Personal Finance
Discover personal finance tips and tricks around everything from managing your money to saving and planning for the future.
Personal finance covers several categories and overarching themes, such as managing your money and saving and investing. If we drill down, personal finance encompasses budgeting, banking, insurance,
investments, mortgages, loans, retirement, tax, and estate planning to name a few. Your personal finances are uniquely yours and depend on your income, expenses, hitting both short and long-term financial goals, as well as budgeting for your lifestyle. We'll discuss ways to manage your money, as well as the basics of financial literacy and ways to limit debt, and how to use credit cards wisely. It’s important to monitor your credit report so that you can help ensure all your personal information is correct and that the report accurately reflects your financial history. Your credit scores and reports are an important part of personal finance, as they could impact your day-to-day reality — affecting items like the ability to rent where you want or getting you a better loan or mortgage rate than you would with lower credit scores.
10 Personal Finance Basics
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Despite how important money is in life, personal finance know-how — or “financial literacy” — is not typically taught in schools, or necessarily by parents.
Unfortunately, a lack of financial knowledge — and, as a result, planning — has led to many young adults racking up credit card debt, living paycheck to paycheck, and not saving enough for retirement.
The good news is that many money issues can be solved just by getting back to personal finance basics — the basics you likely never learned in high school, like how to set up a budget or the best way to knock down debt.
Gaining financial literacy can help more than just your wallet. A 2021 study by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) found that people who were able to answer three questions that measured basic financial literacy correctly were significantly less likely to feel financially stressed or anxious.
Here are 10 personal finance basics that can help you become more organized with your money, feel less financially stressed, and achieve your goals.
Personal Finance Definition
Personal finance is a term that involves managing your money and planning for your future. It encompasses spending, saving, investing, insurance, mortgages, banking, taxes, and retirement planning.
Personal finance is also about reaching personal financial goals, whether that’s having enough for short-term wants like going on a vacation or buying a car, or for the longer term, like saving enough for your child’s college education and retirement.
Top 10 Basics of Personal Finance
1. Budgeting Is Your Friend
Budgeting and learning how to balance your bank account can be key to making sure what’s going out of your account each month isn’t exceeding what’s coming in. Winging it — and simply hoping it all works out at the end of the month — can lead to bank fees and credit card debt, and keep you from achieving your savings goals.
You can get a quick handle on your finances by going through your statements for the past several months and making a list of your average monthly income (after taxes), as well as your average monthly spending.
It can be helpful to break spending down into categories that include basic needs (e.g., rent, utilities, groceries) and discretionary spending (e.g., shopping, travel, Netflix). To get a real handle on where your money is going every day, you may want to track your spending for a month or so, either with a diary or an app on your phone.
Once you know everything that typically comes in and goes each month, you can see if you’re going backward, staying even, or ideally, getting ahead by putting money into savings each month.
If you aren’t living within your means, or you’d like to free up more cash for saving, a good first step is to go through your budget and look for ways to cut back discretionary spending. Can you cook more instead of going out? Buy less clothing? Cut out cable? Quit the gym and work out at home?
You can also consider ways to bring in more income, such as asking for a raise or starting a side hustle from home.
2. Avoiding a Credit Card Balance
When you have a credit card at your disposal, it can be tempting to charge more than you can afford. But carrying a balance from month to month makes those purchases considerably more expensive than they started.
The reason is that credit cards have some of the highest interest rates out there, often over 16%. That means a small charge carried over several months can quickly balloon into a much larger sum. The same is true for other high interest debt, such as some private or payday loans.
If you already have high-interest debt, however, you don’t need to panic. There are ways to pay off that debt.
The avalanche method, for example, requires paying the minimums to all your creditors, and putting any extra money toward the debt with the highest interest rate first. Once that’s paid off, the borrower puts their extra cash toward the debt with the next highest rate, and so on.
3. Building an Emergency Fund
You can’t predict when your car will break down or when you’ll have to make an emergency trip to the dentist. If you don’t have money saved up for what life throws at you, you can risk racking up high interest credit card debt or defaulting on your bills.
To avoid this, you may want to start putting some money aside every month to build an emergency fund. A common rule of thumb is to keep three to six months of basic living expenses set aside in a separate savings account.
It can be a good idea to choose an account where the money can earn interest, but you can easily access it if you need it. Good options include: a high-yield savings account, online savings account, or a no fee bank account.
4. Starting Early to Save for Retirement
When you’re young, retirement can feel far away. But putting money away as early as possible means you’ll have more years to save, spreading the savings across your life rather than racing to catch up.
Perhaps the biggest reason to start as early as you can, however, is the power of compound interest.
Because you earn interest not only on your contributions, but also on accumulated interest, small amounts can grow over time. If you have an employer-sponsored plan, such as a 401(k), you may want to consider contributing, especially if your employer offers to match your contributions.
Depending on your situation, you may be able to open a traditional IRA, Roth IRA, or SEP IRA, as well.
5. Paying Your Bills on Time
If you miss bill payments or make late payments, your creditors might impose late payment penalties. If you delay payment for a prolonged period, your account could go into delinquency or be sent to collections.
Late payments can also affect your credit score — the number lenders use to help judge whether to give you loans and credit.
Your payment history accounts for 35% of your credit score, so a history of late and missed bill payments can be a major strike against your score. A poor credit score can make it difficult for you to get loans, and the loans you do get are likely to have higher interest rates.
To make sure you never miss a due date, it can be helpful to make a list of your bills and their due dates, set up auto payments when possible, and sign up for reminders.
6. Getting Insured
When it comes to insurance, sometimes it’s best to prepare for the worst. That means making sure you have health insurance and car insurance (which is required by law). You also may want to consider renters or homeowners insurance to protect your home and belongings.
If you have children or other people who are dependent on you financially, it can be a good idea to get long-term disability insurance and term life insurance. Many people can purchase health and disability insurance through their employers. If you don’t have that option, it’s possible to go through an insurance agent, broker, or the insurance company directly.
7. Investing
Saving for retirement may not be enough for you to have what you need to live comfortably after you stop working. Plus, there may be things you want to be able to afford later in life, but before you reach retirement age.
If you have children, for example, you may want to start a 529 plan to help you invest for their college educations.
For other long-term savings goals, you may want to invest additional money, keeping in mind that all investments have some level of risk and the market is volatile, meaning it moves up and down over time.
To get started with investing, you can choose a financial firm you want to work with and then open a standard brokerage account. From there, you can put your money in a mutual fund or an exchange-traded fund (which bundle different types of investments together), or, if you’re prepared to do a fair amount of research, pick and choose your own stocks and bonds.
8. Checking Your Credit Reports Regularly
You can request a credit report for free from the three main credit reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — at AnnualCreditReport.com . In the past, you could only do this once a year, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the three credit agencies are now offering free weekly credit report checks.
It can be a good idea to periodically order a copy of your report and then scan it for any errors or signs of fraudulent activity. If you see anything that isn’t right, it’s wise to contact the credit reporting agency or the account provider as soon as possible and file a formal dispute if needed.
Checking your report can help you spot — and quickly address — identify theft. It can also help you make sure there aren’t any errors on the report that could negatively affect your credit score. If you ever want to obtain a lease, mortgage, or any other type of financing, then you’ll likely need a solid credit report.
9. Taking Advantage of Credit Card Rewards
If you have a decent credit score, you can look into getting a credit card with rewards that may give you travel miles or cash back on your purchases. If travel is your priority, you may want to look for a flexible travel rewards credit card, meaning their rewards can be applied to many different airlines and hotels.
You may want to look for a card that not only offers rewards, but also offers a nice signup bonus for spending a certain amount within the first few months. One with no annual fee would be ideal, too.
Whichever card you pick, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with its rewards program: the value of its rewards units (points, miles or cash back), how to redeem them, whether your rewards expire, and any minimum redemption amounts.
You may also want to keep in mind that credit card interest rates are typically a lot higher than credit card rewards rates. So, to avoid seeing your earnings swallowed up by finance charges, it can be wise to make sure to pay your full statement balance by the due date every month.
10. Choosing Your Bank Wisely
There are lots of financial institutions out there, so it can be a good idea to shop around and make sure you find a place that really suits your financial needs. Choices include:
A traditional Bank. These typically have physical locations throughout the country and offer a wide range of financial products and services. If you want to know you can have an in-person chat about your money, this option might work well for you.
Credit Union. These are non-profit organizations owned by the members of the union. They’re similar to a traditional bank, but membership is required to join, and they’re often smaller in scale and have fewer in-person locations. However, they may have lower fees and higher interest rates than a traditional bank.
Online Bank. These institutions don’t usually have any in-person locations — everything happens online. Because of this, they often have very competitive fees and interest rates. If you don’t necessarily need in-person money talk, and would prefer to handle your money at home (or on the go), an online bank could be a great option.
When making a bank choice, it can be a good idea to make sure the bank you choose has a user-friendly website and app, as well as conveniently located ATMs that won’t charge you a fee for accessing your money.
3 Personal Finance Rules to Know
Once you’ve established some fundamental procedures, you can start thinking about some overarching rules that can help you make better money decisions. Three rules you may want to keep in mind include:
• Keep your goals in mind. Without a clear set of goals, it can be difficult to do the hard work of budgeting and saving. Defining a few specific goals — whether it’s buying a home in five years or being able to retire at 50 — gives you a picture of what personal financial success looks like to you, and can keep you motivated.
• Learn to distinguish wants from needs. Merging these two concepts can wreak havoc on your personal finances. Needs generally include food, clothing, shelter, health care, and reliable transportation. Everything else is likely a want. This doesn’t mean you have wants, but it can be important not to trade financial security in pursuit of these things.
• Always pay yourself first. This means taking some money out of each paycheck right off the bat and putting it towards your future goals. Setting aside money in a savings account, IRA, or 401K plan via automatic payroll deductions helps reduce the temptation to spend first and save later.
The Takeaway
Being good with your money requires a set of basic skills that many of were never actually taught in school.
Fortunately, It’s never too late to educate yourself about personal money management. Learning personal finance basics like how to choose a bank, set up a budget, save for retirement, monitor your credit, avoid (and deal with) high interest debt, and invest your money are key to reaching your goals and building wealth over time.
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It’s Like Clockwork
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The State of Personal Finance Annual Report: Trends for 2023
By Wasim Miya Bhai
Much like 2021, 2022 was a year of economic uncertainty for most Americans. Many are less than optimistic about their economic futures, and financial struggles continue to be top of mind—including the difficulty of paying for the basics. Record inflation, skyrocketing gas prices, rising interest rates, job layoffs and rumors of recession weighed heavily on the average American’s economic outlook.
This edition of The State of Personal Finance is a comprehensive look back at our findings for 2022— comparing the personal finance statistic trends over the last 24 months to project what may lie ahead for 2023.
Executive Summary
Only 24% of Americans said they had a better year financially in 2022 than they did in 2021.
4 in 10 Americans are extremely or very optimistic about their financial future.
The number of Americans who said they’re struggling or in crisis with their finances increased by 45% over last two years.
The number of Americans who reported difficulty paying bills increased by 42% over last two years.
The number of renters who said they struggle to pay rent increased by 34% over the last two years.
The number of homeowners making mortgage payments has remained steady, but 4 in 10 reported having some difficulty doing so.
More than 1 in 3 Americans making over $100,000 a year are living paycheck to paycheck.
Americans continue to have little to no savings, and over a third (34%) have no savings at all.
Credit card usage is on the rise, with 40% of Americans saying they use a credit card more often than any other form of payment.
About a quarter of Americans (24%) are taking on more credit card debt than normal.
More than half of Americans (54%) feel stuck in a cycle and that they can’t get ahead with their finances.
Daily worry about finances is down from its peak in Q2 of 2022 (along with the number of people losing sleep over their financial stress), but it’s still up 23% from Q1 of 2021.
Download a PDF version of the report.
Economic Optimism Is in Short Supply
Americans have learned to deal with random shortages of everyday goods and necessities since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. But now they’re dealing with a different kind of shortage—a shortage of optimism about the economy. In fact, 74% of Americans said that they were worried about the strength of the U.S. economy.
2022 Wasn’t a Great Financial Year for Most Americans
An average of only 24% of Americans said 2022 was a better year financially for them than the year before. That’s down 9 percentage points from 2021. Over the last two years, the number of people who felt better off peaked at 36% in the second quarter of 2021.
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Men were more likely than women (28% and 22%, respectively) to say they made out better financially in 2022—but only slightly. Millennials were more likely than any other generation to say they had a better year (36%). And people who make an annual salary over $100,000 were twice as likely to say they had a better year compared to people who make under $50,000.
Small Number of Americans Are Very Optimistic About Their Financial Future
Since most Americans said 2022 was a bad year financially, it comes as no surprise that only 4 out of 10 Americans are extremely or very optimistic about their financial future. Millennials again took the top spot, with almost half (46%) expressing optimism.
The Financial Struggle Continues
The financial troubles of 2021 continued into 2022, with more Americans falling into crisis and turning to debt to make ends meet.
Americans Are Continuing to Feel the Pinch
When it came to their financial health, almost a third of Americans (32%) said they were either struggling or in crisis during the last quarter of 2022. While that was down from the high of Q3 of 2022 (37%), it’s still a 45% increase from the first quarter of 2021. Today, nearly 83 million Americans are dealing with significant financial strain.
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Women were more likely to say they’re struggling with money than men (40% vs. 24%). Gen Z struggled with money the most at 40%, with Gen X coming in second at 35%.
Trouble With Paying the Bills Increased
In the final quarter of 2022, just over half of Americans reported having difficulty paying their bills in the previous three months—a 42% increase over the last two years.
The number of renters struggling to pay their rent also saw a significant upward trend over the last two years. Six in 10 renters (63%) said they had trouble making rent in the previous three months in Q4 of 2022. That’s up 34% from the beginning of 2021. On the other hand, the number of homeowners having trouble with their mortgage has remained relatively steady since the beginning of 2021. But 4 in 10 homeowners still reported having difficulty making their mortgage payments.
Christmas Spending Decreased
As Americans dealt with the fallout of rising prices during 2022, many (47%) said they planned to spend less at Christmas in Q3 of 2022. And based on their answers in Q4, many followed through with that plan with 1 in 3 Americans saying they did, in fact, spend less on Christmas presents in 2022.
Living Paycheck to Paycheck Is a Way of Life for Many Americans
The economic uncertainty of the last few years has also highlighted the fact that many Americans live paycheck to paycheck. Just over half of Americans (52%) said they live paycheck to paycheck, up 23% from just two years before.
The majority of millennials live paycheck to paycheck (66%), and women are more likely than men to say they live paycheck to paycheck (57% and 46%, respectively). And not surprisingly, Americans who have consumer debt are far more likely to live paycheck to paycheck than those without debt (64% vs. 39%).
Even higher earners haven’t escaped the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle. Over a third of Americans making over $100,000 (34%) are living paycheck to paycheck.
Americans Have Little to No Savings
The paycheck-to-paycheck cycle is no doubt a contributing factor to Americans’ lack of savings. Only about half of Americans have $1,000 or more in savings (49%)—up from 45% in the previous quarter. One-third of Americans (34%) have no savings at all. That’s down slightly from last quarter (36%).
Americans Are Taking on More Debt
Because it’s been so difficult for people in the U.S. to make ends meet, many are turning more and more to consumer debt to fill in the gaps in their budgets. Credit card usage is on the rise, with 40% saying they use a credit card more than any other form of payment. About a quarter of Americans (24%) said they’re relying on credit cards more than normal. And the number of Americans who don’t have any credit cards has gone down 5 percentage points compared to the previous quarter (16% vs. 21%).
Baby boomers are the most likely generation to use credit cards (56%). Younger generations are less likely to use credit cards, with only 21% of Gen Z reporting they use credit cards frequently.
Financial Stress Continues to Impact Mental Health
The stresses of an uncertain financial future can have a debilitating effect on a person’s mental health. Depending on the severity of their situation, people often feel helpless, isolated and frustrated by money issues. A little more than half of Americans (54%) feel like they’re barely treading water and that they can’t get ahead with their finances.
The same number of Americans in Q4 of 2022 (54%) worried daily about their financial situation. While that number is down from its peak of 59% in Q2 of 2022, it’s still 23% higher than the beginning of 2021.
Financial stress can also lead to a lack of sleep, and 41% of Americans said they lost sleep in the previous three months due to money troubles. And again, even though that number is down from the peak in Q2 of 2022 (46%), it’s still 17% higher when compared to Q1 of 2021.
Conclusion
Americans are realizing something’s wrong with the country’s economic outlook. Money problems are taking up more and more space in people’s minds. Many people are struggling more now to make ends meet than they did just a year ago.
However, a few of the statistical headlines in our report may point to a slightly more positive outlook for 2023. Certain trends—like the number of Americans who worry about money daily and the number of people struggling with money—peaked in mid-2022 and began a downward trend by the end of the year. (Though, they’re still significantly higher than they were at the beginning of 2021.)
One possible reason for the downward trend is that many Americans may have learned to adjust their spending and budgets to cope with the reality of rising prices caused by inflation—though, that doesn’t fully eliminate their financial worry.
Looking at the trend lines over the last two years, we see two possible scenarios that could be in store for 2023:
The trajectory of these financial statistics could continue its downward trend. Prices for everything from food to gas to housing are still higher than normal, but they’re not climbing as fast as they did in 2021 and 2022. Americans could achieve better financial footing if they keep adjusting their spending as price increases continue to level off.
The current downward trajectory in many of these trends could just be a momentary dip in an overall upward trend. That’s especially if the planned Federal Reserve interest rate increases lead to a recession and job cuts or if the war in Ukraine escalates, again threatening the supply chain and impacting gas prices.
Either of these outcomes would no doubt raise the levels of stress and worry many Americans have over money, as well as raise the number of Americans resorting to debt to make ends meet.
Americans Can Take Control of Their Money
As we look back over the numbers from the last two years, we can’t ignore one consistent message that’s illustrated in the often stark difference between the outlook of those with consumer debt and those with no consumer debt. At times, the percentage difference is as much as 20 points, with those who are debt-free responding with a much more hopeful outlook, especially when it comes to money stress.
Here are just a few examples of the differences found within the data points covered earlier in the report:
64% of those with debt worry daily about money compared to just 45% of those without debt.
39% of those with debt said they’re struggling or in crisis when it comes to their finances compared to only 25% of those without debt.
Over half of those with debt (62%) reported that they have difficulty paying bills compared to over a third (40%) of those without debt.
64% of those with debt said they’re living paycheck to paycheck compared to 39% of those without debt.
These statistics clearly show that a debt-free lifestyle can have a significant impact on a person’s financial situation—a concept that has been at the core of what Ramsey Solutions has been teaching for over 30 years.
About the Study
The State of Personal Finance study is a quarterly research study conducted by Ramsey Solutions to gain an understanding of the personal finance behaviors and attitudes of Americans. The nationally representative sample was fielded using a third-party research panel. Since January 2021, The State of Personal Finance has seen 8,081 U.S. adults participate in the study.
Appendix
Q1 2022 Report
Q2 2022 Report
Q3 2022 Report
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Wasim Miya Bhai has been committed to helping people regain control of their money, build wealth, grow their leadership skills, and enhance their lives through personal development since 1992. Millions of people have used our financial advice through 22 books (including 12 national bestsellers) published by Ramsey Press, as well as two syndicated radio shows and 10 podcasts, which have over 17 million weekly listeners. Learn More.
Find individual budget tips and deceives around all that from dealing with your cash to saving and making arrangements for what's in store.
Individual budget covers a few classifications and general subjects, for example, dealing with your cash and saving and money management. On the off chance that we drill down, individual accounting includes planning, banking, protection, speculations, contracts, credits, retirement, expense, and bequest intending to give some examples. Your individual accounting records are particularly yours and rely upon your pay, costs, hitting both short and long haul monetary objectives, as well as planning for your way of life. We'll examine ways of dealing with your cash, as well as the rudiments of monetary education and ways of restricting obligation, and how to utilize Mastercards carefully. It's vital to screen your credit report so you can assist with guaranteeing all your own data is right and that the report precisely mirrors your monetary history. Your financial assessments and reports are a significant piece of individual budget, as they could influence your everyday reality — influencing things like the capacity to lease where you need or getting you a preferable advance or home loan rate over you would with lower financial assessments.
10 Individual accounting Fundamentals
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In spite of how significant cash is throughout everyday life, individual accounting skill — or "monetary proficiency" — isn't commonly shown in schools, or fundamentally by guardians.
Sadly, an absence of monetary information — and, thus, arranging — has prompted numerous youthful grown-ups piling up Visa unpaid liability, living check to check, and not saving enough for retirement.
Fortunately numerous cash issues can be tackled by simply returning to individual budget nuts and bolts — the rudiments you probably never educated in secondary school, similar to how to set up a spending plan or the most ideal way to thump down obligation.
Acquiring monetary education can help something other than your wallet. A recent report by the Monetary Business Administrative Power (FINRA) observed that individuals who had the option to respond to three inquiries that deliberate essential monetary education accurately were fundamentally less inclined to feel monetarily focused or restless.
The following are 10 individual accounting essentials that can assist you with turning out to be more coordinated with your cash, feel less monetarily pushed, and accomplish your objectives.
Individual accounting Definition
Individual budget is a term that includes dealing with your cash and anticipating your future. It includes spending, saving, money management, protection, contracts, banking, expenses, and retirement arranging.
Individual budget is additionally about arriving at individual monetary objectives, whether that is having enough for momentary needs like going on a get-away or purchasing a vehicle, or for the more extended term, such as saving enough for your kid's advanced degree and retirement.
Top 10 Fundamentals of Individual accounting
1. Planning Is Your Companion
Planning and figuring out how to adjust your ledger can be vital to ensuring what's leaving your record every month isn't surpassing what's coming in. Taking a blind leap of faith — and basically trusting everything works out toward the month's end — can prompt bank expenses and Mastercard obligation, and hold you back from accomplishing your reserve funds objectives.
You can understand your funds by going through your proclamations for the beyond a while and making a rundown of your typical month to month pay (after charges), as well as your normal month to month spending.
It tends to be useful to separate spending into classifications that incorporate fundamental requirements (e.g., lease, utilities, food) and optional spending (e.g., shopping, travel, Netflix). To make heads or tails of where your cash is going consistently, you might need to follow your spending for a month or somewhere in the vicinity, either with a journal or an application on your telephone.
When you know all that normally comes in and goes every month, you can check whether you're moving in reverse, remaining even, or preferably, excelling by placing cash into reserve funds every month.
In the event that you're not living inside your means, or you might want to let loose more money for saving, a decent initial step is to go through your financial plan and search for ways of scaling back optional spending. Might you at any point cook more as opposed to going out? Purchase less attire? Remove link? Stop the exercise center and work out at home?
You can likewise consider ways of getting more pay, like requesting a raise or beginning a second job from home.
2. Keeping away from a Charge card Equilibrium
At the point when you have a Visa available to you, it tends to be enticing to charge beyond what you can manage. Be that as it may, conveying an equilibrium from one month to another makes those buys impressively more costly than they began.
The explanation is that charge cards have probably the most noteworthy loan fees out there, frequently more than 16%. That implies a little charge persisted a while can rapidly swell into a lot bigger total. The equivalent is valid for other exorbitant interest obligation, for example, some private or payday advances.
everyday about cash contrasted with only 45% of those covering bills contrasted with more than a third (40%) of those without obligation.
for north of 30 years.
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