Every month you mean to save. You'll move whatever's left over to savings once the bills are paid. Then the end of the month comes, there's $63 in checking, a birthday dinner coming up, and the transfer doesn't happen. Again.
Author: GBG Bro
Too Many Accounts? A Simple Account Setup That Runs Itself
You have a checking account from college, another one from when you switched jobs, a savings account at a bank you don't remember choosing, two credit cards, and an online savings account you opened for the rate. Your paycheck lands in one place, rent comes out of another, and every few weeks you move money…
Online Impulse Buying: Saved Cards, One-Click, and Buy Now, Pay Later
It's 11:40 p.m. and you're scrolling. An ad shows you a jacket, the site already knows your address, your card fills itself in, and the checkout page offers to split the $160 into four payments of $40. You tap once. By the time the confirmation email arrives, you've half forgotten what you ordered.
Hidden Bank Fees: How to Find Them and Get Them Waived
You probably know your rent and your car payment to the dollar. But ask what your bank charged you last year and most people have no idea. That's because bank fees rarely arrive as a bill. They show up as a short line on a statement you skim: “MAINT FEE,” “NON-NETWORK ATM,” “PAPER STMT,” “INTL…
Should This Money Be Invested at All? Matching Each Goal to Its Time Horizon
You've got some money saved, and everyone says your money should be “working for you.” Maybe you're saving for a house in two years, a wedding next summer, and retirement someday, all in the same account. And you're wondering whether to put the whole thing in an index fund.
The Urge to Sell When the Market Drops: What to Do Instead
You log in to your 401(k) and the balance is down $8,000 from last month. The news is all red arrows. You start doing the math on how much more you could lose, and a thought gets louder every day: sell now, protect what's left, buy back in when things calm down.
Stop Impulse Buying in Stores: The Waiting-Period Rule
You run into the store for toothpaste and a gallon of milk. Forty minutes later you're at the register with a throw pillow, a new water bottle, two candles that were on an endcap, and a phone charger you might already own. The total is $83. The toothpaste was $4.
Cutting Your Grocery Bill With Unit Prices and a Price Book
You grab the big jar of peanut butter because big jars are always the better deal. You buy the cereal with the yellow sale tag because it says “SAVE $1.50.” At checkout the total is higher than you expected, again, and you're not sure where it went wrong.
Subscription Creep: Finding and Canceling Recurring Charges You Forgot
You signed up for a free trial of a streaming service to watch one show. You added cloud storage when your phone filled up. A meditation app, a news site, a fitness class with a monthly membership you meant to pause. None of them felt expensive on its own, which is exactly why you stopped…
Investing Your First $100: Minimums, Fractional Shares, and Making Sure It Is Actually Invested
You've got $100 you can spare, and you've heard that you can't really invest until you have thousands. Or maybe you already opened an account, moved $100 in, and saw the balance sitting there. Either way, you're wondering whether $100 is enough to matter, and whether you've actually done it right.