Making & Saving Money

Holiday shopping doesn't have to be stressful or expensive. See our holiday gift guide below with gift ideas, tips to saving on holiday shopping & more. Finding the Right Gift for the Person You Love Finding the Right Gift for the Person You Love We all have those people in our lives that you have no idea what to shop for, try to stick with gifts that everyone can use. Obviously, not everyone wants a generic gift card, because they are impersonal, but there are some ways to make those obvious gifts a little more personal.

Shopping for clothes is the worst. You know what I’m talking about. There are thousands of different clothing outlets online, not to mention the boutiques and department stores at your local mall. Your first problem is cherry-picking the stores that sell the exact items you’re looking for. Then, from those options, you have to decide which one sells those items at a price that fits your budget. And if you want to commit to environmentally friendly shopping practices, well, there’s problem number three. But here’s a secret: it doesn’t have to be that hard. There are a few sites you can go to that make clothes shopping ten times easier. Not all of them tick every single criterion, but that’s why we listed more than one. Using the five options below, success in finding the perfect item for the best price (and sometimes even the best quality) is almost guaranteed.

Everyone knows of the typical asset: stocks. From hiring a financial advisor to doing it on your own investing, stocks are the specific investment vehicle for most retail investors. Have you ever thought about diversifying your investment income with other high-quality asset types? The new hype these days in the 21st century is cryptocurrency. Another great asset class are commodities such as gold or future contracts. No matter what situation you are in, diversifying your income is the primary key to substantial wealth and comfortable retirement if done correctly and strategically. In this article, I will go over other asset classes to help you build your wealth in the long term. I will also cover which asset classes to pick, depending on your risk tolerance.

With so many stores in the palm of our hand, it can be difficult to manage your “splurge spending” into a small fixed amount. Of course, you deserve to spend money on yourself, every once and while. But the ease of shopping and simple spending can lead you to lose track of that splurge spending, turning it into regular spending.

Shopping for clothes should be easier in a digital environment, unfortunately, international sellers and fake shops claim victims every day. How can you be sure to get the best product when shopping for clothes online? Familiar Retailers: To always guarantee the product and price shopping online from regular retail stores is the safest bet. It is tempting to go straight to the largest online marketplace, Amazon, try thinking about the stores you would go to at a mall.

The age of cable is coming to an end and streaming is booming! Many millennials have found ease in simply subscribing to a channel. There are so many to choose from you can quickly rack up a bill rivaling that of Comcast. Bundling your streaming services is the smartest way to get the most content for the best value.

We have all found new hobbies in the age of quarantine, some of them fairly expensive. You may have found in your stay at home adventures the escape video games can bring. Whether you have a console or play on PC the price of playing doesn’t always come cheap.

You’ve started to budget your money, but how are you tracking your spending? If you’re not tracking and checking your spending habits you can’t effectively manage your budget. Some banks help keep track of your spending habits, however, you can better analyze your spending habits with these tools. Now that checkbooks are dead some of us have to adapt to new methods.

There are plenty of monthly boxes and product subscriptions out there, but will they really save you money? With too many options for any type of item out there we are going to blanket all subscription programs that give you a discount for having regular shipments and multiple products. From hygiene to grocery you can subscribe to regular delivery to your home, all for a convenient price - but what is the real value of that price? Before signing up for a monthly fee, consider how it will actually affect your wallet. If you don’t normally buy a product regularly, maybe that 5% discount is really 95% an unnecessary expense?

Have you ever felt like you wanted more out of life? Getting up each morning and doing the same old routine day in and day out is dreadful. Do you find yourself sitting at your desk at work twiddling your thumbs waiting until the clock strikes five or five-thirty? My story resonates well with someone who was dreadfully fed up with the nine to five grind. I needed to find purpose in my life and go after that purpose with everything I had. The 21st century is a whole new era. Many people have taken on work outside of their regular job and eventually started their passive income full time. Work ranging from contract positions to full-time side hustles, there is an endless array of opportunities.

Budgeting is an essential skill a beginner can have. Being equipped with proper budgeting skills will lower stress levels and will make you smile with less stress. Creating a spreadsheet or tracking expenses through an app will help you take control of your spending habits. When I was younger, I did not know, nor did I care about tracking each of my expenses. My spending habits were out of control. I would spend money on countless items such as clothes, courses I would never use again, and eating out impulsively. Guess what? I learned the HARD way!

Couponing has a powerful lure. Years ago, my interest sparked by reality TV shows, I decided to try “extreme couponing” in order to score free groceries. Free? Hardly. It did not work out that way. I did save money - maybe 40% or 50% or more off of my total tab. But it took hours of meticulous planning (with spreadsheets and coupon binders) in order to make a grocery store run. Trips that once took 30-60 minutes were taking 2.5 to 3 hours. (Takes time to read and reread all the fine print. I need to buy how many to get the savings? What color? What flavor?) And then checkout would be a nightmare. The scowls and dirty looks of shoppers behind me. The terrified cashier who needed my emotional coaching in order to get through the mountain of paper deals. I still clip the occasional coupon, but my extreme couponing days are done. For most people, it’s not worth the time and energy. But there are other ways you can still score mega deals when you shop in-store or online.

One of the first lessons I learned out of college was this- college didn’t prepare me for anything that actually mattered. With a large number of college grads struggling to enter the workplace year after year as well as the rate of student debt skyrocketing, the need to develop new skills may matter more now than ever before. These are seven online courses available throughout the internet that will help you develop yourself into a more marketable individual as a result.

When the economy is in shambles, people jump in to learn how to invest for the first time. When the economy is doing remarkably, people are still learning how to invest. Either way, there is no such thing as a bad time to learn how to invest, so you might as well learn it now, especially if you’re reading this. I’m not a certified financial planner and you should do your own research, but here are my personal principles that I feel new investors should know before they start investing their hard-earned money.

Many of us have found that binging Netflix and occupying our time with social media might not be the best way to take advantage of the present pandemic situation. For those of you who want to take this opportunity to invest in improving yourself, here are four ways to consider using your additional time towards something beneficial.

For many millions of Americans, this current financial crisis has brought home many fearful scenarios, as almost everyone has faced either a drop in their income or lost their main stream of income entirely. However, every period of difficulty brings the opportunity to make something good out of it. You might even be, for the first time in your life, truly assessing whether you understand the current state of your finances, and if you can manifest your goals into reality. Here are four of the best books on personal finance, retirement, and goal setting you can pick up today:

For millions of Americans and people all over the globe, this has been a period of not only incredible stress but also some much-needed self-reflection. While innovation and advances in digital and remote work have been changing the way our modern workforce communicates and accomplishes work, this current pandemic has potentially sped up the rate of which many jobs afterward will be accomplished either by employees working from their home, or will be outsourced to machinery and software completely.

The honeymoon period after you graduate from college is amazing, and for many people, the first time in your life you truly feel like a real, genuine adult. However, after the honeymoon phase comes the harsh truths about adulthood, especially when it comes time to come face to face with the state of your finances.

For anyone with kids, it's a known fact that entertaining the little ones doesn't come cheap. Trips to the store, the trampoline house, or the arcade can put a dent in your wallet. So what's a parent to do? Well, there are alternatives out there. If you're willing to do a little research and apply some imagination, you may find that the free options can be a hit too!

Taking real, intentional steps towards being responsible for your finances and financial future is a true test of maturity. Far too many Americans let their money lead them astray, instead of taking full command over how their money is utilized. I made many financial mistakes as a young person and going into adulthood, but luckily once I started making a full-time income, I started down the path to financial recovery and eventually towards financial prosperity.