.Year-End Financial Review and Planning Checklist

By Women Who Money Co-Founders, Amy Blacklock and Vicki Cook

As the weather turns colder and the daylight becomes shorter, you may be busy planning for the holiday season. But something else worth focusing your attention on during this season is your finances. Like your physical health, your financial health needs a check-up at least annually.

Before the year that’s been like no other winds down, take some time to check in on your financial matters.

Review the important items listed below to maintain or improve your financial wellness for the next year and beyond.

.How Your Expectations Destroy Your Finances

By A Lawyer and Her Money October 6, 2020

Being bad at math is often used as an excuse to be bad with money. Never mind that one still needs to learn about and manage one’s own finances. Still, no matter how badly one’s math grades were – money is not about math; it’s about emotions and expectations. This is how expectations destroy finances.

How to Be Good at Math and Bad with Money

We equate being good with money with being good with math because there are numbers involved. But with online calculators, banking and Excel, it’s no longer necessary to do one’s own addition or subtraction.

Even if you don’t do the calculations, your bank will tell you if you’ve spent more money than you have. And if you spent too much, you don’t need math to keep you from spending more.

The problem is not knowing when the math doesn’t work out – it’s continuing to spend more than you can afford to. This is not a problem that can be solved with basic algebra.

.The Number You Can Afford to Lose

By A Lawyer and Her Money December 1, 2020

My family got a $70 parking ticket on vacation in Canada. When she saw the ticket, my mom started cursing, yelling, and crying. This was shocking both because my mother has never been an emotionally effusive person and also because my parents are quite comfortable financially, having lived frugally their whole lives. This $70 fine was a number she could afford to lose with no repercussions and yet she acted as if it was a life-changing disaster.

The only thing that calmed her down was assuring her that Canadian police were unlikely to enforce the ticket (sorry, Canada). Still, the whole experience got me thinking, what’s the point in having money if you don’t feel the wealth emotionally? And how can you finally get that feeling of financial security?

.Why So Much Financial Advice is Wrong

By A Lawyer and Her Money November 10, 2020

The internet is a strange and fascinating place. There is a wealth of information, but not all of it good. Lots of people write content just to sell you stuff. And others are just idiots.

Even good-hearted people trying to impart knowledge can only speak from their own experience. The decisions they made were “good decisions” because they worked out. That, however, doesn’t mean you can or should make the same decisions now that they made in the past.

As much as personal finance bloggers like to say that the path to riches is simple and straightforward, personal finance is personal. Most financial advice is wrong because it fails to take into account how different each person’s situation is and how fast the world is changing. No one’s experience is universal, and the lessons that worked for one person may work for others, but they also might not.

.40 Money Habits That Can Leave You Broke

By Alaina Tweddale November 19, 2020

Don't fall victim to these bad financial habits.

Big or small, some financial habits can zap a solid financial plan and leave smart savers with empty wallets. To avoid buyer’s remorse and similar guilt about neglecting your finances, you need to know what habits might be costing you extra. Check out these bad spending habits and identify how you can cut back on them.

1. Your App Addiction

In the list of things to waste money on, smartphone apps are a big one. Those $1.99 purchases seem inexpensive enough, but they can snowball — especially if you have kids who are adding to the overall purchase price or frequency.

Consider free app downloads exclusively or cap yourself and your family with a monthly app budget.

.50 Ways You’re Throwing Money Away

By Sabah Karimi November 3, 2020

Tweak your habits to keep more money in your pocket.

You probably don’t realize all the ways you’re wasting money and leaving free money on the table — and these little missteps can add up to big dollar losses. Fortunately, once you’re aware of these bad money behaviors, you can take steps to change them. Making small tweaks to your lifestyle and spending habits could pay off in a big way.

Keep reading to find out the costly money mistakes you’re making — and how to stop making them so you can keep more money in your wallet.

Throwing Money Away on Layaway

While layaway might seem like a sensible way to hold onto something you want to buy, it’s not always a smart way to net savings. That’s because layaway locks you into a certain price and — if ultimately financed by a credit card — additional interest charges.

.60 Money Moves That Could Set You Up for Life

By Gabrielle Olya November 20, 2020

Try these tips to ensure your financial security.

You may be doing all the right things when it comes to your savings — putting money aside from every paycheck, contributing to your employer’s retirement plan and diversifying your investments. But if you are concerned that these things might not be enough or your goals are bigger than that, here are some money moves you may not have thought of that could turbocharge your finances and set you up with financial security for life.

There are two ways to increase your nest egg: Save more and make those savings work harder for you. These ideas will help you do both because it’s important to know how to save and how to invest what you’ve saved. Is your checking account doing the most for you? By picking the right account, you can save more money and even make some. See what Investors Bank’s checking account has to offer for your needs.

.By Gabrielle Olya November 12, 2020

Get the secrets money experts want you to know.

Everyone makes money missteps at some point in their lives, whether it’s splurging on unnecessary items or neglecting to contribute to retirement funds as soon as possible. Even financial pros are not immune to making mistakes. To help you avoid unnecessary pitfalls, check out these tips and tricks that can help you live your best money life — no matter your age.

Start With Saving

More than half of Americans have less than $1,000 in savings, a 2019 GOBankingRates survey found. Although it’s tempting to spend rather than save when you get a paycheck, it’s important to prioritize putting money away into your checking or savings account. On top of that, you should also use the right checking or savings accounts to grow your money.

.10 Lessons to Take From Millionaires Who Are Really Good With Money

By The Penny Hoarder Staff

Life would be a whole lot easier if someone would just Venmo us $1 million, but unfortunately the chance of that happening is, well, probably zero. (Venmo doesn’t allow transactions that large anyway.)

But even though our chances of becoming a millionaire are slim, we can still manage our money like one. No, we’re not going to tell you how to buy hundreds of shares of Apple stock. Or how to pick out the perfect yacht.

These are simple money moves any normal, non-millionaire person can make today. Each tip can get you closer to achieving your big goals.

.100 Ways To Make Your Money Last Until You’re 100

By Jaime Catmull November 10, 2020

Will your money last you through 3 decades of retirement?

The average American is expected to live to 79, which means that many people are living even longer. And when it comes to planning for retirement, it’s always better to be safe than sorry — which means it’s best to start making small (and large) changes now to make sure your money can last three decades or more in retirement, especially given that the future of Social Security is unclear and some believe that Social Security running out is a real possibility in our lifetimes. Want advice on how to make your money work for you, save more, spend less and get financially ready for retirement? Here are 100 tips for how to make your money last.

Know How Much You Need To Save

.30 Ways To Dig Yourself Out of Debt

By Jodi Thornton-O'Connell November 6, 2020

Get out of debt fast by using a combination of these strategies.

Many people fall into debt, ranging from auto loans to credit card debt. These days, it’s especially hard to stay out of debt as people have either lost jobs or faced pay cuts.

Even if you stick faithfully to your budget, it can be hard to stay out of debt. Unforeseen life circumstances can force you to suffer financially as you try to pay for utilities and other necessities. And then there are the unexpected expenses that pop up in everyone’s lives: car repairs, healthcare costs or a new water heater.

If you’re in debt — especially if you’re getting calls from creditors — take action and find out how you can get yourself out of debt.

Put Down the Shovel