New Year, New Ways to Save Up Some Money

Was one of your New Year’s resolutions to save some money this year? Are you trying to curtail your spending or just become better at managing your finances?

If this is you, take a look at some of our clever suggestions to save up some money in the new year.

Write Down a Clear Budget

The best and most commonly suggested first step to take when looking to save money is to create a budget for yourself.

This is not likely to be a fun activity. You will need to do a lot of math and figure out exactly what you are earning and how much you are spending. However, it can give you a very clear overview of your expenses and help you set some budgeting goals.

Create Lists of Things (Not) To Buy

Once you have a budget in mind, you can decide what you want to spend money on and what you want to stop buying.

A great way to both track your spending and ensure you stick to your budgets is to create lists. Write down everything that you need or want to purchase. This will include groceries, medicine, and any other item you definitely need. Write down the things you would like to buy this year or this month, too.

Also create a list of things you are prone to overbuying or things that you buy on impulse often. You can also include things like excessive Ubers, too many DoorDash orders, etc.

Having a list to look at will help you allocate your money better and make sure you only spend within your budget.

Have a No-Buy or a Low-Buy Month

If you want to take things a step further, you can also do a no-buy or a low-buy month. In fact, you can do it for an entire year!

No-buy means that you will only buy necessities. Low-buy means that you can buy other things as well but curtail excessive spending by focusing on decluttering and owning only items you really want to have.

Wait 28 Days Before Making a Purchase

Before you make a purchase, give yourself 28 days to think it through. This rule can be applied to larger, more expensive purposes.

For example, you want to buy a new sweater. You’ve seen it on Instagram, and you love it. Before you buy it, give yourself a 28-day window.

If you’re still thinking about the sweater and really love it, buy it. If you’ve forgotten all about it, don’t.

You can apply this rule to smaller purchases, too. For example, if you really want to order a specific takeout or buy something sweet, give it a couple of days. If you are still craving it, do it.

Save Money When Shopping Online

For a lot of people, online shopping is where they spend the most money and make the most impulse purchases. Since we are bombarded by ads every time we go online, this hardly comes as a surprise.

A great way to save money on your online spending habits is to find online shopping deals. That way, you can still buy the things you want, but often at a significantly discounted price.

Apply the rules from above as well. Wait a while before you commit to the purchase, and really think it through. Is this an item you really need and want, or are you just inspired by something you’ve seen online?

Check All of Your Subscriptions and Recurring Payments

Most of us spend money on services or subscriptions we never use or use very rarely. Take some time to go through all of yours and cancel anything you no longer need.

For example, if you are subscribed to Hulu, Max, and Netflix, consider whether you can cut one for a couple of months. Figure out which shows you are likely to watch in the next month or two, and then cancel the other subscriptions.

You can also go in with friends for group subscriptions and save money that way.

Spend Cash

If you tend to use your credit card a lot, consider switching to cash. Spending real money that you have to take out of a wallet and hand over often feels like real spending. Entering a card number or swiping a piece of plastic doesn’t impact us nearly as much.

When you’ve set your monthly budget for things like groceries, toiletries, transportation, and takeout, go to an ATM and withdraw these amounts. Put them in separate wallets or separate folders and use them as necessary.

Don’t take money from one folder to pay for something else. Anything that you have left over at the end of the month can go to your savings, or you can splurge on something as a treat.

Sell or Gift Things You No Longer Need or Use

Most of our homes are filled with items we don’t use, don’t like, or don’t need. Instead of letting them sit there, resell them or give them to someone.

You can do this with Christmas and birthday presents, as long as you remember who gave you the gift in the first place. You can pop your clothes on Depop or Vinted and earn a bit of extra cash.

Don’t necessarily think about earning a lot of money this way. If you sell a spatula for a dollar, you can help someone out and still get a bit back. You can, of course, simply donate items that you don’t want to or can’t sell and declutter your home that way.

Wrapping Up

Do any of these suggestions sound like something you might try? Don’t worry if you can’t get a handle on your savings in the first month of the year. Give yourself time to form some new, better habits. As long as you stick to your goals and keep working on them, even after a setback, you are sure to reach them!

About The Author

Sarah is a life enjoyer, a positivity seeker, and a curiosity enthusiast. She is passionate about an eco-friendly lifestyle and adores her cats. She is an avid reader who loves to travel when time allows.

Managing Your Finances: Does Understanding the Economy Help?

Given that inflation and the seemingly never-ending cost of living increases have proved to be such an important news item this year, it is perhaps little surprise that many of us have become acutely interested in economics.

In fact, these items have gotten so much coverage over the last year, you would have been hard-pressed to make sense of the news if you didn’t have at least a basic understanding of what causes inflationWhile this doesn’t necessarily mean you need to have a degree in economics to understand what has been happening over the last year, a basic understanding of some core economic concepts would undoubtedly have helped!

Putting aside the news about inflation for just one moment, this also raises the question of whether having a basic understanding of some important economic concepts can also help you to manage your own personal finances. Are they too technical and abstract to be of any practical use on a day-to-day basis? Or are they essential to safely managing your finances in times of economic turmoil?

For an answer to these questions and more, keep reading this short article!

What is economics?

In short, economics is the study of how individuals, groups and even nations manage and use different resources. At its core, economics is the study of people and seeks to understand what drives different human behaviors.

It combines insights from politics, sociology, psychology, and history, to try and understand the production, consumption, and transfer of wealth within societies.

Although economics as a field and discipline encompasses many different approaches and ways of thinking, it can broadly be broken up into microeconomics and macroeconomics. Microeconomics, as the name suggests, looks at individual decisions. While macroeconomics takes a more holistic look at the entire economy.

Both microeconomics and macroeconomics will draw on similar data sources, including quantitative data, historical trends, and other qualitative material. The aim of both is to understand historical trends and to use this insight to think about what future trends might look like.

With this basic understanding of what economics is, the question remains: is this information useful?

Is studying economics important?

Understanding economics and how the economy works helps to improve both your current awareness, as well as your overall financial literacy. It helps to demystify mathematics and statistics and finds ways of applying both skill sets in highly practical ways.

People with economic knowledge are better equipped to understand the complexities of global markets and also develop advanced analytical and problem-solving skills. This is in addition to the commercial and business acumen you need to excel in professional and corporate contexts.

Beyond these more general benefits, can you put this knowledge to use in your personal life? And is this reason enough to study economics?

How economics can help your personal finances

Although we wouldn’t recommend indulging in crunching economic datasets or creating economic prediction models to guide your personal finance decisions, a basic grasp of economic concepts and historical trends can be useful in making financial decisions throughout life.

In today’s economy, understanding the basics of how inflation works can go a long way toward demystifying what is going on in the world around you. Without an understanding of what inflation is, what causes it, and whether you need to be worried, you might find yourself unnecessarily stressed.

Another important consequence of understanding economics is that it will help you to understand your own spending habits. Understanding economics and how the economy works, even at a basic level, will teach you about everyday decisions that are influenced by different kinds of economic calculations and principles. With these in mind, even a simple trip to the grocery store can turn into a study on consumer behavior and the laws of supply and demand!

An argument can also be made that having a basic grasp of how the economy works can help to accelerate your career and, in turn, your household income. Being financially and economically literate can help improve your employability in a range of different industries, particularly when it comes to understanding the commercial environment you work in. Best of all, this information is equally relevant if you are working in a standard corporate job in New York as it is if you are a blue-collar worker in Montana!

How to Make Your Salary Last Longer

With the new year coming closer and lots of talk about the current global financial crisis continuing, saving money is on everyone’s minds. Here we will set out some tips on how you can make your salary last longer in the coming year. 

Stick to a Budget

So, you’ve probably tried creating and sticking to a budget in the past, but it has never worked. Long gone are the days of excel spreadsheets to track your spending and trying to budget inefficiently. These days, some resources and tools have made budgeting and financial planning super easy. Budgeting efficiently and making the most of your salary is especially important with the ongoing rising cost of living crisis. 

Make use of a digital budgeting tool, but make sure to start with accurate figures. Use bank statements, payslips, bills, credit card statements, and receipts. Don’t just set a budget but analyzing and reviewing insights of your spending at the end of the month is also essential when tracking your salary and spending. If you are serious about managing your salary and want to master budgeting, take it a step further and take an online webinar that will guide you in making the most of your money. 

Automate Finances

Inflation is calculated by the increase in the consumer price index or basket of goods and services, which has increased from $100 to $107.70 in 2022. No doubt you are already feeling the impact of inflation when you go shopping for your weekly groceries. One way to tackle rising costs and successfully manage your spending is through automation. By automating your finances, you will not only establish habits that will benefit you in the long term but will also help you make the most of your monthly salary.

The benefit of automatically allocating your money to specific pots or accounts means you only need to do this once. The key is to pay yourself first, pay essential bills and expenses, and put something aside for savings. By automating all your payments and savings, you are only left with what you can afford to spend, and it saves you from splashing out. 

Think Outside the Box

Making your money go a little further might simply mean changing your mindset and thinking outside the box. Budgeting focuses on limiting and controlling your spending. On the other hand, mindful spending is more about putting thought into how you use your money and creating the lifestyle you want, even with small changes. For example, could you drive less or slower to make your fuel tank last longer? Or could you only withdraw the exact amount of cash you can afford to spend for that week?

End-of-year parties and socializing can put a massive dent in your salary. Some events are out of your control, like work Christmas parties. But if you are organizing festive catch-ups with friends and family, try to organize social activities that have less of an impact on your wallet. You might need to be a little creative and use the extra time to focus on self-care and quality time with those you love. Or check out the local markets and free events, or have friends visit your place. Whatever you do, don’t let the current financial crisis force you into a self-inflicted lockdown. 

While trying to make your money go further, remember to indulge and treat yourself sometimes. You can save and enjoy your life at the same time. The key is thoughtful spending, budgeting, and finding pleasure in the simple things. 

How Women Can Protect Their Financial Assets Post-Divorce

Kim Kardashian’s recent split from husband, Ye, has shown us just how unprepared we may become in the midst of a divorce from our partners. None of us get married with the assumption that a divorce is inevitable, and we don’t want to plan our lives accordingly, but in any marriage, you can’t predict what your future situation will be.
However, it is important to protect one’s financial assets after a divorce. Here, an experienced and skilled divorce lawyer can provide insight into the range of options and help craft an agreement that works best for each individual based on their particular situation. With divorce involving both legal and financial components, working with a divorce lawyer can ensure all aspects of the divorce process – including legal documents and paperwork – are handled appropriately.

Let’s talk credit…

One of the most important financial aspects to understand after a divorce is the effect it can have on your credit. While a divorce decree may break down who in the relationship will be responsible for any specific debt, your original loan documents will remain unchanged. Joint credit remains joint credit even after a divorce.
In the eyes of the lender, you are contractually responsible for that loan, and any late or missed payments will still affect your credit. Ideally, your divorce decree will specify that any joint credit accounts will be closed and refinanced individually. If not, this should be done as soon as possible – especially with credit cards where your ex-partner could continue adding additional charges that you will be jointly responsible for!
You can pull your free credit report online at annualcreditreport.com, and review it for any forgotten joint credit accounts that may be lingering under you and your ex-partner’s names.
Remember that store account you opened together three years ago to purchase a new refrigerator? It may still be open, even after it was paid off.

The 4-step process…

Most partners will find themselves living on less income after a divorce. This makes it even more pertinent to assess your new financial situation and make a plan for the future. Leigh Singleton, Director of Financial Education at Monifi, suggests using an easy 4-step process to assist in getting your finances back on track.

1. Assess the Now.

When assessing your current financial standing, Leigh recommends constructing a document listing your assets (banks accounts, investments, retirement funds, etc.) in one column and your outstanding debt balances in an alternate column – this allows you to fully work through all of your financial assets and recognize them in real time.

 2. Identify Your Goals.

Take a close look at the document you created and decide what you’d like to change. Are you hoping to pay off your card debt? Save for a girl’s trip to the Bahamas? Start or add to your retirement fund?

3. See Where Your Money Goes.

Track your expenses over the following months. You may be surprised at some of the areas money is sifting through your fingers. Banking apps such as Monifi make it easy to track your expenses by automatically categorizing your transactions for you.

4. Create a Spending Plan.

Use your selected app or spreadsheet to create expense categories such as rent/mortgage, food, dining out, kid’s sports, etc. and indicate a monthly budget for each line item. It may take a few months to stay true to the allocated spends, but don’t despair, change takes time.
Getting your finances on track during a marriage can be difficult, and divorce adds another layer of complications. Creating financial freedom as early as possible, even within a healthy and strong relationship, will assist both partners in the long term. Leigh reminded us “financial freedom doesn’t necessarily mean you have as much money as you need to buy everything you want. What it really means is understanding and planning your financial life.”

Spring Money Management Tips for Women in Their 20s

 

Today’s economy is challenging by any stretch of the imagination. Unless you’re among the fortunate few with a trust fund, you need to hustle hard.

However, you can improve your financial picture considerably by making the right choices that grow your assets. Here are six spring money management tips for women in their 20s to set themselves up for a secure economic future.

 

Cover Your Loved Ones

What would happen to your children if you could no longer take care of them? Even if you have a loving spouse, your kids could end up penniless if you both die in the same accident. If you are a parent, please cover yourself with life insurance and update your beneficiaries every year — you don’t want your ex to profit from your demise.

 

Even if you haven’t yet started a family, you may want to secure life insurance now. You lock in your policy, meaning your insurer can’t deny your coverage if you later develop health issues — as long as you keep paying your premiums. Plus, the younger you are, the less you’ll pay, making it possible for you to investigate options like whole policies that provide additional security.

 

Insure Yourself

It’s a sad reality for anyone with a chronic condition — the United States remains the only industrialized nation that doesn’t guarantee health insurance coverage to all citizens. As a result, you could pay a small fortune in premiums to stay alive, but it beats the alternative of medical debt and bankruptcy.

 

Ensure you get sufficient coverage to keep one hospitalization from shattering your financial future. If you require ongoing care, research your options early and often, and accept that you might face tough choices your peers do not.

 

And if you are healthy, secure disability insurance for yourself now. If you wait until you get sick, no company will cover you minus a rider disallowing the very condition likely to rob you of your working ability. It can take years to navigate Social Security, and unfortunately, many people die while awaiting a determination.

 

Start a Side Hustle You Love

In more grim economic news, the average wage hasn’t kept up with inflation since way before you were born, despite ever-rising productivity. Even if you grind your hardest, you could find yourself falling further behind each year as the costs of everything keeps rising, but your paycheck doesn’t budge.

Answering to multiple bosses every day can quickly kill your soul. Even if they are empathetic and kind, you need to express your unique spirit in your work, not follow orders 24/7 like a robot.

The solution? Start a side hustle that you love. Don’t fall prey to get-rich-quick schemes. It can take years to build a successful blog or YouTube channel — especially if you also juggle a full-time career and family. However, once that residual income stream starts rolling in, you’ll make money in your sleep while spending your waking hours doing what you love.

 

Save Toward a Home

You might have bragging rights as the most economically challenged generation in recent memory if you are a woman in your 20s. In still more depressing news, the average rent keeps rising faster than inflation, making it challenging to find affordable housing.

 

The solution is to buy a house, but doing so requires a solid credit score and a decent downpayment. Even if you can’t afford your dream home at first, you still pay yourself in equity instead of making your landlord richer each month. When it’s time to sell, you can put the profits toward your future palace.

 

Get Over Your Fear of Investing

Historically, the stock market keeps pace with inflation far better than a traditional savings account, but investing doesn’t come risk-free. As a result, you might shy away out of fear of losing cash.

 

However, you don’t have to spend your mornings perusing the stock market pages. You can invest in a mutual fund that diversifies your portfolio for you, minimizing risk while maximizing your returns.

 

Embrace Minimalism

Take a look around your room. See all that stuff? It represents minutes and hours of your work time. You start looking at that designer handbag differently when you realize it costs you 30 hours of labor.

 

Start embracing minimalism. You don’t have to KonMari your abode necessarily, but you should become more mindful about your purchases. Before buying anything new, choose one item to sell or donate to keep that excess clutter from turning your closet into a disaster area — and your credit cards from hitting their max.

 

If You’re a Woman in Your 20s, Use These Spring Money Management Tips 

If you are a woman in your 20s, please use these spring money management tips to get a handle on your finances. Making wise choices now sets you up for a secure economic future.

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About The Author

Oscar Collins is the managing editor at Modded. He writes about cars, fitness, the outdoors, and more. Follow @TModded on Twitter for more articles from the Modded team.

Getting Your Financial Life in Order to Prepare for the Future

You’re tired of never really knowing how much money you have for various expenses, or maybe you keep running out of money before you get your next paycheck. Perhaps you’ve started to worry about the size of your retirement savings, or your credit card debt doesn’t seem to be getting any smaller. If you are like most people, you are facing some or all of these problems, and figuring out how to deal with them can be daunting. It’s easier to organize your financial life if you think about it in categories.

 

Budget

Budgeting is the first step in getting your finances in order because there is not much you can do before you know what is coming in and what is going out. You need to list all of your regular and irregular expenses when you are creating a budget, so keep in mind that this includes things you may only spend money on occasionally, such as haircuts, or once a year, such as birthday gifts. If you aren’t sure where your money is going, this does not make you unusual, and there are a number of apps you can download to track your spending and help you budget. In order to get a fairly accurate sense, it’s best to track for about three months. Creating a budget may be an eye-opening look at where your money is going and why you always feel short of what you need. Once you have looked at your debt and your savings as described below, you can figure out how much of your budget should go toward these.

Debt

If you don’t have any debt, you are well ahead of most people. If you do have debt, the first thing to do is look at what is considered ‘good’ vs. ‘bad’. A mortgage is considered good debt, and while it is better to pay off a mortgage sooner rather than later, you don’t need to apply the aggressive tactics that are appropriate with other types of debt. You should look at the interest you are paying on various types of debts and if you can get that lowered. For example, interest rates on credit card debt are generally high. You may want to consider taking out personal loans to cover this and any other high-interest debt. Do some research online to find the right personal loan for your circumstances. You can get matched with options in about a minute.

 

Savings

Finally, it’s time to look at your savings. It’s generally better to pay off high-interest debt before devoting a good portion to savings, but you should have an emergency fund and actively make retirement contributions. Your emergency fund should have around three to six months’ worth of expenses in it. If your employer has a retirement plan, you should contribute as much as you can to it, particularly if there is a matching plan. One good way to save more easily is to have your bank automatically deposit a certain amount of money into a savings or other type of account instead of your checking account.

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Why and When a Loan Application Can Be Rejected

 

Financial crises, a rise of unemployment, and the difficult epidemiological situation around the world have made 2020 a hard year to get a loan. According to the recent report conducted by Bankrate, 21 percent of US consumers  got their application for a credit rejected.

With this in mind, the question of why lenders reject loan applications are becoming more acute than ever before. We have prepared a list of situations and reasons why such a pitiful event may take place:

1. When You Have Too Many Debts

Even if your credit score is high and your credit history is an example to follow, having too much debt is a potential reason for rejection. The bank merely doubts your ability to repay them in case of emergency.

 

1. When Your Income Isn’t Sufficient

The same is relevant here: in spite of brilliant credit history, every lender has the right to set the milestone for net income. If you fail to meet it, you get rejected. Besides, this aspect shapes the debt-to-income ratio, which takes an important role during the evaluation of your reliability.

 

1. When It Has Passed Little Time Since You Took a Loan Last Time

Your lending behavior is significantly shaped by the frequency with which you borrow money. The higher it is, the more chances of rejection arise. It’s not about credibility but rather a financial discipline.

 

1. When You Provided Incorrect Data in Your Credit Report

Your credit report should be updated. It means if you took new loans or closed old credit cards, it should be stated. Otherwise, you are going to be rejected. By the way, it’s one of the most common reasons.

 

1. When You Are Employed for Insufficient Amount of Time

Lenders have the right to set the standards for how many days you must be employed in order to receive borrowing. For example, at Payday Depot, it’s only 90 days, while many other organizations require half a year or even more.

 

1. When You Are Involved in a Credit Card Default

Credit history maintains data about credit card default for 7-10 years. Hence, you can’t get a loan within this time. Even if, let’s say, five years passed, this can still be a valid reason for rejection.

 

1. When You Have Made Several Applications in Different Places

When you apply for a loan in several institutions, lenders immediately get a red flag that you are in serious financial trouble. That’s why the first and even the second lender can approve your application. Further on, however, you are highly likely to be rejected.

These factors are the basics for you to pay attention to when applying for a loan. Considering them, you will significantly reduce the chance of rejection. Yet even complying with all of them doesn’t always ensure a positive outcome.

7 Reasons Why I’ll Always, Unapologetically, Choose My Career Over A Man

Career

I’ve always been a hard worker throughout my entire life. Ever since I was a freshman in high school, I’ve had at least one job. Fast forward to college, I was interning in New York City three days a week, attending college full-time and waitressing at two restaurants to pay tuition and ensure I could graduate with a degree in the fields I was most passionate about. Long story short – I’ve always been a go-getter, someone who puts her work first and never, ever takes a handout. I started out interning at small, start-up companies in journalism and, worked my way up through several companies to be in a position I used to only dream about.

 

At the end of the day, my work and my passions will always come first. It’s one of the things I value most about myself – my work ethic. While it’s been the reason I’ve always succeeded in life, it’s also the reason I’ve had trouble in relationships. Throughout my life, every guy I’ve ever dated has had a “problem” with the amount of work I do. I never work one job, I’m always working over 40 hours a week and I usually make more money than my partner. Whatever the reason is, men have always given me sh*t for the way in which I choose to spend my time and conduct my life.

 

Create a Life You Don’t Need to Vacation From

The blazing sun is beating down on your golden skin, the smell of the ocean breeze relaxes your cluttered mind, and you are unbothered by the gritty sand that has worked its way into your not-so-kid-friendly one-piece swimsuit. You are as free as the seagulls that are soaring above and your frozen piña colada hits you as hard as the waves crashing into the shore. The calming background noise of children splashing in the water eases your conscious as you drift away.

Then all of a sudden…

You’re snapped back into reality with an urgent email alert from your boss reminding you about an important project with a critical deadline. You feel as if you can’t even enjoy your summer vacation because you’re expected to respond to emails and you’re scared of missing something important. If you’re anything like most working Americans, this probably hits too close to home for you.

So why not do something about it?

Life is too short to build up an empire for somebody else. Put your fears aside and take a risk! There are so many other opportunities out there that can provide you with financial freedom, options, and time.

Fortunately, my husband and I just happened to get introduced to an amazing couple that is coaching us while we build a cash-flow asset outside of our jobs. We’re currently on track to walk away from our jobs in the next two to five years. Forever.

That means that we’re going to spend the rest of our lives traveling to the most exotic beaches of the world, eating the most outrageous meals, sleeping in every morning, driving luxurious cars, being full-time parents when we decide to have children, not having to report to a boss, and giving back to those who matter the most to us.

If any of that interests you, I would highly recommend keeping an open-mind throughout your daily lives. An opportunity could very well be right in front of your face, but you might not recognize it because you’re too busy being negative or dreading going back to work Monday morning.

I don’t understand everyone’s situation, but most circumstances are all about perception. Change the way you think and begin to search for what it is you’re missing.

Stop living for TGIF’s and start getting out of your comfort zone so that you can live as if everyday is Friday.

Create a life so amazing that you don’t need a vacation to escape from it.

6 Reasons You’ll Be Broke in Your Twenties

Ah, your 20’s. That whimsical, glamorous decade you always dreamed about in your teens, most likely fueled by Friends reruns and an over reliance on early-millennium alternative rock. Of course, much of the wisdom imparted by the quintessential “twenty-something” pop culture phenomenon did include several warnings of a fiscally-challenging post-grad world, but let’s face it: we were all too distracted by the cute outfits and dysfunctional romantic entanglements to pay attention to the real lessons.

Though there are, in fact, a number of benefits to being a twenty-something, many of the best aspects of the years immediately following college come with a steep price tag. And no, you probably won’t be able to afford it.

Here are the main reasons you’ll be spending your first few years of freedom eating Ramen noodles and over utilizing your credit cards:

1. Student Loans

This one’s a bit of a given, but always worth mentioning. Student loans are financial drain on everyone, and thanks to economy, you might not actually have a job when they kick in. Expect to start receiving your monthly bill around six to eight months following graduation, and unlike several other forms of debt, your student loans won’t even qualify for bankruptcy.

2. Underemployment

How many 25-year-old interns do you currently know? Are all of the 25-year-olds you know currently interns? I thought so. Though many of your friends will probably be lucky enough to find a job directly after graduation, almost none of them will make a decent salary. Wages are at an all-time proportional low for millennials, and you will likely be living paycheck-to-paycheck for at least seven years.

3. Rent

The rent is too damn high, and the cost of actually getting into an apartment is higher. Even if you can afford the monthly rent for a studio in a desirable neighborhood, the moving costs, broker fees, and security deposits will wipe you clean.

4. Equally Broke Friends

If you want to spend time with your friends who haven’t found jobs yet, you’ll probably be footing the bill way more often than you can afford. There’s a very fine line between wanting to preserve your friendship and your bank account, and we all cross it eventually.

5. Weddings/Engagements/Baby Showers

Were you the “cool guy” in high school and college who always had a lot of older friends? Congratulations, Asshole. All those older friends are going to start getting married and reproducing this year, and you’re going to have to shell out a present for everything.

6. Going Out

Getting drunk probably wasn’t cheap in college, either, but at least you weren’t paying for any other bills during that time. Now, it’s a battle between that second gin and tonic and your electricity bill, and you won’t always know which option is more important at any given time. The most important thing you need to do when it comes to paying your electricity bills is figuring out how much electricity you’re using or plan to use. This is because the effective rate that you pay for electricity depends on how much you’re using. Some electricity plans in states like Texas will favor lower-usage levels, while others favor larger homes that use a lot of electricity. Checking the electricity comparison rates and knowing your usage is key to finding the cheapest electricity rate for your home and keeping your electricity bills as low as possible.

 

Knowing your usage is key to finding the cheapest electricity rate for your home and keeping your electricity bills as low as possible.

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