In the words of the popular Game of Thrones television series, “Winter is Coming.” But with the threat of a recession in the future, are you financially prepared? That’s one of the questions raised by a new GoBankingRates survey which found that not only are many of us still reeling from the last recession which occurred nearly a decade ago, but we're also ill-prepared for … [Read more...]
Money
Pay Yourself First in These Areas to Achieve the Success You Crave
Pay yourself first. It’s advice advocated by David Bach and a long line of financial gurus. Financially, this refers to setting aside a small portion of your income to fund your financial priorities like savings, investing, and paying off debt. But paying yourself first applies to the rest of life as well. In so many ways, we take care of everyone and everything else before … [Read more...]
5 Habits of People with Money… They All Do This!
There are many many ways that people with money make the money, from starting their own business, to real-estate investing, to a having a highly successful career, or to investing in stocks. However, no matter how they make the money, the people with money have these 5 basic habits in common. 1. Create a budget “A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering … [Read more...]
How to Stop Fighting With Your Honey Over Money
Money issues can sap the bliss out of any relationship. In fact, according to a MONEY magazine survey, 70% of married couples argue about money. They fight more about money than they fight about household chores, spending time together or even sex. But you don’t have to let finances become your downfall. Consider these simple steps for bringing financial peace back into your … [Read more...]
How To Retire Comfortably Even If You Are Broke
By Douglas Barnes Ok, so you’re at retirement age, and you’ve got no money, you’ve got no job, no marketable skills and your credit sucks eggs. What options do you now have, and what are you supposed to do at retirement time. You’ve begun to realize that your finances have never been this bad, and mentally, you are so depressed, that you are about three to four French … [Read more...]
#StayWoke: How to Keep Money Problems From Keeping You Awake at Night
Are you tossing and turning thinking about your bills? Losing sleep over mounting student loan or credit card debt? If so, you’re not alone. According to a CreditCards.com national survey, sixty-five percent of respondents admitted to losing sleep over money problems, a level of financial insomnia not seen since the Great Recession. At the the top of our financial worry … [Read more...]
Iyanla Can’t Fix This: 5 Ways that YOU Can Get Your Financial Life in Order
If you haven't seen the popular OWN TV show, Iyanla Fix My Life, where relationship expert Iyanla Vanzant teaches celebrities and everyday folks how to fix what's broken in their lives, then you've been missing some good TV (especially this season.) Iyanla provides tough advice, but somehow I get the feeling that when the cameras turn off, her subjects are going to slip back … [Read more...]
3 Concrete Reasons Families Must Focus on Building Generational Wealth
Dr. Dennis Kimbro, author of The Wealth Choice: Success Secrets of Black Millionaires says, “I can tell you unequivocally wealth is not a function of gender, not a function of race. It is not a function of circumstance. It is not a function of condition—how the cards were dealt, which side of the town you were born on, but it is a function of choice, a function of discipline, … [Read more...]
5 Ways to Awaken the Financial Genius of Your Children
Despite a clear need, mandatory financial curricula continue to be absent from most primary and secondary schools’ core educational priorities. This means that teaching our children about money, entrepreneurship, and healthy spending habits has to begin at home. “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” -Proverbs 22:6 1. Teach … [Read more...]
Student Loan Help – 5 Ways to Protect Yourself from Untrustworthy Student Loan Servicers
I hate student loans. Don’t get me wrong. I’m grateful for the education that those loans afforded, but I despise the paperwork, the hassle, and the never-ending interest which make paying off student loans such a herculean task. Student loans represent some perverse never-ending form of bondage. And nearly 44 million Americans are in this financial bondage to a tune of … [Read more...]
Financial Intimacy – What is It and Why Black Couples Need It So Much?
Of the many intimacies that we attend to and invest our energy into throughout the course of a relationship, financial intimacy usually is not at the top of the list...despite its impact on the day-to-day functioning and operations of a household. In order to have a healthy, trusting, and holistic marriage, though, we must pay close attention to how we are working on deepening … [Read more...]
A Lifeline that Could Eliminate Your Crippling Student Loan Debt – PSLF
In October 2017 tens of thousands of Americans will see the remaining balance of their student loans completely erased. These people are among the first enrollees in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program. The Good Created in 2007, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program is designed to help people who choose to work in public service jobs deal with their … [Read more...]
You’re Giving the Government an Interest Free Loan and You Don’t Even Realize It
Would you lend the government money interest free? Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? But that’s exactly what millions of us do every year when we receive our IRS refund. Your refund may seem like a gift, but it’s actually not. We receive a tax refund simply because we paid the IRS more money than we needed to. Far from being a windfall, our tax refund is money we rightfully … [Read more...]
Stop Losing Money: Here’s Why You Should Get Help With Your Taxes
According to Benjamin Franklin, there are only two things certain in life: death and taxes. Unfortunately, this year’s April 18th tax deadline is fast approaching. With a tax code that is 74,608 pages long and changes being made yearly, it’s almost impossible for an individual to be aware of all the tax credits or deductions for which he or she may be eligible. Take the … [Read more...]
Black Buyers Beware: How to Avoid the Retail “Black Tax”
I still remember the afternoon I went in search of a new car. Inside the Toyota showroom a Black salesperson casually strolled my way making amiable small talk. When I asked how much I could get off the sticker price (also known as the MSRP or Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price) he looked me straight in the eye and without flinching told me that the sticker price was the price … [Read more...]