Paying off debt in the new year is a common resolution. But resolving to do something and actually doing it are two different things. Taking a smart approach to building good habits, however, can help you master your debt in the coming year. Jon Bailey, professor emeritus in the psychology department at Florida State University, suggests applying some principles of behavioral psychology to help you create sustainable habits. “Our general approach is really from the angle of self-management,” Bailey says….

Read More Read More

The holiday season is supposed to be about joy, giving and spending time with our favorite people. But just as you might pack on a few extra pounds over the holidays, you might pack on some extra debt, too. On average, Americans who plan to buy for friends and loved ones this holiday season aim to spend $660, according to a recent NerdWallet survey conducted by Harris Poll. But budgets are tight. Do you have that much to spend without running up…

Read More Read More

A high credit score can be like a healthy weight. You know you want it, but are you doing the right things to achieve it? Some information you thought might influence your credit score simply doesn’t. Let’s look at five things you don’t need to worry will hurt your score — and five things that do make a difference. These factors don’t affect your credit score Your job and how much money you make: Your credit score comes from the information in…

Read More Read More

To the Black Friday victors go the spoils. Use these hacks to guarantee yourself the deals you want, whether you decide to shop from your couch or at the store. Online shopping Think outside the box. Some stores are synonymous with Black Friday: Target, Walmart and Best Buy, to name a few. But don’t limit yourself, especially if inventory is selling out quickly at these mass merchants. “Almost everybody offers something,” says Sucharita Mulpuru, a retail analyst at Forrester Research, a business advisory…

Read More Read More

You like to drive, have some spare time and need to make some extra cash — but you don’t want to shuttle people around. Amazon is looking for people like you. If you have a car and an open schedule, you can make money delivering packages for the e-commerce giant. Amazon Flex is the company’s courier service. You can deliver for Amazon.com, AmazonFresh, Prime Now and Amazon Restaurants, which means you could spend a shift delivering dinner, groceries or gifts. Here’s a…

Read More Read More

Yes, buying that wide-eyed Shiba Inu puppy with your partner may bring loads of joy to your family. But this dog — we’ll call him Balto — may also come with a taste for pricey kibble and, down the road, a surprise $500 surgery. Ultimately, Balto and his needs are expenses that you and your significant other will share. Determine Balto’s costs, as well as how you’ll split and budget for them, before you’re fighting over that surgery bill. Start…

Read More Read More

The argument over whether you should invest or pay off debt usually focuses on financial numbers, such as rates of return and interest charges. Maybe happiness should be part of the equation as well. Studies in several countries, including the U.S., Norway, Ireland and Spain, have found high levels of financial satisfaction among elderly people. Happiness with our money situation tends to rise with age, even though our income peaks in midlife and then generally declines. Why is that? Further…

Read More Read More

It’s a familiar — and frustrating — experience: Planning a trip and checking airfares every few days, waiting for the perfect price to appear. Finding the opportune moment to buy is no easy feat. Plane ticket costs fluctuate constantly. In fact, during the typical 11-month period a flight is listed, the price changes every four and a half days on average, according to CheapAir.com’s annual airfare study. So when is the optimal time to book? That depends on where and when…

Read More Read More

You might have pumpkins on your porch, but it’s already time to make room for the year-end holidays in your budget. “I was at Costco the other day, and I already saw Christmas trees, [so] we need to be thinking about it right now,” says Nick Givogri, a California-based regional executive for investment service Merrill Edge. Here’s how to get started. Work backward Your past holiday spending is the best indicator of what you’ll spend this season, says Robert P. Finley,…

Read More Read More

Would buying a nice gift for a wedding or birthday strain your finances for the month? How about an unexpected expense, like a car repair — could you handle it easily, with some difficulty, or not at all? Do you usually have money left at the end of the month? In a fresh approach to helping consumers understand their money, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has developed a quiz to measure financial well-being. Answering 10 simple questions yields a score between 0 and…

Read More Read More