3 Ways to Save for Your Dream Item

Don't let anything get in the way of your dream item.

Don’t let anything get in the way of your dream item.

People have all sorts of different items in mind when they decide to save. Whether you want to be able to afford a car, your family is due for a vacation, you are thinking of buying a new home, or maybe you just need to purchase a new suit for job interviews, saving money to do so always comes first.

Whatever you want to purchase, you have to put together a plan for saving. It doesn’t matter how big or how small, remember to start with the plan.

Establish your goals

This always has to be the first step in your savings plan, because without goals in place, what are you saving for? According to WiseBread, a financial advice website, having goals in place will help you realistically identify how much money you need to save. Continue reading…

How to Save a Bad Job Interview on the Spot

Be prepared to make mistakes during a job interview.

Be prepared to make mistakes during a job interview.

People put a great deal of pressure on themselves during job interviews. This is understandable, as a job interview is a potential entrance into a new chapter of your life. However, this nervousness and the need to get the interview right can cause you to make mistakes in the moment, whether because you answered a question in a less than perfect way, or because you forgot to highlight a specific aspect of your career.

Instead, approach job interviews with confidence and calmness, as you’re more likely to slip up if you’re too anxious. If you are relaxed and collected, you are more inclined to be engaged in the moment when you need it most.

If you have a job interview coming up, or are on the hunt for a new career, consider the following to avoid mistakes, or to recover quickly if you make them. Continue reading…

Spring-Clean Your Car on a Budget

get the salt and grime out of your tires.

Get the salt and grime out of your tires.

As the warm months settle in, you are going to be cleaning more than your window sills. Spring cleaning is not just about removing clutter, but getting in the mindset to take on spring and summer. In addition to your home and backyard, a place that will surely need a solid cleaning session is your car.

When summer hits, it’s great to drive with the windows down and listen to your favorite song on the radio. Every day in the spring and summer months is like a celebration. But if you are driving around with salt stains from the winter on your vehicle’s fenders and still have extra gloves in the back seat, then you are not as ready as you think. Continue reading…

3 Myths About Credit Reports

12696032183_0d9622ae98There are many myths regarding what affects your credit report, how often you can check it, why it is important to have a good score and what it really all means. Additionally, many people have these conversations based on hearsay without really knowing the facts pertaining to credit reports.

Well, we are here to lay it down for you. We’ll separate the myths from the truth so that by the end of this post, you’ll know where you stand with your own credit report.

The Myths

There are always going to be misconceptions about credit scores. But ultimately, it is important to know what they are. While there are certainly too many to mention here, these are three of the most common myths related to credit reports: Continue reading…

Find Hidden Cash with Spring-Cleaning

Get rid of those cards causing you to spend.

Get rid of those cards causing you to spend.

Spring-cleaning means more than just lightening your closets and wiping down window sills – it means taking a look at your finances and clearing away those items that are holding you back from being as financially stable as you’d like to be. Certainly there are subscriptions you acquired or memberships you took up that you didn’t get as much use out of as you thought. Now is the time to take a good hard look at these expenses and decide if they are necessary.

Obviously there is not a single task list that applies to everyone, but for some guidance on how to spring-clean your finances, check these out:

Review your budget

Take a look at how you spent money during the winter to find areas for improvement. While you paid additional for items like heating and you think these expenses won’t be included in the spring or summer budget, these warm months have expenses unique from other seasons.  Continue reading…