The Financially Free Blog
The 4 Financial Seasons and How to Handle Them
Just like the physical seasons change throughout the year, we also experience financial seasons. Read about the four financial seasons and how to handle them.
Should You Travel When You Have Credit Card Debt?
Travel has so many benefits but traveling when you have debt can feel…complicated. Read about the pros and cons of traveling when you have debt and how to travel without adding to your credit card balances.
3 Things You Can Learn From Your Pay Stub
You probably don’t spend a lot of time looking at your pay stub but it contains useful details that can help with your financial planning. Read about three things you can learn from your pay stub and what to do with that information.
What to Know About the Supreme Court's Student Loan Decision
Ten months after the Biden administration announced its plans to forgive up to $20,000 of federal student loan debt for many borrowers, the Supreme Court blocked the plan. While the decision was not unexpected, it is extremely disappointing to tens of millions of federal student loan borrowers.
4 Things I Wish I’d Known as a New Grad
As a young person, finances are often the last thing on our minds. But there are some very important tips to help when moving from student life into the working world.
5 Challenges the LGBTQ+ Community Still Faces With Their Finances
People face different challenges depending on a multitude of factors—including sexual orientation and gender identity. Read about five challenges that LGBTQ+ folks may face in their financial lives.
How to Budget on Variable Income
In many industries, variable income is a common occurrence. You could be in the hospitality industry earning tips as your primary source of income or in real estate earning commission. Having variable income that is either inconsistent in payment amount or inconsistent in when you’re paid requires a system and planning ahead.
Should I Take Out a Personal Loan to Consolidate My Debt?
When juggling multiple credit cards with eye-popping interest rates becomes overwhelming, it’s time to take a different approach. There are many strategies for paying off credit card debt, but it’s important to find one that works with both your finances and your psychology. To find out if consolidating your dent with a personal loan might be for you, consider these five factors.
4 Major Saving Mistakes You Might Be Making
We all know that we should be saving — and yet, nearly 60% of Americans could not cover a $1,000 unexpected expense in cash. While income and the cost of living are issues for many people, that’s not always the case: sometimes we are getting in our own way when it comes to saving. Are you holding yourself back by making any of these saving mistakes?
How to Create More Financial Freedom for Yourself (And Others)
While Juneteenth marks a celebration of freedom for Black Americans, it also encourages us to reflect on what “freedom” really means. Black Americans have been free from slavery for more than a century and a half now, but their freedom has been restricted in other ways due to systemic racism, including financially.
Ask a Trainer: Should I Live at Home or Move Out After Graduating?
Graduating from college is a significant milestone in one's life, marking the end of an era and the beginning of a new chapter. It's a time of mixed emotions, with feelings of excitement, accomplishment, and uncertainty all intertwined.
5 Rollover Mistakes to Avoid
Rolling over a 401(k) can be an arduous and confusing process made worse by the fear of making an error that has unintended consequences. And while there are companies out there like Capitalize who can help you with a rollover, knowing a few key mistakes to avoid will give you more confidence in the rollover process.
LGBTQIA+ Personal Finance Blogs and Creators to Follow
It’s Pride Month and although we too enjoy celebrating with parties and rainbows galore, it is important to remember pride is so much more than that. Pride is about action and supporting those in the LGBTQIA+ community this month and every day to come. We wanted to take the time to highlight just a few of our favorite personal finance blogs and creators in the LGBTQIA+ community.
Why You Need a Money Date (With Yourself)
Even with the best of intentions, it’s easy to fall out of touch with your money. With everything else going on in life—family, friends, work, and life—keeping tabs on your finances falls by the wayside. But you spend 40 hours per week working hard for your money; shouldn’t you take 20-30 minutes per week to make sure your money is working for you? That’s where money dates come in!
How to Choose the Best Rewards Credit Card for You
Deciding on your first rewards credit card is exciting, but it can also be tricky. All of your friends (and everyone on the internet) have an opinion about what is “the best” rewards credit card—but what is right for others may not necessarily be right for you. Consider these three questions before you jump on applying for your first rewards credit card.
How to Support The LGBTQIA+ Community With Your Dollar
Pride is so much more than partying, speeches about equality, rainbows, and lots of Gaga.
Money can be such a powerful tool when voting with your dollar. Here are a few ways you can support the LGBTQIA+ community with your dollar with an emphasis on Queer BIWOC owned businesses.
3 Ways to Think About Your Expenses
What comes to mind when you think about your expenses? Maybe rent, food, transportation, shopping, personal care, and so on. Your expenses are anything that you spend money on and they are the main building blocks of a budget. But before you create a budget, you need to fully understand what your expenses are, and — just as importantly — how they impact your budget differently.
How to Automate Your Savings
We all wish there was an “easy button” when it comes to saving. While we don’t have that (at least, not yet!), we do have the next best thing: automation. Automating your savings takes the guesswork out of whether and how much to save. We only have so much time, attention, and focus.
3 Reasons Why You Need to Stop Freaking Out About Your Credit Score
There’s a lot of mystery around credit scores, and while credit scores do matter in certain situations, most of the time, you can and should stop freaking out about your credit score.
What is Cash Stuffing? And How to Make it Work Today
As many people’s budgets have gotten tighter over the past year, there has been a resurgence of interest in simple but effective ways to manage money. One of those trends you might have caught in news headlines or on TikTok is cash stuffing.