It's that time of year again; W2s are rolling in, tax professionals are gearing up, and your mind is already swirling with ways to spend your tax refund check. Before getting too excited and seeing dollar signs, check out this BALANCE blog post.
Topics: Personal Finance
Every year in March, we celebrate Women's History Month, a time to acknowledge all the brave hard-working women who came before us and paved the way for women's equality. And as great as it is to underline historical women who have made strides for women's independence and equality, it's even more important to use this month as a way to motivate and empower present-day women to rise up and take advantage of the opportunities that are available to help them achieve independence, stability, and success.
Topics: Personal Finance, Investing & Retirement
Eating out is a budget killer, especially if you do it constantly. The best alternative, of course, is to eat at home. However, while this will save you money, cooking every meal can be daunting for some people—unless you make a meal plan.
Topics: Personal Finance, Home, Life & School
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.
Topics: Personal Finance, Seasonal
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.
Topics: Personal Finance, Debt Consolidation, Credit Building
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.
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.
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.
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:
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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 .
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!
Topics: Personal Finance, Debt Consolidation
Check out recent blog posts by our Brand Ambassador, August, for tips on achieving financial success in the bag.
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