Most bank savings and money market accounts provide periodic compounding of interest, which is the interest being applied to the balance for a given period (usually monthly). What makes this such a great benefit, is that the interest applied in the current month, is applied to the balance that includes the interest from last month […]
Author Archives: Chris Simber
Buying a home is a major event in our lives, and the excitement can easily overshadow the long-term financial commitment we’re about to make. This is especially true when we’ve found a home that we love. The property taxes, maintenance, and mortgage obligation that we’re committing to, often take a backseat to the excitement of […]
The basics of personal finance are a new focus for many people, and sadly for some out of necessity. Across our nation efforts to spend less, save more, and reduce debt are helping individuals to gain some control and stability. For many it’s a long hard road, but forming good financial habits will have life-long […]
The most popular approaches to debt elimination are: paying off the largest debt first, paying off the smallest debt first, paying off the debt with the highest interest rate first, and loan consolidation. In my book “Personal Finance Simply Understood” I walk through a detailed analysis of these approaches using various loan and debt amounts, and […]
There is a lot of interest right now in reducing debt, and that’s a good thing. And there are several debt reduction approaches that have proven successful for many people. We can focus on paying the smallest debt, the largest debt, or the debt with the highest interest rate. Or we can use debt consolidation […]
What is personal economic value and why is it important? Our personal economic value is our earnings potential or what can we expect to earn between now and when we plan to stop working. As an example, if I currently earn $44,000 each year, I’m 32 years old, and I plan to retire at age […]
We’re often surprised by our credit card statements, and not just because of how much we’re charging. The balance amount always seems to be a number that we wouldn’t have guessed, and some purchases that we expect to see aren’t on the statement, and some that we don’t expect to see are listed. This is […]
Most experts agree that we need an emergency fund…a separate savings account that we set aside to cover monthly expenses in an emergency situation. If we experience a layoff or we’re unable to work for a period of time, the emergency fund is there to provide a financial cushion or safety net until our situation […]
People buy a lot of things that they don’t need, and in some cases don’t even want, and they often buy them with credit. It’s interesting that people who use cash spend less on average than people using debit or credit cards. Apparently we’re less likely to buy when we see the money that we’re […]
If you’re employer has a 401(k) plan and you’re not contributing, it’s time to take a serious look at the financial benefits these plans offer. Company sponsored 401(k) plans allow us to deposit a limited amount of pretax income (taken from our gross pay before taxes are withheld) to an account that grows tax-deferred. This […]
