Financial Fundamentals Blog

According to the National Retail Federation, 60 percent of holiday shoppers planned to begin their shopping in November. In case you’re not part of that statistic, here are a few helpful tips to wrapping up your shopping without going way over budget.
 

Thanksgiving is a time to rest, to spend time with friends and family and to, well, give thanks. To make that a little easier this year, we’ve put together a few tips to help you save money while shopping for Thanksgiving dinner.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are two of the biggest shopping days of the year. Don’t wait until you’ve cleared away Thanksgiving dinner to start thinking about this year’s shopping strategy. The earlier you plan your attack, the better your odds for scoring great deals! We’ve compiled a list of tips to help you save time and money this year. Happy shopping!

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and another year has almost come and gone. If you’re like most Americans, the next few weeks will be filled with shopping, attending parties, baking and decorating. What it won’t be filled with is time, or at least it can feel that way. Take charge of your holidays with these tips from KOFE (Knowledge of Financial Education).

The holidays are the most wonderful time of the year, but your wallet might not agree. Buying gifts, traveling, entertaining and participating in local holiday events can take a toll on your wallet and have you starting the new year saying, “Bah! Humbug!”

If you want to get your spending under control, it can help to have structure by following a plan. There are plenty of different budgeting plans out there, allowing you to choose what works best for you and your situation instead of following a one-size-fits-all approach.

Need a few tips to get that last-minute shopping done at a reasonable price? You've come to the right place.

It can be easy to get overwhelmed by the thought of budgeting. There are a lot of parts to it, and things can come up that require you to use the money for something else you didn’t foresee.

National Preparedness Month is four weeks designed to ready you for an emergency. And, it seems that both local and national weather is cooperating to remind you of what’s at stake if you don’t have a plan in place. Advanced planning can save you valuable time and money. From the financial to the practical, here are a few ways to make sure you are ready in an emergency.

Congratulations! Your hard work has paid off. Diploma in hand, you’re ready to tackle the next phrase of your life.

But the joy of graduating from college can quickly fade once graduates begin to grasp their new-found responsibilities, especially when it comes to their financial future. Navigating rent, a car payment, insurance, cable and groceries can be overwhelming. Throw student loan payments and other financial burdens into the mix, and it can be downright frightening.

The worst thing recent grads can do is to start using credit cards to help them maintain their lifestyle. The average college grad owes $4,100 on credit cards at the time of graduation. Not including student loans. Roughly 69% of graduates took out student loans and owe an average of $29,800 in federal and private debt.
 

The music has a jingle to it, the gift guides are out and the lights are twinkling, which can only mean one thing: the holidays are upon us. Here are a few tips on how to save money and avoid overspending this season.

The holidays are in full swing, and shopping days are running out. I know what you’re thinking: It’s too late to score deals and save money. Don’t worry; there are still steps you can take to cut costs even if your shopping has only just begun. Let’s review some of those steps as well as explore year-round measures that can help put you at the top of your financial game next year.