Smart Money Links 4U

The blank slate of a new year is something I always look forward to. Many of us — myself included — try to commit to financial goals as we make our New Year’s resolutions. We have grand visions of saving more money… but we don’t always have a plan mapped out to make it happen. That’s where the 52-Week Money Challenge comes in. You may have caught wind of this challenge on social media around the beginning of January in years past. The premise is simple, but this savings endeavor gets more difficult as the year goes along. The first week, you save $1. The second week, you save $2. The third week, you save $3… The idea is to increase the amount you deposit by $1 each week until you eventually save $52 in week 52, the last week of the year. Stay disciplined and stick to the plan, and you’ll have $1,378 in your account at the end of the year. Can you imagine what you could do with an extra $1,378? Go ahead, I’ll give you a second to dream. Now let’s get back to reality. While savi

Dating is going digital. Finding a partner through courtship at a social gathering now seems so quaint — and rare. Roughly 25 million Americans turned to dating apps this year. “Online dating is the mainstream way to meet and start dating,” said Dawoon Kang, the CEO of the dating app Coffee Meets Bagel. The shift has come swiftly. And for many, the anxiety of dating is amplified by the fear of committing a digital faux pas. (We matched! Should I message first or wait for them? It’s been five minutes. OK, I’m just going to go for it. Wait — what should I say?) Even seasoned online daters are going through a bit of burnout. Throw in scores of new dating apps, and it can be hard to keep up. To help people navigate the ever-changing world of romance, dating-adjacent jobs — yes, actual jobs — are cropping up.  “Singles are exhausted with today’s swipe-based culture. Some may be looking for guidance, reassurance, or just a standout profile,” Kang said. 4 Jobs to Help People on the Dati

Yes, you want to see the dorms, the library and the student union, but you should add the financial aid office to your list for the campus tour.  It’s an essential stop to get your financial aid questions answered — but you’ll need to do more than simply show up. That’s what Certified Financial Planner Alexandra Wilson discovered when she accompanied her boyfriend to his college financial aid office. At 28 years old, he was returning to school to continue his undergraduate studies and wanted to consider his options for financial assistance. Wilson had plenty of experience working with her own clients who were dealing with student loan debt. So despite the fact that she was 10 years out of school, she felt confident that she knew what to expect.  “I was shocked at the experience we had going into the financial aid office,” she said. “It’s a kiosk and there’s someone — younger than him — telling him just click, click, click, and not explaining anything to him.” Her less-than-human e

It’s that time again  — when you start planning and budgeting your travel for the year. Sure, this might be fun at first. Maybe you’re planning to visit family, attend your kid’s college graduation, relax on a spring break trip or getaway with your main squeeze. You’re mapping out your itinerary and, of course, scouting out the best food. Then you start looking at the costs, and oof . That’s tough. It’s not just flights that are pricy; it’s hotels, too. In fact, the average hotel room costs $141 a night, according to data from Hotels.com. A three-day weekend can quickly run up a nearly $500 tab — just for a bed to sleep in. But here’s the good news: Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG) (think: Holiday Inn) is running a new-year sale, and you can get up to 25% off when you book your stays by Jan. 15. That’s a savings of $35 a night for the average hotel stay. How to Easily Knock up to $35/Night Off Your Hotel Stays When it comes to saving money on hotels, you usually need to open r

Many personal finance blogs will tell you leasing a car is a bad move, but that’s not to say it may never make sense for you. Maybe you like the idea of not having to worry about increasing repair costs. Maybe you don’t want the hassle of selling a used car down the road. Heck, maybe you just like the idea of driving a shiny, new car every few years.  The whole point of managing your money smartly is so you can afford to live the lifestyle you want. If you’re willing to cut back in other areas to budget for an auto lease, that’s your prerogative. That said, plenty of people have gotten themselves into financial trouble by negotiating a car lease without doing their research first.  12 Tips on How to Negotiate a Car Lease From the fairly basic to the more advanced, these 12 tips can help you get the best deal. Here’s how to negotiate a car lease like a pro. 1. Know Your Numbers A lease has more components than just the price of the car, so make sure you sit down ahead of time a

Guaranteed income for life sounds like a great deal. That’s what many annuities promise, yet nothing is ever as good or as easy as it seems.  What is an annuity? An annuity is a contract between you and an insurance company where, in exchange for paying them a sum of money, they agree to provide a steady income stream. The point of an annuity is to keep you from outliving your assets. The money coming in can act like a paycheck during retirement. In some ways, they are like pensions, providing a set amount of income in exchange for cash.  Annuities aren’t investments; they’re contracts. Like many contracts, they can get complicated.  “People say they’re confusing and they can be,” said Andrew Barnett, a certified financial planner with GFA Wealth Design based in Fort Myers, Florida. “They’re just not easy to understand and not easy for professionals to understand.”  What Is an Annuity and How Does It Work? When you purchase an annuity, you either pay a lump sum or agree to make

After the ball drops and the bubbly pops to ring in the new year, the last thing you want to think about is how you’re getting home. But New Year’s Eve is notorious for auto accidents, and about 36% of fatalities during the holiday period in 2017 involved drunken drivers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. I’m not going to tell you not to go out and have a great time with your friends. But New Year’s Eve is one of those events I call an “amateur night”; there’s a lot of alcohol and not a lot of thinking about your own tolerance levels. Everyone’s focused on celebrating. And that’s cool. But since we know many people are going to get sloppy, it’s important to plan your New Year’s Eve travel before the big night. You probably know that if you take Uber after the clock strikes midnight, you’ll likely have to deal with Uber New Year’s Eve surge pricing , the increase in standard ride fees that occurs during high-demand periods. But is paying more t