.Getting Schooled on Becoming More Financially Literate

Dennis Friedman November 5, 2019 Humble Dollar

MANY BELIEVE we’ve raised a bunch of financial illiterates. If people were better educated about personal finance, the argument goes, they’d make smarter money decisions. North Carolina this year became the 20th state to require high schoolers to take a financial literacy class. Its Lieutenant Governor, Dan Forest, said the new law would “ensure future students, prior to graduating high school, will be more financially literate and economically sound in their decision making as adults.”

But many aren’t sold on the idea that a personal finance class in high school is going to make much of a difference. According to the Huffington Post, “The way we make financial decisions has more to do with our money personality, our math skills, logical thinking, the ability to investigate, the confidence to ask questions and spot BS answers, and recognizing the unconscious influences in ourselves that have long been studied by behavioral scientists.”

.Watch Your Wallet

Joe Kesler | March 13, 2021 Humble Wallet

AS A BANKER, I got a ringside seat from which to watch the many ways that people are separated from their hard-earned money. Some are illegal. Some are legal, but unethical. And many, while legal and ethical, would be unnecessary with a little more knowledge about managing money. For me, the most disturbing experiences were when scammers extracted money from the naïve and innocent. I’ve seen the pain of customers who found out that their elderly mother had given her life savings to a manipulative TV preacher. Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot that can be done in such situations.

Even sadder are the lonely people who develop an online romance with someone overseas. To come to the U.S., somebody convinced one of my customers to wire funds, so he could get a passport and airline ticket. But that wasn’t enough. Just send a little more, he told her numerous times. Finally, the lightbulb came on that this might be a scam.

.How Much House Can I Afford?

Jason Lee May 21, 2021 The Simple Dollar

To understand how much house you can afford, you need to take into account two important factors — what lenders will approve you for and what fits within your budget. The good news is that these budgetary guidelines typically line up. Even so, you will need to make sure you don’t take on more house than you can afford just because the lender is willing to approve a loan for that amount.

How much home can I afford?

Lenders look at a long list of criteria to determine the amount of house they’re willing to approve you for. The list includes things like your current monthly debt payments, your total debt, your income, your credit score, your current assets, how much of a down payment you can make and the current status of the economy.

.The Official Steps to Do After You Win the Lottery

Find out about all the proper steps to take if you hit a huge jackpot in this video!

166,112 views• Mar 27, 2021

9 - The Big Decision Sometimes a little bit of self discipline can go a long long way. That’s especially true for people who win the lottery. I mean, let’s say you win a lot of money, such as 100 million dollars. That easily qualifies as a life changing event.

8 - Stay Anonymous The easiest way to save yourself from a lot of trouble after winning a giant lottery is to tell as few people as possible. If you’re able to, don’t tell anyone that you won the lottery!

.How to Help Loved Ones Financially

Lending a hand without breaking your bank.

Christine Benz: Hi, I'm Christine Benz for Morningstar. Many financially stable people may wish to help loved ones who are struggling financially. Joining me to discuss what can often be a sticky situation is Michelle Singletary. She's a Washington Post columnist, and she's also the author of a new book called What to Do With Your Money When Crisis Hits. Michelle, thank you so much for being here.

Michelle Singletary: Thank you so much for having me.

Benz: Let's start with something that you emphasize in the book. And you do cover this topic about how to help loved ones who are struggling financially. One thing you say is to just start with a self-assessment, if you want to help someone else, take a look at your own financial situation and make sure that you are actually equipped to do so. Can you talk about that?

.Why Money Is Important and The Role It Plays in Our Lives

By Todd Kunsman Invested Wallet

At some point, you may wonder why money is important and start to analyze the role it plays in your own life. And our society has plenty of different viewpoints when it comes to money and happiness, how much money is truly enough, and how to better with money. I’m sure you have heard many of the different sayings about money too, whether funny or to hit a particular point to make you think.

You know the ones, like:

“Money doesn’t buy happiness.” – Proverb

“Money is the root of all evil.” – 1 Timothy 6:10

“Having money isn’t everything, not having it is.” – Kanye West

But you’ve probably heard many proverbs, famous quotes, or other sayings from people around you. And while there may be some truth to not let money dictate your entire life and choices, money IS important.

.Is $10,000 A Lot of Money? What You Need To Know

As you begin building your net worth and reaching new financial goals, you may set your eyes on reaching $10,000.

Is $10,000 A Lot of Money?It’s a pretty big milestone to hit, especially if you are starting fresh in your financial journey.

The first time I had $10k saved, I had to refresh my bank screen a few times because it didn’t seem real. After all, prior to that goal I typically never had more than $1,000 saved at a time!

And although this is a nice sum of money after you reach this milestone and the excitement wears off a bit, you may stop to wonder a few questions:

Is $10,000 a lot of money? How far will this amount take me? What should I do with this amount of cash?

.There Are 7 Money Personality Types, says psychology expert—how to tell which one you are (and the pitfalls of each)

Published Wed, Apr 28 2021 Ken Honda, Contributor

We often stress about the importance of financial literacy, such as gaining a strong understanding of how money works and having the resources to make informed decisions.

But when it comes to establishing financial health, one thing most people fail to consider is their money personality type — or their approach and emotional responses to money.

We each have our own beliefs and emotions about money, and they are mostly shaped by our individual life experiences (e.g., passed down from our parents or influenced by our current situations).

.The Power of Financial Habits

Samantha Lamas Feb 10, 2021

Adopting mental shortcuts can help you stick to a budget.

Many financial decisions force us to balance what we want now against what’s better for us in the long term. In this classic want/should conflict, a “want” is something that grants immediate pleasure, while a “should” is something that offers benefits much later--such as healthy retirement savings.

We all know we should be doing things like saving for retirement, paying off our debt, or monitoring our spending, but these "shoulds" are hard to put into practice. Why? Because we are human. We aren’t made to think 30 years from now, even though we should be doing so. With that in mind, how can we get ourselves to accomplish our "shoulds"? One way is to develop healthy financial habits.