.Essential Money Tips for Surviving the ‘Pandemic Spiral’

By Gabrielle Olya February 18, 2021

Take a deep breath before you spend more.

In a story for The Atlantic, writer Ed Yong put forth the idea that, thanks to the coronavirus, America is stuck in a "pandemic spiral" that's destroying, among many things, their budgets.

"Many Americans trusted intuition to help guide them through this disaster," he wrote. "They grabbed onto whatever solution was most prominent in the moment, and bounced from one (often false) hope to the next. (...) The country is now trapped in an intuition nightmare. (...) Americans are walled in by their own unhelpful instincts, which lead them round and round in self-destructive circles."

.12 COVID-Proof Money Tips From Financial Planners

By Jaime Catmull February 22, 2021

Make sure your finances can withstand the pandemic.

The coronavirus pandemic has changed nearly every aspect of our financial lives. Many of us have lost jobs or work hours, seen our investments swing from highs to lows and changed the way we spend money, with many of our usual expenses (commuting, vacations, etc.) now off the table. With so much uncertainty still looming about how the pandemic will affect the economy going forward, it's important to make smart financial moves that can weather whatever is to come.

While some golden rules of money management still stand, other advice has changed due to all the uncertainty we've been facing in recent months. I spoke to financial planners to find out what tips they've been giving their clients to ride out the current crisis and be prepared for whatever the future may hold. Keep reading to check out this advice for yourself.

.More Stimulus Money May Be Coming Your Way – Here’s What To Do With It

Early tax filers may get a treat this year. If you’ve filed your taxes for 2020, you could be getting one of the “bonus checks” or “plus-up payments” the IRS distributed in the past two weeks, according to MoneyWise.

You may also be due to receive your third economic impact payment this week, as the IRS has been sending payments through the month of April, according to an IRS.gov press release. The press release states that a seventh batch of nearly 2 million Economic Impact Payments from the American Rescue Plan began processing April 23, with an official payment date of April 28. Some people may have seen the money in their account, marked as pending, prior to April 28.

The IRS says these funds total $4.3 billion across nearly 2 million payments.

.People Who Are Good With Money Avoid These Missteps

By Jake Schroeder

While there are hundreds of potential mistakes people might make with money, there are some financial moves that can really set you back. Between bad habits and wishful thinking, poor financial choices can happen all the time. This round-up can serve as your guide for what not to do when it comes to personal finance. From not saving for retirement to living beyond your means, here are some things that people who are financially stable don’t do.

Lose Track of Money

Money isn’t infinite. That’s why it’s important to keep track of where you’re spending it. If you don’t know where your money is going, it’s easier to waste it. Let’s say you’re paying for subscription services you don’t use. Before long, you’ve spent $1,000 on music streaming, and you had no idea. That $1,000 you didn’t use could’ve paid down a credit card.

.THE 3 Principles of Building Wealth

“These are the habits that brought us to where we are.” – my girlfriend once told me while filling a bottle of water so we don’t have to buy any in an amusement park.

I couldn’t agree more.

Although our principles of building wealth are not exclusively based on saving, any financial endeavor requires starting capital.

That’s why we’ll start there.

Principle #1: Capital

Capital – assets that can enhance one’s power to perform economically useful work.1

.19 Principles That Will Help You Succeed in the “Real World”

by JJ

Okay, so here is a list of 19 principles that I have accumulated over the years. These are things that I wish someone would have shared with me when I was ready to graduate high school and enter the “real world.”

My hope is that you will skim through this list and find a few things that are useful or inspiring! I can’t say that I was ready to accept some of this “guidance” when I was 18 years old and that’s totally okay. In fact, as I read back over this post I can’t believe that I wrote it. It has a self help, motivational vibe that I was definitely not giving off in high school. But, a little over 10 years later (well closer to 15…) and I’m starting to buy into it.

So, if you find some of these points kind of hokey…just give it a few years

It Takes More Than Money to Retire Early: Lazyman

When we think about early retirement, we tend to focus on the money. That’s natural because we need money to retire early. Building a portfolio is a crucial step to early retirement. When I was trying to retire early, it was all about how much we spend and how much passive income we need. However, it takes more than money to retire early.

We have done well over the years and saved up a good amount. That’s true for lots of people. There are over 11 million millionaire households in the US now. Most of these millionaires are still working hard. Clearly, money isn’t the only requirement for early retirement. Some people just aren’t a good fit for early retirement. Finance is a big part of the equation, but there is more to it than that. I thought it’d be interesting to see what that elusive something is. That’s why I’m doing this interview series.