Make It Make Cents

Being financially literate means being able to understand how to manage and invest money. This knowledge is essential, especially in today’s world where a lack of financial literacy can be extremely dangerous. Many unknowingly make mistakes, such as overspending on credit, that could have a major impact on their credit score and prevent/limit them from renting or buying a place to stay or even get a car. In other words, being financially literate can make a real difference in your quality of life and can give you control over your financial future. The goal of this blog is to help by bringing clarity about key concepts that people may be unsure about through short, simple, and clear newsletters that won’t take more than 5 minutes to read.

Posts

Compound Interest: When Your Interest Earns Interest

One of the most useful concepts many need to learn about to be financially literate is compound interest. It is often explained as your money basically working overtime for you… Read more ⇢
Your Paycheck Explained

Making sense of your paycheck: why isn’t it the number you thought it would be? The good news is that you have a job and are getting a regular paycheck… Read more ⇢
Credit Cards vs. Debit Cards

Which is the better choice for you: credit cards or debit cards? When you first choose between a credit card and a debit card, you should not be thinking only… Read more ⇢
Renters Insurance

Skipping renters insurance can be an expensive mistake. When you’re moving into your first apartment, there are so many new expenses that the last thing you may feel you need… Read more ⇢
Micro Charges

Micro-charges can burn through your budget: watch out for the subscription trap. It’s hard to avoid subscriptions in today’s digital economy. Who hasn’t used streaming services, fitness, dating, or learning… Read more ⇢
Overdraft Fees

Overdraft fees can hit you hard. Being charged overdraft fees – a fine charged by a bank when you spend more than you have in your account – can be… Read more ⇢
Buy Now Pay Later … for Takeout?

In September 2024, I wrote about the reasons we should be wary of the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) programs which are becoming so popular. Yes, they’re convenient, but they… Read more ⇢
How Your Credit Rating Impacts Car Prices

Recently the president announced a 25% tariff on automobiles and auto parts, meaning the prices of cars will surge across the US. The country imports about half of the automobiles… Read more ⇢
Why You Need an Emergency Fund – a Financial Shock Absorber

We all know there are times when life throws a curve ball and can blow up even the best-planned budget. From a sudden car repair to an unplanned medical bill… Read more ⇢
Student Loan Repayment

The good news – you have a college education. The not so good news – at some point you likely have to deal with repaying student loans. Whether you have recently graduated… Read more ⇢
The Psychology of Impulse Spending

Rarely a good idea: Impulse Spending Impulse spending is when you see something online or in a store and suddenly convince yourself you “need” it. It is a universal behavior… Read more ⇢
Paying A Price For Convenience: Venmo, Cashapp, and Zelle

You have probably used apps for peer-to-peer (P2P) payments (which are digital transactions between two people) like Venmo, Cash App, Zelle and Apple Pay. These apps let you send money… Read more ⇢
Store Credit Cards: Be Wary

“Would you like to save 10% on today’s purchase by opening our store credit card?” I’m sure you have heard this question hundreds of times when you are at the… Read more ⇢
Getting Behind The Wheel: Car Loans

One of the most important financial decisions you will make is buying a car. So, it’s helpful to be aware of the average car loan interest rates received by other… Read more ⇢
Should You Be Splitting Up Payments?

It’s become so much easier to shop thanks to buy now pay later services; but do they make it TOO easy? Buy now pay later (BNPL) services like Klarna, Afterpay… Read more ⇢
Shrinkflation

I want to talk about something related to inflation. You don’t need me to tell you how much prices have been rising. Inflation was 2.9% last month and has hit… Read more ⇢
Car Insurance

I didn’t realize that you can’t drive a vehicle in America unless you have a minimum amount of insurance. In 49 states and in DC anyway. The only state that… Read more ⇢
One Of The Most Valuable Things You Have: Your Credit History

Managing your credit is one of the most important things you should know about. This was one of the concepts I had heard about for ages but didn’t completely understand… Read more ⇢
Pain of Payment and its Benefits

In this month’s newsletter I want to talk about why paying in cash, especially when buying non-essentials, is the way to go when you need to stick to a budget.… Read more ⇢