Education Articles

Financial Wellness Planning: Reviewing and Tweaking

Step 10 of 10 Steps to Financial Wellness The foundation is set for your path toward financial wellness. The key now is to not get complacent. Take each step intentionally, adjust your plan when needed, and stay true to your vision. Here’s a quick overview of what brought us here: Step 1: Tracking your spending Are you regularly tracking your...

Financial Wellness Planning: Building and Maintaining an Excellent Credit Score

Step 8 of 10 Steps to Financial Wellness Establishing and maintaining a healthy score is a crucial part of financial wellness. What’s a healthy number? Most lenders consider 670–739 to be an indication of stability and reliability. As such, benefits of such a score include: Better interest rates on credit cards and loans. Improved chances of...

Financial Wellness Planning: Having the Money Talk with Your Partner

Step 4 of 10 Steps to Financial Wellness Your spending and budget are on track and a debt-elimination plan is in place. So, what’s next? It probably isn’t high on anyone’s list, but now’s the time to have a serious talk with your partner about money. If one of you is from Venus and the other from Mars (financially speaking), this conversation...

What’s a Credit Score? And How Can You Improve Yours?

Thinking about applying for a loan? You’ll want to pay close attention to your credit score. But what is a credit score? And why does it matter? In short, your credit score demonstrates to lenders how likely you are to pay back a loan. The higher the score, the better you look to a lender, which often means better rates and terms on a loan. Read...

The Ins and Outs of Credit

Credit is an integral part of your financial power, and fully understanding how it works will help you build a solid history that will open doors and advance your goals. While misusing credit can be devastating, using it wisely offers many benefits throughout your life.

7 Visa Card Features That Might Surprise You

‘More than just a piece of plastic’ Credit cards offer a convenient way to make purchases. That much is known. What’s less understood are the benefits credit cards can offer. For those willing to put on their research hats, there are many perks attached to credit cards—many of which you may already have at your disposal without knowing it. To ge...

Renting as a College Student

For many college students, renting off-campus is a major part of the college experience. Exciting, too. I, for one, couldn’t wait to live with friends. We were looking for something affordable, sure, but what we wanted most was an awesome place to throw parties. And while a great space to hang out for a reasonable price is important, there are...

Boost Your Credit Score: 4 Myths Debunked

In the area of personal finance, credit scores can seem a lot more mysterious than they actually are. Many people believe that improving them is a matter of trial and error. As a result, there’s a lot of “credit score advice” floating around that can do more harm than good. Below are four common myths about credit scores and the truth about each...

Signs You Might Be Living Beyond Your Means

In an age of plastic spending and mobile payments, living within  your means can easily slide into living  beyond  your means. And many of us fall into this trap without realizing it. Getting out of this trap can be “easier said than done,” said Nick Manley, Financial Advisor for SELCO Investment & Retirement Services. “Living within your means...

Tips to Control Holiday Spending

’Tis nearly the season to get in the spirit of spending more money than you normally do (or perhaps your season has already begun). The National Retail Federation reports holiday spending has steadily increased each year over the past decade. But that doesn’t mean you have to ride the shopping wave. Here are a few tips for keeping spending in...