Budget Blog

Cash Reserves 101: Why You Need an Emergency Fund

October 22, 2019 By Mr. SR from Semi-Retire Plan

One of the few personal finance tips that garners near-universal praise is the idea of having some cash reserves.

For many topics in personal finance, there are seemingly as many critics as there are advocates. You commonly hear phrases such as:

“The stock market is too risky,” or
“You can’t retire early because you need health insurance,” or
“You shouldn’t travel because it’s wastefully expensive.”

I don’t agree with any of these perspectives, but you hear people offer them as feedback nonetheless.

Thankfully, few people disparage having cash reserves because they should be an essential component of everyone’s personal finances. Most of the time.

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Debt Consolidation 101: Everything You Need to Know

October 16, 2019 By Ryan Luke @ Arrest Your Debt

If you have many different debts with different interest rates, payoff schedules, and balances, it may sound like a good idea to sign up for debt consolidation. Debt consolidation can seem appealing with the promise of a significantly lower monthly payment and a reduced interest rate.

For some people, debt consolidation may be a reasonable solution. For others, they will be making the debt consolidation company rich.

The truth is, debt consolidation salesmen will tell you whatever you want to hear to get your business. Don’t fall for any of the gimmicks or false promises. Before you sign on the dotted line, learn the truth about debt consolidation to find out if this strategy is right for your situation.

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How to Take Control of Your Finances (and Stop Begging for Money)

October 9, 2019 By Melissa Blevins from Perfection Hangover

Has begging for money become the new norm? It seems that the internet has become an easy way for people to become online panhandlers. I’ve shared many ways to make extra money from home, online, and even creative side hustle ideas (i.e. “Dave jobs” for all of you Dave Ramsey fans).

From CyberBeg to BeggingMoney, there’s no shortage of sites available to ask strangers for financial help.

But at some point, you have to get your personal finance s together and take responsibility for your own successes and failures.

Here are four ways to get it done.

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How to Easily Lower Student Loan Interest

September 1, 2019 By Nate from Lendedu

If you’re a current or former college student, or anything like me, chances are high that you have debt. I’m sure that you would also love to lower the student loan interest on that debt. Who wouldn’t?

With student loan debt statistics for 2019 revealing that 45 million student loan borrowers owe a whopping $1.52 trillion, it’s not a surprise that educational debt is a pressing economic and political concern. This is an issue I know personally, having graduated in 2016 with over $55,000 in student loan debt.

Unfortunately, one factor that has contributed to ballooning student loan debt is that it’s difficult and expensive to pay down student loans because of interest.

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