How Will the Election Affect Your Finances?
Every four years, the United States votes to elect a new House of Representatives, one-third of the Senate, and potentially a new president. The two political parties have different agendas, and policies implemented with new representatives and a new administration will affect your financial life. It’s normal to feel anxious or nervous about the election, […]
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Dangers of Not Following the Financial Order of Operations
Money doesn’t come with an instruction manual, and it can be difficult to know how to optimize every dollar. The basics are simple enough; saving for retirement is good, high-interest debt is bad, but what about beyond the basics? High-level financial mistakes, like putting your kid’s college fund before your retirement or paying off low-interest […]
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How to Make the Most Out of Your 401(k)
Congress created what we know today as 401(k) plans by adding a provision to the Revenue Act of 1978 which allowed employees to avoid taxation on deferred compensation. The plans didn’t begin to take off until 1981, when the IRS started allowing employees to fund plans through payroll deductions. The rise in popularity of 401(k) […]
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6 Things You Should Never Cheap Out On
It feels great to get a deal on something, but there are some things in life you shouldn’t look for the best deal on. There are times when saving money can actually cost you more in the long run. Being smart with your money and finding value doesn’t necessarily mean choosing the lowest price. Here […]
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3 Money Mistakes That Could Devastate Your Finances
Some financial mistakes are more harmful than others. It’s extremely important to get the big stuff right. Not only do you build a solid foundation, you also create a margin for error so that smaller “mistakes” don’t hurt as much. For example, if you get the big things right, like steering clear of high-interest debt […]
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How to Use Behavioral Finance to Your Advantage
We often don’t recognize the underlying factors and biases that affect our financial decisions. It’s easy to see where your problems lie; maybe you spend too much, save too little, or have more debt than you can handle. Recognizing your problems is the easy part. It’s much more difficult to understand the biases and behavioral […]
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3 Flaws in Dave Ramsey’s Investment Strategy
Dave Ramsey has helped millions of Americans with debt, which is no easy task. Over 5 million have participated in Financial Peace University, and over 4 million high school students have participated in Dave’s personal finance program for high schoolers. Dave’s understanding of the psychological impacts of debt, and how it affects our behavior, has […]
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What Makes a State Great to Live In?
Financially, states are very diverse, too.
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Small Financial Decisions Can Make a Huge Difference
The “latte effect” describes spending money on small things that have little to no impact on our lives. The concept is true; small amounts of money spent on a regular basis can cost us more than we can imagine over the long run. If you bought a $5 coffee every single day from age 18 […]
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Are Electric Cars Cheaper Than Gasoline Cars?
Electric cars are here to stay. Manufacturers of traditional gasoline powered cars, like Ford and GM, are starting to jump into the electric vehicle market. It’s not difficult to imagine that at some, possibly not-too-distant point in the future, the majority of new cars sold will be electric vehicles, or EVs. EVs have several distinct […]
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