Some states may charge a sales tax on food items, and others may not. Many states offer a tax-free holiday during the beginning of the school year as a way for families to save money on their purchases. Not only is this beneficial to the consumer, but it can also increase sales for business owners. See my feature in the Back-to-School Budget Planner to see how you can take advantage of your state's tax-free shopping.

As a parent, you can teach your child how to budget by having conversations about income, spending, and saving every day. Even the most minor thing can be a positive discussion about money habits. Having a family money conversation with your children at an early age can motivate them to learn more. You can accomplish this by starting with age-appropriate discussions to boost your child's financial literacy and yours too. Here are a couple of tips on how you can get the conversation started. Budgeting For Groceries One of the most significant expenses as a parent is the grocery budget. Your family can save money by planning meals together. You can accomplish this by inventorying your freezer and pantry items to determine what groceries you need for the week or month. Keep a few staples such as dry goods, beans, pasta, and canned vegetables stocked in your pantry. These are fillers in the meal and have a long shelf life. Keep a stock of proteins, frozen vegetables, and prepared oven meals in your freezer. Planning meals as a family and in advance allows you to reduce your grocery budget and teaches your children grocery shopping habits. It can also eliminate the need to stop at fast-food restaurants on the way home from work. Helping Children Set Money-Saving Goals Teaching your children about money, budgeting, and saving for goals can help them build a solid financial future. When my husband and I have conversations about money, we bring the children to the table to encourage them to talk about money and goal planning. Teaching your children to save funds they receive from an allowance, holidays, or birthdays for a goal they have set for themselves creates an invaluable teaching moment. Their savings goal could be to purchase a toy, a new dress, or books. When they finally make the purchase, children tend to value the item that much more. See my feature in Conversations To Have Once Your Teen Starts Earning Money . Helping Children Track Expenses Once your child sets a goal, teaching them how to track their expenses is essential. Your child can track deposits, interest, and purchases using a check register, Excel spreadsheet, or budgeting app. Tracking their flow of income can help them realize how money flows and encourage them to save for short-term and long-term goals. It can also show them the result of spending their hard-earned savings and guide their future spending. Talking with Your Children About Credit Does your child know what happens when you swipe your credit card? They may or may not know that you have to pay for purchases after using your credit card. Teaching your child how credit works is essential when teaching them how to budget. Whether for furniture or grocery purchases, it is vital to show them that you must repay all purchases. Have a conversation with your child to show them how you repay your credit card purchases and the result of any interest you may pay for carrying a balance on your credit card. Ultimately, it can reduce any credit card debt they incur as adults.

Parents with teens are on the verge of raising young adults preparing to begin their first job or heading off to college. When teens get their first job, they may want to spend their first paycheck on a shopping spree. That is why it's so important to teach children age-appropriate money habits before getting their first job. Young adults face insurmountable credit card and student loan debt, so teaching your teen positive money habits is essential. Teaching Children How to Save Money Parents should encourage their teens to save money and set financial goals so that they understand the practice of budgeting, saving, and investing. Encouraging saving and goal setting with teens helps build a solid financial foundation for their future. In addition, knowing how to budget and save for goals can reduce the chances of getting into uncontrollable debt in the future. Money Lessons Finance 101 for Kids: Money Lessons Children Cannot Afford to Miss (Ad) can help your teen understand interest, budgeting, investing, and other basic financial lessons. Andal also covers the fees associated with a bounced check. Today's teens have probably never used a check or seen you use a check. However, they may receive a checkbook when they open their first checking account and should understand the responsibilities of the payer and the payee. Many other lessons can help you start the conversation with your teen about money management. Helping Teens Save for the Long-Term Saving can help teens prepare for financial responsibilities later in life because it can reduce the need to get into debt using credit cards or obtain loans with high interest rates. It can also show how putting away a little money can grow over a long-term period. Having a savings account in addition to an emergency fund can help ensure that you can pay for unexpected expenses with cash. Ultimately, preparing for financial obligations in the teenage years will set a solid foundation for budgeting and saving for future goals. See my feature in Conversations To Have Once Your Teen Starts Earning Money. Teaching Teens How to Budget Teens can learn how to balance a budget at home to be prepared for life after high school. Most college students leave home with limited knowledge of how to manage their finances. A survey by Piper Sandler found that teens spend 22% of their income on food and 21% on clothing. Spending will increase even further as the effects of the pandemic lessen. For this reason, teaching your children to budget at home can help them manage future student loans, scholarships, and household expenses such as rent or groceries. It can also decrease the need for their parents to fill in the gap when they run short on cash. Teaching Teens about Investing Parents can start investing on behalf of their teens by opening up a custodial investing account. The money in a custodial account is in the teens' name and can be transferred after they turn 18. It's a good practice to have your teen by your side when you are investing on their behalf. It can help them understand how to invest, the market, and how market fluctuations affect their investments. Continuing The Conversation It's essential to continue to talk to teens about money. Having continual money conversations can develop other questions that build on their financial knowledge. It's okay if you don't know the answer to their questions. You and your teen can learn together and realize that not knowing the answer is common. Constant discussions about money also imply that their financial situation should be monitored and adjusted as their financial goals change.

Building your resume can sometimes feel like an art form. You should include the required items on your resume, like your job title, dates of employment, and your job accomplishments for each role. However, there are also items that you should leave off of your resume to avoid various types of discrimination. The following are standard items that you may include on your resume that can subject you to bias and how you can prevent it. This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. Don't Put Your Address on Your Resume Including your address on your resume lets the potential employer know that you are near their physical office. Adding your address can be advantageous if the employer is looking for someone who does not require relocation expenses or looking for a remote opportunity. However, this can lead to zip code discrimination. Zip code discrimination occurs when there is bias based on where you live in a specific city. To avoid bias based on your location when crafting your resume, you can enter the city and state in which you live. If you are selected to move forward, you can provide more detailed information as needed. Remove Your Graduation Dates from Your Resume If you're a recent college grad or have had your degree for 20-plus years, this can show employers that you are someone who continues their education or is experienced in your field. Many employers look for recent college graduates because they can hire them at a lower salary due to their inexperience in their field. On the other hand, if you graduated 20 years ago and your graduation date on your resume could lead to age discrimination. Recruiters or hiring managers may be able to calculate your age based on when you graduated from high school or college, which can cause you to be passed over for that sought-after opportunity. The solution is to enter the degree you received and the college you received it from without your graduation date. Advertiser Disclosure See my feature in 8 Things to Do After Being Laid Off. Edit a Lengthy Employment History When applying for an opportunity, you want to show the employer why you're the best candidate for the job. Displaying that you are the best candidate may mean that you want to include all of your relevant experience on your application. Right? The answer is sometimes no to this situation if it may lead to age discrimination. If you are applying for entry-level or management-level positions, the past 30 years of your work history may not be needed. It's essential to include your most recent and relevant work history in your resume and keep it to, at the most, two pages in length. See how to Organize Your Job Job Search. Remove Photos, Headshots, and Selfies from Your Resume You will rarely include your photo on your resume, but it may be required for some professions. If you are submitting a curriculum vitae or are looking for employment in the medical field, these are two instances in which a photo may be required. Presuming that you are not entering the medical or teaching industry, you should leave your picture off your resume. Most employers will pass over resumes with photos to avoid any potential discrimination or unconscious bias. A best practice is to use your headshot for your LinkedIn profile or website. After you've updated your resume, you need to ensure that you are prepared for the interview. Here are a couple of tips from me and other HR professionals on how you can prepare to land your next career. Advertiser Disclosure

Debt can take many forms, including payments due on auto loans, credit cards, mortgages, payday loans, student loans, and even borrowing from retirement accounts. Debt management may seem like a chore, but keeping track of what you owe can help you build a solid financial future and eliminate future financial stressors. Read on to discover the four most common types of debt. Managing Your Credit Cards It's no surprise that credit cards top this list. You may see credit card offers on television, in your mailbox, and even in your emails. It's essential to monitor your credit card usage to ensure you use it responsibly and not for every purchase you need to make. A good habit is to pay cash for any purchases under $20. See my feature in 10 Signs Your Spending is Out of Control. Finding the Best Auto Loan For most individuals, transportation is a need. You need it to get to work, go grocery shopping, and ensure that you have a reliable means of transportation. As a result, you may require an auto loan if you don't have the cash on hand to pay for your new or used car in full. To control your auto loan debt, it is essential to consider the loan's total cost and evaluate your loan options. If you are a member of a credit union, you may be able to get a better deal than the dealership is offering. Understanding Mortgage Loans Mortgages typically last between 15 and 30 years. This debt never seems to go away. However, you can reduce the time you have to pay for a mortgage by paying more toward the principal. I lowered my 30-year mortgage to eight and a half years by adding additional payments toward the principal every month. This method saved my family over $140,000 in interest. Here's a great book that can help you on your credit journey. Your Score: An Insider's Secrets to Understanding, Controlling, and Protecting Your Credit Score (Ad) How to Fund Your College Education Providing that you want to increase your income or move on to the next step in your career, you may need to take out a student loan. However, other options can help you avoid student loan debt. You can find scholarships or grants and use employer tuition reimbursement to fund your education. If you still require a student loan, federal student loans are preferred over private student loans. Federal student loans give you a better interest rate, and loan forgiveness may be available if you work in public service for ten years.

The ushering in of the new year enables you to start afresh with your future goals. It gives you time to reflect on your past and current plans and give them new life. If you set your financial goals for the year, did you accomplish them or make progress? If you did, congratulations! If you did not, that's okay too. Here are five financial goals that can guide you in building wealth and securing your financial future. How to Set a Budget and Stick to It Setting a budget for your expenses, savings, and future goals can help you keep your budget on track. Determining what you will spend on groceries, personal care, entertainment, and even gifts can help ensure that you don't overspend in those categories. It's essential to keep track of your budget using a notebook, Excel, or a banking app to ensure you know how much you're earning, spending, and saving every month. Keeping track of your income, expenses, and savings will enable you to make adjustments to your budget. Pay Down Your Debt Reducing your debt can save you money in the long run. You save money by reducing the fees and interest that you are paying for your purchases. Here are three ways that you can reduce your credit card debt. Start an Emergency Fund You can't always predict when emergencies will occur, but you can plan for them. While establishing your budget, you can create a separate account to save for emergencies. Building an emergency fund for unexpected expenses can eliminate the need to use credit or loans to cover the cost of home repairs or your medical needs. A popular rule of thumb is to set aside at least three to six months of your monthly expenses in an emergency fund. Plan For Retirement The earlier you start to plan for retirement, the better. Setting a goal to begin your first paycheck of the year with an adjusted retirement savings rate can reduce your taxable income. Pretax contributions to a 401(k) or 403(b) can be made automatically through your employer using a payroll deduction. Your retirement savings will occur before your regular pay enters your checking account! If you've already started planning for retirement, continue building your retirement by maximizing the employer match. It's free money. After maximizing the employer match, contribute additional income to prevent future debt later in life. See my feature in MoneyRates: Retirement Planning Guide Improve Your Financial Literacy You are one step closer to improving your financial literacy if you've read this far. Expand your financial knowledge by  reading financial books like The Psychology of Money and discussing your financial situation with a trusted resource. Having conversations about money can bring up financial options that you have not considered when managing your money. There are also many YouTube videos and other free resources that can guide you in building wealth and securing a solid financial future. Need additional financial insights? Feel free to reach out to me for a one-on-one  consultation .

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) is prevalent in today's consumer market. Buying now and paying later enables you to purchase economical or big-ticket items without using your credit. The advantage is that you don't pay interest on things you would typically buy using a credit card or loan. It's best to consider other key factors when evaluating whether buying now and paying later fits into your budget. Let's review some key points to examine below. Is Buy Now, Pay Later Interest-Free? Using BNPL, you can finally purchase items without being charged interest. BNPL enables you to pay for the item's actual value and can help you keep your budget intact. Typically, you would pay between 12% to 25% interest on your overall purchases when using a credit card. Estimating what you are paying for an item can be challenging if you do not pay your balances off monthly. BNPL eliminates the guesswork. How Affordable is Using Buy Now, Pay Later Sometimes it may be challenging to purchase items that are not in your budget. Using the BNPL model, you may feel that you can now afford purchases that you have been delaying for months or years. These items could include furniture, appliances, clothing, or even groceries. During the holiday season, prices increase, and using BNPL could be an excellent opportunity to enjoy this time of year. See Top 4 Ways To Budget For The Holidays Do You Need a Credit Credit Check Or Approval for BNPL? BNPL does not require a credit check or pre-approval. When you enter a store or shop online, you can select BNPL without it affecting your credit. This means that it will not show up on your credit report as an inquiry. If you want to make a home purchase soon, the BNPL model is advantageous because your debt-to-income ratio and credit are examined closely during this time. Can I use BNPL If My Credit Cards are Maxed Out? Is your credit card maxed out? If so, BNPL can provide you with another method to afford your future purchases. However, if your credit cards are at the maximum, this may be a sign that you should reduce your spending and start paying down your debt. BNPL may be enticing because you don't have to pay the balance right away, but it can encourage you to make additional purchases that you can't currently afford. Are there Penalties or Late Fees for BNPL? There are penalties for not abiding by the agreements set in the BNPL model. It's essential to ensure that you pay the installments or the total balance of your purchase so that additional fees are not added to your total amount due. These fees are similar to what you would be charged if you paid for your credit card, utilities, or cell phone bill after the due date. So, try not to overextend your budget and keep track of when your bills are due by enrolling in automatic reminders. Overspending BNPL can encourage overspending. It's essential to know your limits when using BNPL. BNPL is a tool, and you should use it in moderation. Evaluate your priorities, future goals, and budget to determine if you need to purchase the items in your cart. Conducting a self-assessment of your financial roadmap can help ensure that you control your financial situation.