Category: Personal Finance

Learn about a variety of personal finance topics, including budgeting, saving, credit, debt, taxes, insurance, retirement and more

Personal Finance

Warning: Don’t Make Any of These Money Mistakes!

I’d really love to say that I am some sort of financial wizard and even to tell you that my “extreme” knowledge about this subject has zoomed me off into great wealth and fame. Well, it’s not that easy and it’s certainly not true, but I have managed to avoid a number of money mistakes in my time.

While it's important to know what to do with your money, it's just as important to know what money mistakes to avoid.

I have done well enough to make it to age 71 without going down any rabbit holes when it comes to money. And I have a modicum of fame (does this blog count because I am counting it!). But I’m nowhere near the Dave Ramseys or the Suze Ormans of the world (nor do I really want to be). But the point here isn’t about me or them. It’s about you.

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More, Taxes

Are You Missing Your 2020 Stimulus Check?

Now that we are into the year 2021, we have a new clean slate and that means we can start our financial recovery right now. So if you are entitled to government help via a stimulus check, then make sure you get every cent of it! If you haven’t as of yet, there is a remedy.

Are you missing your 2020 stimulus check? Here's why you might have missed it, and how to get it now with your 2020 tax return!
iStock.com / cabania

To help fight the economic losses from the coronavirus impact, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued about 160 million stimulus checks (many of them $1,200 checks) for eligible Americans in the first round of economic impact payments (EIP) that began in April of 2020. Millions more payments, dubbed EIP 2 ($600 checks), started going out last December as a second round of stimulus.

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Retirement

Take a Good Hard Look at Your Retirement Nest Egg

Most people refer to their retirement savings as their “retirement nest egg”. In theory that’s the money that is made up from the many sources of retirement income, the many eggs you should be socking away so that when the time comes, you have those eggs to “cook up” a great retirement. I say “should” because reality is that an awful lot of people are leaving their cupboard bare and for a million reasons are not preparing for retirement at all. In fact, I am ashamed to say I have friends and relatives who are in their prime earning years and still have not saved a single penny for retirement!

So much for having a very sage financial blogger in your inner circle!

Social Security was never meant to replace your retirement nest egg. Are you doing all you can to plan for a secure retirement?

You may have ignored retirement when in your 20’s or 30’s, but when you are still saying “la, la, la, la, la” about it in your 40’s and 50’s, you are in a boat that is sinking fast. So right now is a good time to take a good hard look at your retirement nest egg and start bailing!

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Income & Career

Why Now Is the Perfect Time to Start a Side Hustle

For today’s guest post on why now is the time to start a side hustle, please welcome Chris Panteli from LifeUpswing.

In these uncertain times starting a side hustle is a must. Bringing in extra money can help in many ways. What would you use the extra money for?

Any extra money you earn could help pay debts off quicker, be added to a savings account to cover emergencies, or be used to pay for fun spending meaning your wages can remain untouched after all bills are paid.

If you want to start a side hustle to earn more money, now is the time to begin. Here are the reasons why, plus ideas for your side hustle.

This article will explain why it’s the perfect time to start a side hustle.

Why You Should Start A Side Hustle

It is extremely easy to find reasons not to do something, but there are lots of great reasons why you should start a side hustle. Here are eight fantastic reasons to start a side hustle.

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Taxes

You Will Pay These 6 Types of Taxes Forever

Please note this post contains affiliate links which help to fund this blog at no cost to you. Thanks for your support!

It’s a new year and with that comes the hope that everything is just plain going to get better. We all hope that. That means everything including your finances, especially after what will go down as a disastrous 2020 and so many who have suffered economically. But with a new year also comes the reality that “tax season” is now upon us. April’s due date is just a few months away and January is the start of your prep time for that event. But while your income tax returns get all the fanfare, there are different types of taxes we are subject to.

There are different types of taxes that you will need to pay. Understanding the different types helps you to plan and minimize your burden.

Taxes affect just about every facet of your life, even if you don’t realize it. Learning the different types of taxes you pay can help you understand the true cost of your financial fortunes. Here’s what may be a shocker to you. Income tax isn’t the only tax that you will be paying this year. In fact, you will be paying taxes every year…wait for it…forever!

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Family & Relationships, Personal Finance

Estate Planning: Planning Now Can Go a Long Way

Please note this post contains affiliate links which help to fund this blog at no cost to you. Thanks for your support!

2020 might go down in history as the year of canceled and changed plans, but it is over and 2021 is here. We are all hoping that the new year will resemble normalcy soon. Kicking off 2021 with a few simple money management plans is a great way to start that and turn over a new leaf. Now is the time to get organized, so first up, let’s focus on a few easy estate planning strategies.

While many of us put it off, estate planning is a critical component of your personal finances. Here's how to get started.

What Is an Estate?

In the simplest terms, an estate is everything you own—money and assets, including your home and your car—at the time of your death. When you decide—in advance and in writing—who will get your assets and money, that’s estate planning.

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Debt

How Can You Ever Dig Yourself Out of Debt?

We’ve all been there. Looking at the bills that just keep coming in and not having the funds or means to pay for them all. Financial stress is truly one of the most all-consuming kinds of stress that there is. And when you have a big pile of debt, digging out of debt can seem impossible.

Digging out of debt isn’t easy, but it can be done. You simply need to follow these steps to make a plan and stick with it.

It lingers in your mind like a fog, spilling over into other areas of your life, making it hard to concentrate on other things until you’ve been able to make a plan to get yourself out of the mess you’re in. It’s difficult to get yourself out of killer debt, but I promise that eventually you will be out of this tough spot! It’s been done by many and it can be done by you. So what can you do and how do you start?

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Credit

A New Year and a New Chance to Make Money with Credit Cards!

2020 has been quite the year, hasn’t it? If anything, money strategies and trying to “build” wealth haven’t been on the front burner for many. The idea of how to make money with credit cards hasn’t been on many people’s radars. In most cases, just getting by has meant being pretty successful with your money this year.

More than just convenient for making purchases, you can make money with credit cards. Check out my recommendations for the best deals.

But now we approach the new year, and there’s some light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully, life will become more normal at some point in 2021 and that means we all can get back to making our financial decisions the way we used to make them and want to make them again.

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