Personal Money Management Tips and Advice

Category: Money Management

3 candle

Money at 30: Celebrating Three Years Since My "Financial Awakening"

This past week, I attended my second FinCon. If you're not familiar, this annual event is where "money and media meet." In other words, it's a conference for personal finance bloggers, advisors, brands, and others to come together. Whether I'm discussing my site, YouTube channel, or other projects, one of the first questions I'm asked is, "How long have you been doing that for?" And typically, I don't have an...
angry cartoon figure staring at a computer screen

Money at 30: The Spiteful Spending Paradox

No one likes to be scorned. Thus, when we feel we're being wronged, it's natural to not only want to stand up for ourselves but also stump for what we feel is right. Incidentally the same things can happen in finance, leading to what I've dedided to dub "spiteful spending." So what is spiteful spending, you ask? In my mind, this action occurs when you, as a frugal person, encounter...
focus group members

Why Focus Groups Can Be a Great Way to Make Extra Cash

You may have heard that taking online surveys can be a legitimate way to make a few dollars. Although that's true, the payout you get from many of these surveys is pretty minuscule. However, in some cases, these surveys can lead to something larger and more lucrative: focus groups. Unlike surveys that might only pay you a few cents, participating in focus groups and other market research studies can sometimes...
a pile of numbers

5 Personal Finance Numbers You Should Know (And Tools for Tracking Them)

If you've ever watched an episode of Shark Tank, you've probably heard at least one of the show's panelist tell the on-the-spot entrepreneurs that they need to know their numbers. As they explain, these figures can often tell you a lot about the health of a business and knowing them is an important first step in improving them. Not surprisingly, this lesson can apply to everyday personal finance as well. While...
chained to debt

5 Tips for Defeating Your Debt ASAP

Did you know that Americans collectively hold more than a trillion dollars of credit card debt? As a result, it is expected that cardholders will pay upwards of $122 billion in credit card interest this year. Meanwhile millions of adults are ready to escape from these statistics and work towards becoming debt-free — but how can you accelerate this process and reach the finish line even faster? If you're looking...
etching a piggy bank

Money at 30: 11 Tools You Can Use to Start Investing With Little Money

If there's one thing that Millennials have heard over and over again in regards to finance, it's that they really need to be investing. Unfortunately many may believe that their current situation precludes them from jumping into the market. After all, investing requires thousands of dollars and no brokerage will even look at you if you show up with under five figures, right? That may have been the case once...
severe storm clouds

Money at 30: Spring Weather is a Great Reminder About Renters Insurance

Since moving to Springfield, Missouri, I've become mildly obsessed with following the weather. I regularly keep tabs on my local National Weather Service's Twitter, watch Facebook's live streams they hold before certain events, and of course have a favorite network affiliate meteorologist. This interest isn't so much driven by passion but by fear as I've never lived in a place where tornados seemed like much of a threat. Consider that Twister...
three computer monitor screens

Money at 30: What If You Need to Move Your Stock Portfolio?

So far 2019 has been a year of learning for me. More specifically, as a newbie investor, I’ve been trying to expand my portfolio and put more of my extra funds into the market. This journey has led to a few questions regarding different brokerage account options and the pros and cons that come with them. Something that’s plagued me ever since Robinhood made headlines for all the wrong reasons...
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2025 SoFi Checking and Savings Review

 Ever since I started taking an interest in the FinTech sector, one company whose name I’ve seen pop up over and over again is SoFi. That was later sent into overdrive as the company has not only become a household name thanks to its stadium naming rights deal but also because of the company’s continued product expansions. The most interesting development in my mind is SoFi’s acquisition of Golden Pacific...
Rakuten: Where it pays to shop.

A Look at How Rakuten (Ebates) Works in 2026

Since taking an interest in personal finance, one site I’ve come across again and again is Rakuten, formerly Ebates. If you’re still unfamiliar, Rakuten is a cashback site — and is the largest of its kind by far, boasting deals from over 3,500 retailers. Its popularity has endured even with the odd Rakuten re-branding and the platform remains one of my most-used money-saving tools. Since joining Rakuten / Ebates some...
Travelers with two Best Western Credit Cards

Best Western Debuts Two New Rewards Credit Cards

After pausing applications for their previous rewards card, the hotel chain Best Western has unveiled a new pair of rewards credit cards with a new issuer. About the Best Western cards: Best Western is partnering with First Bank & Trust and Mercury Financial to introduce two new co-branded credit cards. First up is the no-annual-fee Best Western Rewards Visa Signature Card. With this card, customers can 4x points on Best...
Marriott Bonvoy card and a woman on vacation

Marriott Bonvoy Bold Card Launches Travel Contest

Chase and Marriott Bonoy have unveiled a special contest while continuing to offer its best-ever welcome bonus. About the welcome bonus and Bold Chat Court Contest: Marriott Bonvoy and Chase have launched a special opportunity called the Bold Chat Court contest. As part of this contest, 10 lucky travelers will be awarded 500,000 Marriott Bonvoy points (for a total of 5 million) as well as $5,000. For this contest, the...
Bilt and All Reward logos

Bilt Adds 2 New Transfer Partners Including First 3:2 Transfer Rate

Bilt is once again expanding its travel transfer rewards program — and is even breaking the mold with one new partner. About the new additions to Bilt: This week, Bilt launched partnerships with two more travel brands: TAP Air Portugal and Accor. As a result, Bilt members will now be able to transfer their points to Miles&Go and ALL Reward, respectively. In total, Bilt now has 18 transfer partners including 13...