What follows is a personal finance “kit” with strategies, tools, and resources to help you pay off your credit card debt. With this kit, you’ll have everything you need to better manage your credit card debt, and eventually eliminate it. The High Cost of Credit Card Debt Interest is the most obvious cost of carrying a credit card balance. Each month until you’ve paid your account in full, part of your monthly payment is applied to finance charges, which means only a portion of your payment will actually reduce your balance....

Last week, investors got an indication from Fed Chair Jerome Powell that the bank was interested in “moderating” its pace of rate hikes going forward, giving everyone optimism that we might only see a hike of 50 basis points (half a percentage point). The previous four rate hikes have been 75 basis points. Fed funds futures market data suggest traders currently believe there is roughly a 75% chance of a more moderate rate hike next week....

After the Consumer Price Index (CPI) last week showed inflation easing, today the Labor Department released its Producer Price Index (PPI) for October, showing that wholesale prices rose less than expected. PPI rose 0.2% last month, less than the 0.4% economists anticipated. The index was 8% higher since last year, down from 8.4% the month before. The better-than-expected inflation data gave investors something to cheer about—stocks are jumping today on the news....

Kickstarter The granddaddy of crowdfunding, Kickstarter, has an excellent blog that is part education on how to run crowdfunding campaigns and part news repository about the company. Anyone thinking about running or participating in a crowdfunding campaign, especially on Kickstarter, would benefit from spending some time on Kickstarter’s blog. deBanked Peter Renton’s created Lend Academy to focus on the social lending and peer-to-peer lending market. The forum included investment strategies, news on the industry, interviews with entrepreneurs in the space, and educational content....

But that doesn’t stop a large share of U.S. consumers from biting off a slice of the American dream. The national homeownership rate currently sits at 65.6%, according to the most recent data from the U.S Census Bureau. The rates broken down by region are: Northeast: 63.1%Midwest: 70.3%South: 67.4%West: 59.7% Americans age 65 and older have the highest homeownership rate at 79.3%. Millennials—those 35 and younger—have the lowest rate at 38....

Your Financial Goals To take a deep dive into figuring out how much you should save each month, start by looking at your goals. Roughly speaking, your financial goals will break down into three buckets: Short-Term Financial Goals Expenses coming up in less than one year are things like taking a vacation to the beach, buying holiday gifts, making sure you have enough money on hand to pay your taxes, and maintaining savings for a birthday celebration....

Any investment advisor worth working with should be willing to explain, in plain English, all the various types of investment fees that you will pay. If you don’t work with an advisor, you’ll still pay fees. You’ll have to go through the prospectus and financial institution websites and documents to see what those fees are. When inquiring about investment fees, if someone says, “My company pays me,” get more details....

Four Formats Business letters in the U.S. can actually follow one of four common letter formats. All four formats are acceptable, but block is the most common. Block Letter Format: The common block letter format has all of the text flush with the left margin. Paragraphs are doubled spaced, and all lines of text are single spaced. The margins are a standard word processor setting of one inch. Alternative Block Letter Format: The alternative block letter format moves the return address, date, closing, signature, name, and title to the right side of the page....

The benefits of accounts receivable financing for businesses can be hard to resist. The system offers the lure of getting immediate financing to enhance business growth. Pros and Cons of Accounts Receivable Financing Pros Explained No need for collateral: It is a type of unsecured business financing option that does not require any collateral in the form of assets and guarantors.Retain ownership of your business: This type of financing does not require you to give out part of your business ownership to acquire finances....

To make your decision easier, here are the key facts of leasing versus buying office space. Pros of Buying Office Space Fixed Costs: Locking in your commercial mortgage long-term can give your business clear, fixed costs. Tax Deductions: The associated costs of owning and running a commercial space can provide tax deductions in the form of mortgage interest, property taxes, and other items. Additional Income: Owning your office can offer the advantage of renting out extra office space, adding another source of income....

When a business is in such a situation, there are several ways they can get themselves out of a financial crisis. One of the most common ways is by applying for a loan. Unfortunately, nowadays it has become very hard for small businesses to get traditional loans due to bad credit. Many financial institutions are not willing to give out loans to businesses with a poor credit record. Due to this, lenders have come in to ensure that even a business which has a poor credit is able to access loans by using their assets as collateral for the loan....

The S&P 500 has more than doubled from its pandemic-era low in March 2020, despite more than one spike in coronavirus cases over the last 18 months, including one that has hit consumer confidence in the economy hard just this month. Investors are betting that there won’t be new lockdowns that could bring the economy to a halt, but they’re also optimistic about strong corporate profits and the relatively low chance that the Federal Reserve will raise benchmark interest rates any time soon, according to economists at First Trust Advisors....

Other tools you may not have yet. These include a direct access brokerage, real-time market data, and a trading-charting platform. All these tools and services are broken down in greater detail below, so you can see what you need, and get your day trading career started on the right path. Traders need many tools for their active trading lifestyle. These include the basics of hardware, software, and other more standard physical desk items....

What Does It Mean To Make Your Money Work For You? Making your money work for you means taking control of your finances, then using that control to continuously improve your financial stability and security. You may eventually be able to gain financial independence or build wealth through investing. But neither of those things can happen without first understanding where your money is going and learning better ways to use it....

Organization skills are essential for multitasking and keeping a business running smoothly and successfully. Employers aim to recruit applicants who can work to achieve results consistently, even when unforeseen delays or problems arise. What are Organizational Skills? Organization skills are those related to creating structure and order, boosting productivity, and prioritizing tasks that must be completed immediately, versus those that can be postponed, delegated to another person, or eliminated altogether....

Despite bear markets, the stock market has been up more than it’s been down. From 1950 through 2020, the S&P 500 was up 53.7% of days and down 46.3% of days, and the percentage of positive days exceeded negative days in every decade. What Causes a Bear Market? The prices of stocks and other securities are influenced by a range of factors, including investor confidence. A stock price will tend to fall when investors lose faith in its performance, whether due to the stock or backing company or to the strength of the economy at large....

Understanding what happens when you withdraw from your 529 helps you properly plan for college and your child’s future. Where Can My 529 Plan Be Spent? Your 529 plan has specific rules for spending in return for those 529 tax benefits and other advantages. You can spend the money you’ve saved on expenses directly related to your education costs, including: Tuition and Fees Tuition and fees for full and part-time students can be paid with 529 plans....

However, what happens to your auto loan rates when you overcome the bankruptcy or finally build up some credit history? Refinancing could be the number-one solution to the problem, but do you know how much it costs? Refinancing a Car Versus Refinancing a House When most people think of refinancing they think of refinancing a home mortgage. Refinancing a home mortgage is racked with fees. Home appraisals, title fees, and other closing costs can easily total thousands of dollars when it comes to securing a lower rate....

One of the most important lines to understand on an income statement is income before taxes. After deducting interest payments, and depending on the business and other expenses, you’re left with the profit a company made before paying its income tax bill. Learn more about why investors should look at a company’s income before taxes, also known as pretax earnings. The Utility of Income Before Taxes Income before taxes can be a particularly useful metric, especially if you examine it over multiple years by comparing it to other metrics....

It must generally be provided for in the articles of incorporation, but this can depend on state legislation. How Preemptive Rights Affect You—An Example Let’s assume that Company ABC has 100 shares of stock outstanding, and you own 10 of these shares. This gives you 10% ownership. The board of directors decides to sell another 100 shares in the company for $50 each to raise capital to expand. This would dilute your ownership to 5%—10 shares divided by the 200 shares outstanding—if the preemptive right did not exist....