Uncommon Financial Counseling and Education

Are you new to credit cards? Maybe you're not, but want to use them as a tool rather than a blunder.

Marko – WhiteBoard Finance
I really love his videos. I often assign viewing these videos as homework for classes I teach at Texas State University. Topics run from credit cards, buying a car, insurance, investing, and buy vs. renting.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL_v4tC26PvOFytV1_eEVSg
This video is specific to choosing credit cards:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=finance+whiteboard+credit+cards


Graham Stephan
I like this guy too but not as much as Marko. He covers many topics.
https://www.youtube.com/
This video is specific to credit cards:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8KqZuOybds

Nerdwallet
https://www.nerdwallet.com/?trk=nw_gn_6.0
They offer a membership which you don’t need to sign up for to get the educational information.

Credit card advice

When you have a credit card you should have rules for when you use it.

Mine rules are as follows:

• I don’t use it for anything I cannot pay for at the end of the billing cycle. I haven’t paid credit card interest in years.

o How do I do this?
I save for the big purchases I want to make. When I have the money saved, I charge the purchase to get the cash back or points and then pay the purchase off at the end of the billing cycle.

• I never make a purchase I can’t pay for at the end of the billing cycle. It sucks to pay interest on a purchase I don’t even remember.

• An emergency! First, know the difference between a “want” and an emergency? Say you need a new tire. That would be an emergency. Ideally, you should have emergency savings for these situations though.

A word about saving.
You must forgo spending to save; it needs to be purposeful. Have goals you are trying to meet. If you have goals you care about, it will be easier to save.

• Have one savings account and make mental accounts within that savings account.
o For example, mine include the following: Car Expenses, Insurance (which I pay the total lump sum yearly), Medical Expenses, Dog Expenses (for Vet bills), Travel or a special trip.
 If I knew I needed a new refrigerator, TV, washer, or dryer in the future I would add those and save each month for each.

o Right now, my mental savings accounts within my savings are:

Expense How much I deposit into my savings account monthly
Car Expenses $100
Insurance Homeowners: $120
Car: $100
Medical Expenses $50
Dogs $50
Christmas Presents $100

o The balance in my savings account should be enough to cover these expenses as they come up, so that I don’t have to scramble to get the money together.

NerdWallet: Finance smarter Make smarter financial decisions with NerdWallet’s side-by-side comparisons, objective ratings and reviews, customized insights, and trusted expertise.

Student loan help? Maybe so!

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4RhIH1VasDAruAyUAiSw5x?si=0eETuMe1TJ-KJe-4HxvR9w&context=spotify%3Ashow%3A4FYpq3lSeQMAhqNI81O0Cn

The new Biden plan that could still erase your student loans Listen to this episode from Planet Money on Spotify. This summer, the Supreme Court struck down Biden's plan to forgive student loan debt for millions of borrowers. Except, on the same day Biden first announced that plan, he also unveiled another, the SAVE plan. And though SAVE sounded less signific...

Here's something to consider. Do you think and act like you have money? How does someone behave that has money?

Someone with money can tell you what his/her net worth is and how much they owe others at any given time.

Most of the time, you would never know if someone is wealthy. If you can observe someone with money and know they are wealthy, they didn't make their money nor do they know how to hold on to it. They either 1) won the lottery or 2) inherited it (they won the birth lottery).

The Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education of which I am a part of will be hosting a webinar to help consumers navigate the financial challenges brought on by the pandemic. It will be held on April 3rd (Friday) from 11-12 Central and is free.

More information and the link to the webinar can be found here: https://www.afcpe.org/event/finances-and-covid-19-qa-and-practical-tips-for-surviving-a-pandemic/

Consider listening in and joining the conversation.

Dr. Kim Davis

Finances and COVID-19: Q&A and Practical Tips for Surviving a Pandemic – AFCPE

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is a great resource for all thinging "personal finance". See the link below on Coronavirus advice!

Protecting your finances during the Coronavirus Pandemic | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Federal, state, and local governments are working to respond to the growing public health threat of coronavirus, or COVID-19. The CFPB and other financial regulators have encouraged financial institutions to work with their customers to meet their community needs.

The FTC has put out information on avoiding scams during these crazy times.

Coronavirus Scams: What the FTC is doing The FTC and FDA have jointly issued warning letters to seven sellers of unapproved and misbranded products, claiming they can treat or prevent the Coronavirus. The companies’ products include teas, essential oils, and colloidal silver.

Decision-Making Gone Awry

Behavioral finance helps us as consumers understand decision-making biases and errors. We can break down these biases and errors into four facets.

1) Emotions
2) Heuristic Simplicity
3) Social Influence
4) Self-Deception

We will briefly explore each in future post.