Personal Finance

Buying a brand new car has its own benefits such as latest safety technologies and options and free from mechanical problems. However, buying new car is hardly ever worth it financially. If you’re deciding between buying new car or used car, here are 3 reasons to never buy a new car from Wise Bread.

1. The obvious reason — you’ll pay more
2. Faster Depreciation and negative equity
3. You get more for the money buying used

Whatever you choose, good luck on your decision. But be sure to consider it from financial perspective. (wisebread.com)

Younger generations are flooded in debts. In fact, the average millennials starts off in life after graduation with $25,000 in the hole. But it’s hard to save money when you’re deep in student loans and credit card debts.

According to Dr. April Benson, a psychologist, “young people can’t think of a time when they’ll be too old to work, or not want to work, or will need money for buying a house. The pace of their lives is so fast, and savings are slow.” But there are ways to save money when you’re young, dumb and broke as shown in an article by Vice. First you’ve to confront your fears and start monitoring your personal finance. Then you have to figure out what expenses you need to cut.

There’s a relationship between money and life satisfaction according to Ryan Howell, a professor at San Francisco State University. “Basically, what we find is that the more credit card debt you have, the less you enjoy your discretionary spending. So to be really happy, you need to make sure you feel financially secure—and get your credit card debt under control—and then you should use your discretionary resources to bring you closer to your friends and family. That is the simplest path from money to happiness.”

To key to save money when you are broke is to make a realistic budget that works in your daily life and to cut back all unnecessary spendings. The good news is that time will be on your side since you are young.

As the number of print personal finance magazines shrink, more and more personal finance blogs publish their work over the internet. If you only invest an hour each day reading over personal finance news, it only makes your life better. Here are the top 10 personal finance blogs you should read by Kiplinger:

1. Bargaineering
2. Block Talk
3. Christian Personal Finance
4. Credit.com Blog
5. Credit Donkey
6. Good Financial Cents
7. Money Under 30
8. PT Money
9. ReadyForZero Blog
10. SavingAdvice.com

 

University of Chicago professor Harold Pollack stated that the best personal finance advice “can fit on a 3-by-5 index card, and is available for free in the library — so if you’re paying someone for advice, almost by definition, you’re probably getting the wrong advice, because the correct advice is so straightforward.” His advice about the best financial tips that fit on an index card can be round on NPR. The ideas on the index card are to pay off your credit cards, invest in low-fee index funds, save 10 to 20 percent of your income, max out your 401(k),  and not buy or sell individual stocks. (npr.org)

Did you make any New Year’s financial resolutions? According to Bankrate.com, the top financial resolutions are to stay current on living expenses,to pay down debt and to save money. By first month, 30 percent of us have given up on these resolutions. Don’t worry. Elisabeth Leamy, from ABC News, shares 50 excellent strategies to keep your money resolutions. Instead of focusing on small stuff such as packing for lunch or skipping Starbucks coffee, she encourages people to save big–at least $1000–by control the top five costs: Housing, Cars, Credit, Groceries and Health Care. By applying some of the 50 strategies to save at least $1,000 on these top five costs, you are in much better shape to keep your money resolutions for the year.

Base on a whitepaper report from American Student Assistance, US News & World Report discussed about the profound impact of student loan debt on the daily lives and spending habits of young Americans. The student debts affect the majority of borrowers’ decisions to make large purchase such as car and home. Borrowers believe education is worth it, but they are making financial sacrifices elsewhere. These young Americans have problem saving for their emergency fund and for their retirement. Education is a great investment but it also make the new generations more indebted.

An article on Brownsville Herald recommend saving more money as a resolution to keep. According to a report from the Pew Charitable Trusts, over half of American households have less than one month of income available in case of an emergency. Personal finance bloggers often advise to keep at least three to six months of income as a part of emergency fund. However, saving can be difficult for those with household incomes of less than $35,000. The ability to save mostly depends on age and household income. So, does saving more money rank near the top of your resolution list?