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Posts about Savings & Budgeting (8)

a couple looking interested in refinancing

Big Purchases: When to Save & When to Borrow

By: American Heritage 07.23.20 3 minute read Auto Savings & Budgeting

When you’re looking at a big-ticket purchase, one question always comes up: Should you pay with your savings or finance it? Or, if it’s a new home or car, how much of the purchase price should you pay up front, and how much should you borrow? There is no simple answer. On the one hand, paying in cash can keep you out of debt. On the other hand, large cash purchases could wipe out much of your savings, while borrowing can help ensure you have more savings available for emergencies. There are many factors to consider. Ask yourself these eight questions to figure out whether you should pay cash or use financing for your next big purchase.

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5 Ways to Help a Friend Going Through Financial Hardship

By: American Heritage 07.09.20 3 minute read Savings & Budgeting

A good friend is always there to help, in good times and bad. But if a close friend of yours is struggling with financial problems such as a job loss, overwhelming debt, or major expenses like medical bills, it can be hard to know how to help. Often, giving or lending money is not the best solution. While there may be situations when providing a small amount of cash is harmless, this isn’t always the case. A friendship can quickly get complicated once money is involved, especially if this leads to resentment over an unpaid debt or if this gets in the way of your own financial needs. Fortunately, there are plenty of other ways you can help. In honor of the International Day of Friendship, which is July 30, we’ll show you how to help a friend who’s struggling financially without having to spend your own money.

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A Financial Checklist for Newlyweds

By: American Heritage 06.12.20 3 minute read Savings & Budgeting

Getting ready to tie the knot? The opportunity to take on life as a team is exciting, but having your lives so closely intertwined also means big changes for your lifestyle. Especially when it comes to managing your finances. Unfortunately, money can be a tricky topic for couples. In fact, it’s the number one thing married couples fight about. But this doesn’t have to be the case. As you begin this next step in your relationship, one of the best moves you can make for your marriage is to sit down and talk about money. Then start taking the steps in this financial checklist for couples. Your relationship – and finances – will be all the better for it.

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Digitize Your Budget with These Online Tools

By: Holly Love 05.21.20 2 minute read Savings & Budgeting

Notebooks, graph paper, and saved receipts have played their part, but now digital budgeting tools have taken center stage. With the ability to track and sort your purchases in real time or pay bills automatically on your behalf, these handy tools are a necessity for getting your budget back on track. You can't argue that there's nothing more frustrating than trying to find a missing receipt or important document. Overwhelmed by your options or don’t know what’s out there? We’ve compiled a list of some popular recommendations – including a few tools of our own!

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4 Ways to Keep Your Savings Protected & Growing

By: American Heritage 05.14.20 3 minute read Savings & Budgeting

You’ve worked hard to build up your savings. So you want to make sure they’re protected – and steadily growing – during today’s economic uncertainty. But right now, it may seem harder to grow your savings, especially when you want to avoid the risks that come with a volatile stock market. Keeping your funds protected in a federally insured financial institution is a smart way to avoid market risk. And, with the right account, you can still earn a great rate. Here’s how.

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A DIY Guide to Unsubscribing and Saving

By: Holly Love 02.27.20 3 minute read Culture Savings & Budgeting

Driven by the rising cost of cable TV and increased number of commercial breaks, cutting cords used to be the cost-effective option to lower your monthly payments. Comparably when it comes to finding deals, online shopping provided an easy way to compare prices and get the best value without having to drive between stores. In a short amount of time, our media and entertainment options have evolved from a collection on a shelf to a cloud-based library at our fingertips – for as long as we pay the fee. As it is, subscriptions surround us. Our daily lives have shifted from making a one-time purchase to continually paying for content that promises to be the most convenient, most up-to-date, and, at one point, the most comprehensive.

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father and son going over their finances for college

3 Tax-Advantaged Ways to Save for College

By: American Heritage 01.23.20 3 minute read Education Savings & Budgeting

You want your child to enjoy the best opportunities, in their future career and throughout life. Supporting their higher education is one of the best ways to help make this happen. After all, it’s no secret that people who hold college degrees have a better chance of landing higher-paying jobs and earning more over their lifetime. Yet college costs are soaring: Over the last 40 years, the price of tuition and fees has increased by more than 1,100%. Not even healthcare costs have increased that quickly. Unfortunately, very few students earn enough in scholarships to cover their full education. While student loans are important, you don’t want your future college grad shouldering too much debt and struggling to make ends meet years after they’ve graduated.

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Is Debt Consolidation Right for Me?

By: Holly Love 01.16.20 3 minute read Savings & Budgeting Credit

Credit cards are a valuable tool for building credit, making large purchases, or earning rewards. Still, a tool this powerful must be used carefully to prevent avoidable or unmanageable amounts of debt. If you ever find yourself in deeper than expected, don’t worry – there are several ways to tackle credit card debt, one way being debt consolidation. If your debt is spread across multiple credit cards with varying rates, that debt could potentially be consolidated on one new, lower rate card.

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Woman packing a sweater she recently sold to be mailed to the new owner.

8 Things You Can Sell to Get Extra Cash (and Space)

By: American Heritage 12.19.19 3 minute read Savings & Budgeting

Is your home feeling a little cluttered? Want to get through the holidays, or start the new year, with a little extra cash in your pocket? If there are unused or seldom-used items taking up space in your home, consider selling them. Whether you’re purging your attic, decluttering your whole house, or getting ready to move, periodically selling off old things helps you simplify your lifestyle while earning quick cash – sometimes morethan you might expect.

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searching for holiday deals on a laptop computer

6 Must-Follow Holiday Budgeting Tips

By: American Heritage 11.21.19 3 minute read Holiday Savings & Budgeting

The holidays are approaching quickly and with them comes fun, food, gifts for the family, and the need to figure out how to pay for it all. The fact is, the average American can easily spend between $800 – $1000 on the holidays each year. Unfortunately, many people don’t save in advance and put it all on the credit card. This leaves them with a savings shortfall, or worse, a large credit card balance that they’ll be paying off well into the following year.

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