Getting a grip on your finances can seem daunting, especially if you aren’t sure how to begin. Fortunately, there’s a common starting point, no matter your goals: Do a credit checkup. Healthy credit helps you get what you want — often for less money. It can help you get a car loan or a mortgage, and at the best interest rates. It can mean cheaper insurance and the chance to escape utility deposits. It helps you qualify for credit cards…
“Ask Brianna” is a column from NerdWallet for 20-somethings or anyone else starting out. I’m here to help you manage your money, find a job and pay off student loans — all the real-world stuff no one taught us how to do in college. Send your questions about postgrad life to askbrianna@nerdwallet.com. This week’s question: I’m trying to eat better and exercise more, but I don’t have a ton of money in my budget to spare. How can I live healthily…
Heading out on a vacation road trip? Watch out at the fuel pump for a threat to your debit or credit card: skimmers. Gas stations, among the last retailers to install fraud-reducing EMV-chip card readers, remain an attractive target this summer for card-skimming crews. Skimmers can be hidden in and around gas pumps’ card readers, secretly recording the data stored in your credit or debit card’s magnetic stripe. Fraudsters use that data to make counterfeit cards, rack up pricey purchases…
Setting a short-term financial goal is good, and achieving one is even better. But what should you do if you miss a goal you set for yourself? Don’t get discouraged if your plan to buy a car, take a vacation or save money didn’t quite go as planned. Life happens. Here’s how to get back on track. Embrace failure Mindset is a huge part of financial health. First, find the bright side. Even if you didn’t save as much money…
This is CLEARLY the biggest stretch for “health” blog post that we’ve done but since things are warming up outside I wanted to share a little about one of my favorite spirits. TWERKILA! I worked in a well stocked tequila bar for three years in NYC and learning to love the nuances of each sip as opposed to taking shots and feeling like death the next morning was a revelation. I shall now share with you my takeaways. Oi! Oi!!!…
Saving money always feels good. But, for some reason, saving money on flights can feel especially gratifying. Perhaps it’s the size of the savings, which can be up to $100 or more sometimes. Or the short-lived nature of fare deals, which makes it feel like you’ve won a prize when you nab one. Or maybe it’s simply the satisfaction of paying less to airlines that seemingly upcharge passengers at every turn, while making headlines for customer service gaffes. Whatever the…
There is no denying that working in the service industry can be one of the most high stress and infuriating jobs out there. (Unless you’re a politician, that shit looks stressful AF. Boom bipartisan politician SLAM! I’m fine. I’m fine!) But the ability to deal with the mindblowing daily bullshit without losing your sanity is a gift from the Gods. Delays, waiting, having people scream at you even though everything is completely out of your control…no wonder we tend…
The Glass-Steagall Act is a piece of financial legislation that dates to the Great Depression and has been partially dismantled but remains strikingly relevant today. The act has popped up repeatedly in a political context in recent months, and its future remains an open question. Glass-Steagall was part of a broader set of 1933 regulations that prohibited FDIC-insured banks from investing in anything other than government bonds and similarly low-risk vehicles. The law has spent the last 20 years under near-constant debate…
WEAR SUNSCREEN. WEAR SUNSCREEN ON YOUR FACE. WEAR SUNSCREEN ON YOUR BODY. WEAR SUNSCREEN ON THE BOTTOM OF YOUR FEET CAUSE MOST OF US FORGET TO DO THAT PART. WEAR SUNSCREEN BEHIND YOUR EARS. WEAR SUNSCREEN ON YOUR EYELIDS AND DON’T DO WHAT I DID IN JR. HIGH WHICH WAS TO PUT VASELINE ON MY EYELIDS AS AN EYESHADOW PRIMER AND THEN GO TO THE BEACH. YOU WILL HAVE RED BURNED SKIN EYESHADOW FOR WEEKS. AND RED ISN’T EVEN A…
Big life decisions await you in your 20s. Should you get married? Change jobs? Start a family? Buy a home? Travel the world? No matter what path you choose — and when — building healthy habits around money management now will help you meet your goals later. “Habits are really what’s important,” says Jason Kirsch, a financial advisor in Santa Monica, California. “If you build a habit of doing something, day in and day out, those compound over years.” Preparation is key for most…
