Many of us might be overspending unknowingly, with our hard-earned money slipping away in areas we seldom scrutinize. While it seems impossible to escape these inflated costs, plenty of alternatives and discounted rates are readily available.
February is here, and love is in the air. It's actually pretty hard to hide from love this time of year, especially when the shelves of every store are lined with hearts and other cheesy romantic things.
Although Valentine's Day can be a bit commercial, I love having a special day dedicated to showing my friends, family, and significant other how much I love them.
Whether you love Valentine's Day or hate it, this time of year is a perfect reminder to give yourself a little self-love.
Self-Love can sound like a cheesy thing. My first thought always goes to giving myself a big hug or something silly. However, self-love really boils down to the stuff you're doing every day to show yourself some love. Are you investing time and energy into yourself? Are you lifting yourself up? Are you as kind and giving to yourself as you are to the people you love? If not, Valentine's Day is a great time to start.
I'm not saying you have to buy yourself a card and box of chocolates. However, if it makes you feel good, then you definitely should.
If you need a few ideas for practicing self-love this Valentine's Day season, check out my suggestions below:
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Topics: Home, Life & School
Securing a debt consolidation loan and paying down your obligation can fast-track you to an improved credit rating and financial stability. But success requires personal vigilance and fiscal responsibility.
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Topics: Personal Finance, Debt Consolidation, Credit Building
As a child, I always loved Valentine's Day. My favorite part of celebrating was going to the store and picking out a box of Valentine's Day cards to give the other kids in my class. It always took me forever to address my cards because I wanted each card's phrase to match its recipient perfectly. And let's face it, it's a tough decision to decide who gets "Be Mine" when you're in the fourth grade. Honestly, that card probably got tossed in the trash.
I'm not sure that finding the right card for my loved ones has gotten any easier as an adult. Although there are isles and isles of cards with both funny and mushy sayings, nothing ever really seems to perfectly suit my friends and family, which is why I've resorted to making my own.
While I sat down to make my own cards, I began thinking of all those who could use a little extra love this Valentine's Day, so I researched a list of places that I could send additional cards.
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Topics: Seasonal
American consumer debt reportedly exceeds $14 trillion, and it seems individuals accumulate more — not less — as they get older. Recent data points to a troubling trend that often puts hard-working people in a difficult financial position. Responsible people in these age groups reportedly take on sometimes onerous debt and struggle to get relief.
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Topics: Personal Finance, Debt Consolidation, Personal Loans
I recently found myself on the hunt for a new vehicle, meaning I needed to find a new car loan as well. I used some of the tips from the BALANCE blog below to help me find the best vehicle financing deal and figured they might be a good resource for someone else in the same boat.
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Topics: Personal Finance, Seasonal
As a millennial, you're part of a unique and special generation. You're probably at the exciting stage in life where you're just starting out or you're beginning that career climb. Undoubtedly you want to avoid some of the financial pitfalls that have befallen previous generations, but how can you do so? Read below to learn the top 10 financial tips for millennials today.
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Topics: Personal Finance, Credit Cards, Home, Life & School
Winter has abundant opportunities for outdoor family fun. But with limited daylight and stretches of severe weather, how do you keep your kiddos entertained when going outside isn’t an option? It’s a tricky question for parents on a budget—you can’t just take your little ones to the movies day after day.
Fortunately, children have an unlimited imagination that can fuel a full day of fun. So flex your creative muscle, and keep them occupied indoors with these activities:
Build a cushion/pillow fort
Kids love to build, so encourage them to take the cushions from your couch and create their special fortress. They can build different rooms for each person in your family and even reinforce the perimeter against all enemies with extra pillows from their beds!
Have a dance party
Do your children bounce off the walls after being cooped inside on a snow day? A dance party is an excellent way for them to burn excess energy. Designate one area as the dance floor, and have them pick some kid-friendly upbeat music. For a twist, they can even challenge each other to dance-offs.
Work on a puzzle
Puzzles are perfect for kids on days when they’re stranded inside. Depending on their age, they may even be able to stay focused on large puzzles, potentially keeping them busy for hours.
Make a movie
While children may be more familiar with online videos than feature films these days, they can easily pass the time by making their own movies. Using your phone or another camera with video capability, encourage them to write a script, choose costumes, and act out the characters. Most smartphones even have basic editing tools as well.
Bake with your kids
If you have a knack for creating sweets from scratch and need to keep your kids occupied, baking can take a bite out of a long winter afternoon. First, have them choose a treat (Cookies? Brownies? Cake?). Then, visit the store together to pick out the low-cost ingredients. Finally, incorporate them in every step of the baking process. It’s a great bonding experience, and you get to enjoy a sweet reward for your efforts when it’s over.
Take a Tropical Vacation
Not really, just pretend like you’re on one. So shut the curtains and crank up the heat; it’s summer in January! Time to pull out your swimsuits, beach towels, and sunglasses. Watch a summer movie, toss a beach ball, play island music, or have a beach towel picnic. For added fun, have a limbo contest. How low can you go?
Do a color scavenger hunt around the house.
Here’s how it works: Draw a graph, like a BINGO card, and then color each square a different color. Next, the kids have to search the house, looking for something in each color category they can add to the BINGO sheet. First, one to five in a row wins!
The blog post above was shared from BALANCE. For more information and similar resources, click here .
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Topics: Personal Finance, Seasonal
Life happens, and along with it often comes debt…and you know what? That's okay! Whether you have debt in the form of student loans, medical bills, an emergency that had to be financed, or too much spent on credit cards - we have all had our share of debt to repay.
Having debt you owe is fine, but it's important to ensure you have the resources you need to plan how to pay the debt off. To help us all, I asked our AVP Lending Solutions and Certified Credit Union Financial Counselor, Nick Jones, some questions about having debt, consolidating/paying off debt, and getting through hardship.
What is your best advice for someone who is having a hard time paying their debts?
Talk to your creditors. Most creditors will work with you if you are struggling to repay everything. Some people may find it embarrassing that they cannot keep up with their payments, but most people go through a tough time, they just don’t talk about it openly. Speaking honestly with your creditors about your situation and how you got there is the best way to work with them to find a way out.
If someone is in over their head, what is the best option for them?
Take a deep breath. There is almost always a way out of whatever financial situation you find yourself in. While it might not be quick, or easy, there are tons of options to get your debt paid down, get an emergency fund, and aim for your financial goals.
If someone is just getting by paycheck to paycheck, how can they save money?
Most people live paycheck to paycheck, but the good news is that most people can save as well. People believe you shouldn’t put money in savings if you still have debt, but that isn’t always the best choice. If an emergency came up, and you had no savings, you would need to either borrow money or put it on a credit card, perpetuating the debt cycle. If you put some towards saving and some toward debt, you will be able to hit two goals and emerge in a much better position.
If you make putting money into your savings a requirement, like any utility bill you have, you can train yourself to save more. It doesn’t need to be $100 a paycheck. Take $5, $10 or $20 every paycheck, and put it into your savings account. $20 biweekly is $520 a year. If you get a raise or pay off a debt, increase the amount going to your savings. Once you hit your goal, start putting that savings money toward other debt, investments, or other savings, and you’ll be well on your way.
What is the best way to pay down your debt?
There is no ‘best way’, it truly depends on your circumstances. The first thing you want to do is insure you have all your minimum payments covered. Once all your bills are taken care of, look at what is left at the end of the month. If there isn’t anything left over, it might be time to look at reducing costs. While you shouldn’t have to live on rice cakes every day, limiting your expenses on entertainment and going out to eat can help cut some costs.
Some people believe you should pay as much as you can to your high interest debt. The higher the interest, the more money you’ll pay for the debt. If you pay extra to pay it off sooner, you’ll save money. This works well if you’re meeting your monthly obligations with little to no stress and have some extra funds at the end of every month. If you’re really stretching your funds, paying extra on the smallest balances can free up some minimum payments, as long as you don’t charge it back up again.
How does debt consolidation help pay off debt?
The typical goal of debt consolidation is combining some debts at a lower rate and/or lower monthly payment, to save the total amount you must repay, or to lower your monthly payments to make things easier. Debt consolidation is a powerful tool, but it needs to be used wisely. Many people make the mistake of charging up their credit cards when they’ve just consolidated into another loan. Not only does this increase your overall debt, but it also stops saving you money each month, and now you’re further in the hole.
A $5,000 credit card balance, at 14% interest would take 76 months, or more than 6 years, of paying $100 a month, with no new charges or late fees, to pay off, and repaying over $2500 in interest. If you consolidated into a five-year loan, at 9%, you would pay just over $100 a month, and a total of $1,225 in interest. That’s a savings of close to $2,675 between the payments and interest.
That’s a huge amount of savings. The credit union can help with this, right?
Right! Carolina Trust offers a 0% balance transfer option for 12 months, so moving some of your high interest debt over is a breeze. We also have some awesome rates on our personal loans for debt consolidation, as low as 8.75%. Our MSRs and other lenders are available for any questions for your specific situation, so I recommend reaching out to someone today!
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Topics: Personal Finance, Debt Consolidation
Every January, we set lofty financial resolutions. Save more. Spend less. Finally, stick to a budget. But by February? Let’s just say the motivation fizzles out faster than the New Year’s champagne. Sound familiar?
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Topics: Personal Finance
