Spending

Yes. Set up a minor account that has zero monthly fees. This is a great way for kids to learn about money and saving!

You can give anyone $15,000 a year tax-free. So if you and your wife have a child who is married with two kids, you can transfer $120,000/year to your child and family. Beyond that, you can create a trust pretty easily.

No. Instead, add them as an authorized user to one of your cards, but don’t give them a physical card. This will let them build a strong credit history by piggybacking off of yours. When they get to college, they should get their own credit card and they’ll be off to a great start.

Instead of focusing on points, choose a cash-back card. Money today is better than points that you may forget to use or lose!

No, they’re ripoffs. They try to play on your fear of something breaking, and when it does, the coverage stinks.

Insulating your attic can cut your energy bill by up to 30%.

Attack the things you spend the most money on, often hidden in monthly payments. Cable and internet, cell phone, car insurance, home insurance. Set April 1st as your annual holiday where you price check these big expenses to avoid the big companies from “fooling” you.

Your property tax is based on the appraised value of your home. You can appeal the appraised value by presenting three appraised values of similar homes in your area to your local assessor’s office.

You should buy a used car that is two or three years old. You’ll still get the benefit of new technology, safety, and low maintenance but you don’t have to pay the hit of the initial drop in value when that new car was driven off the lot. This is even a bigger money saver when you are considering more expensive luxury cars.

If the repair costs less than half of your car’s value, you should repair it. Buying a car is expensive – even a used car. Don’t forget all the extras you’ll need to pay – like taxes, title, and maybe even more for insurance.

It’s a way banks and other companies that lend money judge how trustworthy you are to pay them back. If you’re not that trustworthy, they’ll still lend you money but they’ll charge you a ton. If you borrowed money before and haven’t been good at paying money back – late or not at all – you’ll have a bad credit score.

Your credit card. All the major credit cards won’t make you pay for any fraudulent charges. Just make sure you pay your full balance off every month. Debit cards won’t let you off the hook.

It’s the percentage that you either earn on your savings or pay on your debt. You can earn interest in a savings account, although right now you’re lucky to get 0.5%. On the other extreme, credit cards kill you with their interest rate which average 15.9% in 2021.

The government collects taxes based on how much money you make but in steps. You pay the least amount at the lowest step, and with each step your income increases, you pay higher taxes for that next chunk of income.

If you can, you should wait until you’re 70. You’ll lose almost 30% if you take it when you’re 62. You can think of it as a great insurance plan that you’ll have for the rest of your life.