Understanding your financial IQ is crucial for making informed financial decisions and achieving long-term financial success. Your financial IQ, or financial intelligence, is a measure of your knowledge and understanding of various financial concepts and principles. Check out the books and tips below to increase your Financial IQ.
Behind housing costs, transportation costs are often one of the top expenses in most households. Auto leasing has been popular for several decades, but many people still aren’t sure about the sensibility of leasing vs. buying a car, how the math works, and which is really the better value. Should you lease a car? In many cases, you can lease a car for less than the monthly payment for financing the exact same car. This
Home ownership is a big part of the “American Dream”. But sometimes it might seem more convenient (or economical) to rent rather than buy. Here are two things to consider if you’re looking to buy a house instead of renting. How long will you live in the house? When you own a home, the hope is generally that it will increase in value and that you would be able to sell it for more than
If you come into some extra money – a year-end bonus at work, an inheritance from your aunt, or you finally sold your rare coin collection for a tidy sum – you might not be quite sure what to do with the extra cash. On one hand you may have some debt you’d like to knock out, or you might feel like you should divert the money into your emergency savings or retirement fund. They’re
Ever heard of the “Sandwich Generation”? Unfortunately, it’s not a group of financially secure, middle-aged foodies whose most important mission is hanging out in the kitchens of their paid-off homes, brainstorming ideas about how to make the perfect sandwich. The Sandwich Generation refers to adults who find themselves in the position of financially supporting their grown children and their own parents, all while trying to save for their futures. They’re “sandwiched” between caring for both
We’ve all probably heard someone talk on social media about their “hustle” or “side gig.” It’s in style; and it makes sense—and cents? Gigs are now just a click or tap away on most of our devices, and a little extra money never hurts! Here are a few things to consider when starting up a side hustle. What are your side hustle goals? We typically think of a side hustle as being an easy way
What happened to the days of the $10 lawn mowing job or the $7-an-hour babysitting gig every Saturday night? Not a penny withheld. No taxes to file. No stress about saving a “million dollars” for retirement. As a kid, doing household chores or helping out your friends and neighbors for a little spending money was vastly different from your grown up reality – writing checks for all those bills, paying your taxes, and buying all
