This page consists of blog posts that discuss the topics of saving money, budgeting, earning more interest, and paying less interest. You will find information on banking, borrowing, budgeting, and creative ideas on saving.
M1 Finance is a brokerage app that offers customizable portfolio pies, lines of credit, high interest checking accounts, and now Visa credit cards. Just recently, M1 Finance announced that their new credit card will offer 10% cash back. This is the first credit card to do so. American Express offers up to 6% cash back. Citi Bank, Chase, Fulton Bank, and Discover offer up to 5% on their cash back cards. Exclusively with M1 Plus, Stock Owners are eligible for…
Within the past decade, the concept of cash back has become the norm with almost every new credit card offering some form of cash back. Most cash back cards, like the popular Capital One Quick Silver card, offer 1.5% on all purchases. The Citi Double Cash Card offers 2% cash back on all purchases. 1% when you buy and 1% when you pay your bills. Then there are the 5% quarterly bonus cards from Discover where the limited 5% cash-back…
Credit scores are important if you ever want to get a good job, get a loan to buy a house or pay for a car, or get a new credit card. It scores your borrowing power among other things. The credit score oddly ranges from 300 to 850. The higher the score the better. Anything above 720 is considered a great credit score, giving you the best rates on loans and the best credit card offers. There are many factors…
When budgeting, the hardest costs to reduce are your necessary costs, especially the recurring fixed costs. Here are some ways you can reduce your monthly and annual expenses. 1. Lower your Utility Bills This step is easier than you think. There are many ways to lower your utility bills without changing your habits or lifestyle. Consider buying LED lighting. Look for the lowest Watt bulbs you can find. Switch to a low-flow shower head. You can save hundreds of gallons…
The 529 Account is an Educations Savings and Investment Account. Any money you contribute is tax deductible and the money grows tax free as long as you spend it on qualified educational expenses like tuition, school supplies, dorm rent, or even a laptop. Read all about the 529 Account on my blog post Saving for College with a 529. Now let's work on answering the question in the title of this post. What happens with the money left over in…
An HSA or Health Savings Account is a type of triple-tax-advantaged account. Any money you put in is tax-deductible. Any money you make in the account is tax-deferred, and any money you spend on qualified health expenses is tax-free. What is a Qualified Expense? For HSA's, qualified expenses include paying for doctors visits, prescription and off the counter medication, hospital stays, therapy, and other medical related bills. You can also use your HSA account to pay for your spouse's or…
F.I.R.E. stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. The F.I.R.E. movement is a lifestyle movement with the goal of gaining financial independence and retiring early. F.I.R.E. became very popular with millennials starting around 2010. With F.I.R.E., you need to invest 50% - 75% of your income by increasing your Savings Rate. Your savings rate is your monthly expenses divided by your monthly income. Sounds impossible? The F.I.R.E. movement is more feasible for the middle-upper class and people who live in areas…
Let's assume that you just bought a house and took out a 30 year conventional $250,000 mortgage at 3% interest. At closing, they showed you that you would end up paying $129,443 in interest over the life of the $250k loan. Isn't that crazy? Let's also assume that you can save up to $500 per month. Instead of putting that $500 in your savings account, you decide to pay off your 30 year mortgage early. To calculate how much you…
The month of May 2021 has not been kind to those who invest in crypto or the stock market. No one seems to know why the stock market is free falling. Meanwhile, China outlawing crypto in financial institutions and Elon Musk's tweets have caused nearly all crypto currencies to collapse as much as 50% in value. I have been avoiding checking my M1 Finance, Webull, Robinhood, and Betterment brokerage accounts because I don't want to deal with the stress of…
For those just tuning into Finance Throttle, my wife and I purchased our home with a mortgage of $282,000 @4.5% on January 1st, 2019. Just a short 2 years later, we paid off about $83,000 and now owe about $199,000. After a long 6 month process, our refinance finally closed in February of 2021. We refinanced our home for $225,604 @2.5% with no cash out option. I used my HELOC to pay for my closing costs, then scheduled a $25,000…
