Retirement Planning Guide – 5 Steps for the Young Professional

8-08-2009

Saving a nest egg for a retirement that’s forty years away may be the last thing on your mind. However, you should invest in your retirement as soon as possible to take advantage of the power of compound interest. With compound interest, you earn interest on your invested amount as well as on the interest you’ve already accumulated. This really adds up in the long run.  Waiting just ten years to start saving can cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars. This article offers five steps to help you start saving now for your retirement.

How to Choose a Mutual Fund

7-07-2009

You know that mutual funds are great long-term investments, but you may be stumped by the thousands of available options. Fortunately, choosing the right fund for you isn’t as hard as it may seem. Once you understand the basics of mutual funds, you’re ready to research and choose your funds. This article helps you navigate the fund selection process. You'll define what you’re looking for in a fund, look for funds that maximize your investment, and learn about fund screeners.

Mutual Funds – an Overview

7-07-2009

You understand the importance of retirement planning and have begun to stash away some money for  your future. One popular investment vehicle is a mutual fund – a professionally managed pool of money that’s collected from a group of investors. A mutual fund is invested in a combination of financial products including stocks, bonds, currencies, futures, commodities, and money market accounts. Because a mutual fund has several different types of assets, they allow you to spread your money – and subsequently your risk – through a single investment. Mutual funds are a popular long-term investment for people who lack the time, resources, and savvy of a professional investor. This article gives you a good overview of mutual funds.

Five Money Tips: Managing Your Credit Cards

9-09-2011

Credit cards can help you build credit history and, if managed properly, help improve your credit score. Here are five tips to help you manage your credit cards.

Optimizing Your Credit Score in 7 Steps

4-04-2010

Are you thinking about buying a car, renting an apartment, or purchasing a home? What about simply qualifying for a new cell phone plan or a credit card? Your credit score is an important factor in determining how successful you’ll be in achieving these goals. Credit scores can be as low as 300 or as high as 850. What constitutes a good credit score will vary, depending on the type of loan you’re getting and your lender’s specific requirements. A solid score generally ranges between 680 and 720. Getting the best interest rates and loan offers typically require a credit score of 750 or better. Yours not up to snuff? Don’t panic! Improve it with the following seven steps.

3 Quick Ways to Improve Your Credit Score

11-11-2009

Your credit score is a critical number – it helps lenders and creditors assess your credit worthiness and re-payment risk. Credit scores become very important when you want to buy a house, finance a car purchase, or apply for a graduate school loan. If any of these big ticket items are on your horizon within the next year, you should check out your credit health now and take steps to improve your score if necessary.

10 Ways to Pay Down Debt

11-11-2009

If you’re like most Americans, you have debt – student loans, car payments, mortgages, and credit card debt. Although lenders bill you for a minimum payment each month, sticking to the minimum could cost you thousands of dollars in the long term. Prioritizing debt is challenging, but following these top ten tips for paying off your debt can help you get started.

How to Choose a Credit Card

9-09-2009

You probably get offers in the mail every week for credit cards boasting high spending limits and low interest rates. Some of these offers are too good to be true, but there are solid credit cards out there if you know what to look for. Comparison shopping will help you find a credit card that fits your needs and doesn’t cost a fortune. This article helps you weigh the pros and cons when selecting a credit card.

Credit Reports and Credit Scores – the Basics

8-08-2009

Do you know your credit score or what’s on your credit report? Do you know who uses that information and why it’s so important? Your credit score and credit history are two of the most important components of your personal finances. Your credit impacts many areas of your life, including the house or car you’re able to purchase, your credit card interest rate, and even your insurance premiums, among other things. Before you can optimize your credit score, you must learn the basics of credit reports and credit scores.

Reduce Your Cell Phone Bill

4-04-2010

Are you in a position where your cell phone contract is up, and you’re free to shop around? This is the best time to try to grab better terms for your monthly plan. Call several carriers before talking with your current provider to see what they can do for you. Do you still have months and months left of your contract? That’s okay – you still might save a few bucks on your phone bill every month, particularly if you’re paying for an unlimited call plan.

Smart Grocery Shopping Tips

4-04-2010

Going to the grocery store seems like it should be a simple weekly chore. But grocery visits are filled with many potential pitfalls, including impulse purchases, forgotten items, and overspending. Become a grocery store expert by following WhatCollegeForgot’s top tips for shopping smartly. Get to know the grocery stores in your area, set a budget, stick to your budget, plan your meals, buy unprocessed foods, find coupons and learn to love the unit price, make a shopping list, and find a few easy recipes that are easy to make.

Saving for Your Future Purchases

3-03-2010

Five years ago, a college graduate earning squat was easily approved to buy a $160,000 townhome with a low five percent down payment. Unfortunately, those days are over. Loans will no longer be available to anyone with a heartbeat, and if you’re planning on making a big purchase, you’ll be expected to put down more of your hard-earned cash. The need for more cash savings won’t just apply to a home purchase, which means there are several other large purchases you should be preparing for today. Learn what you need to save for and how much to save.

Holidays and Budgets, Hand in Hand

11-11-2009

It’s time to start shopping for the holidays, but did you save enough money to purchase all of the gifts and goodies you’d like? It’s easy to overindulge on more than just food during the holidays, so make sure you watch what you spend! While researching information to make sure my own budget is in check, I found a really cool personal finance test provided by a news station in Pennsylvania. Reporter Janelle Stelson poses questions that test your budgeting knowledge in one section of the quiz, and there’s also a great summary of what your overall budget allocations should look like.

Some Good Personal Finance Reads

10-10-2009

It’s getting colder (at least it is in Chicago), and that means more time for making hot chocolate and reading books. I’ve found a list of allrecipe.com’s top 20 hot chocolate recipes just for fun, but I’m more interested in talking about books, especially those in the personal finance category. I’m a big advocate of reading any kind of “informative” book – you find answers to your questions, stumble upon new interests, and become more knowledgeable about a topic. Check out these recommended personal finance books.

How to Save Money: Top 10 Tips

9-09-2009

You’ve heard the same old ideas about saving money: eat out less, quit expensive habits, and shop the sale racks. Once you’ve taken those basic cost cutting steps, you may be looking for more ways to save a few pennies. Check out these top ten ways to save money and cut your budget. Ideas include choosing restaurants with big portions and getting smarter at the grocery store.

Eight Tax Credits You Can Claim

9-09-2009

You know that you have to pay taxes, but watching your hard-earned money disappear at tax time can be painful. Fortunately, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has a variety of federal tax credits that you may qualify for. When you claim a tax credit, your tax bill is reduced by the value of the credit. When you’re doing your taxes, consult your accountant or professional tax preparer about this list of tax credits.

How to Budget Monthly – 5 Simple Budgeting Steps for Recent Grads

8-08-2009

Your days as a poor college student are over. You’ve entered the workforce and collected a paycheck or two, and now you’re ready to spend it. However, you’ll soon realize how quickly that paycheck disappears if you don’t keep track of your spending habits. A personal budget plan allows you to monitor your expenses, plan for emergencies, and achieve future financial goals. Thankfully, you don’t need a finance degree or advanced spreadsheet skills to create a personal budget plan. This article provides the following five simple budgeting steps to help you get your finances in order.

Risk-free Investments – CDs and Savings Accounts

8-08-2009

Saving some cash for unforeseen expenses is just as important as long-term retirement planning. You should keep three to six months of your salary in a savings account in case you lose your job or have an accident that your insurance doesn’t cover. Liquid investments – such as certificates of deposit (CDs) and savings accounts at FDIC-insured banks – are a good way to earn interest on savings that you may need to access in the near future. These investments are also risk-free, which means you won’t lose your principle investment like you could with stock, bond, or mutual fund investments. This article discusses the differences between savings accounts and CDs and helps you choose a risk-free account that's right for you.