Blogs

Best Ways to Save on Summer Vacation With school letting out and sultry summer days ahead, it’s time to start thinking vacation. Because it’s a supply-and-demand world, you’ll likely be up against higher airfare, hotel costs and car rental rates. But here are some tips to help keep things affordable. If by air … If you plan to fly domestically, your best chance to score cheaper fares is by booking about 60 days in advance. For international travel, make it…

How to Manage Your Finances After Graduating CollegeYou’re done with college, and now you’re ready to be on your own. But for newly minted grads who didn’t major in money management, here’s one last assignment: Summer reading to help with your financial future.That degree you earned might open the door to a higher salary — and carry a student loan burden — so it’s important to know how to balance it all as you set the stage for the rest…

Financial Literacy for Kids As part of our Financial Literacy Month blog series, and in celebration of Take Your Child to Work Day, we’re talking about ways to educate children about finances. Remember, it’s never too early to start teaching kids about money. Good skills, that are learned at an early age, can have a lasting impact for the rest of your child’s life. In fact, this is one of the most important areas where you can truly change the…

How to Budget When You Have Seasonal Income Rewarding careers don’t always come with a steady paycheck. For people who work in agriculture, construction, tax preparation, entertainment, landscaping or other types of freelance and seasonal businesses, income may vary wildly depending on the time of year. This uneven cash flow makes budgeting especially challenging, but it’s by no means impossible. Here’s how to budget for long-term financial stability when your income changes with the seasons. Determine your average monthly income…

5 Tips to Get Back on Budget After the Holidays Between the expensive gifts, festive light-up sweaters and fancy dinner parties, it’s likely you went a little over budget during the holidays. But that doesn’t mean it’s time to panic. “Don’t get discouraged,” says Howard R. Pressman, a certified financial planner and partner of Egan, Berger & Weiner LLC in Virginia. “Everybody, it seems, has kind of fallen off the wagon from time to time, and staying positive and keeping…

What to Know About Home Equity Loans If you’re a homeowner, you have a powerful tool in your financial arsenal: the home equity loan. Home equity loans allow some consumers to borrow a large amount of money relatively easily and cheaply. But they aren’t right for all situations. Here’s a bit more about how they work and when they’re a good option. How home equity loans work A home equity loan is a loan secured by the value of the…

5 Tips for Handling Holiday Financial Stress By Kurt Smith Learn more about Kurt on NerdWallet’s Ask an Advisor If you’re like many people, the holidays cause more financial stress than any other time of year. Figuring out how to afford gifts, décor and food for the big feast is often overwhelming. You might never be able to remove all of your holiday money worries, but you can alleviate some of them. Even though your shopping list might continue to…

5 Frugality Pros Help You Rein In Holiday SpendingThe overflowing expectations around the holidays can entice us to spend more than we can afford. Not only do we have bills to face once the decorations are put away, but 43% of respondents to an Experian survey say extra expenses also make the holidays hard to enjoy.Now’s the time to plan so your December spirit doesn’t lead to January bills. We asked five experts on frugality what they do to avoid…