Education Articles

Prepare Your Home and Vehicle for a La Niña Winter

La Niña is predicted to make another appearance this winter. What does that mean for the Pacific Northwest? For one, colder and wetter conditions through February. It also adds a little urgency to preparing your home and vehicle—and the need to take extra precautions on the road. In the event of storm damage or an accident, it’s good to know wha...

Your Guide to Paying Taxes as a Gig Worker

The gig economy continues to expand exponentially—and it doesn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon. To give you an idea of how much the workforce landscape has changed, gig workers (temporary or part-time independent contractors and freelancers, such as Uber drivers, Airbnb hosts, website designers, dog walkers, etc.) are projected to mak...

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: Start Investing for Retirement

Step 9 of 10 Steps to Financial Wellness You’re now ready to start saving—and growing that savings—for a comfortable retirement. And the longer you allow your savings to grow, the bigger your nest egg will be when it’s time to cash in on your funds. In other words, the earlier you can start saving, the better. For step 9 of your financial wellne...

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: Knowing When and How to Indulge

Step 7 of 10 Steps to Financial Wellness At this point in your financial fitness journey, you might be wondering if it has all become a little too restrictive. You’re saving whenever you can, you’re mindful about your spending, and you’re sticking to your budget. But what if you want to cut loose once in a while? Living a life of true financial...

Financial Wellness Planning: Paying Yourself First

Step 6 of 10 Steps to Financial Wellness Every ounce of work you’re putting into earning, budgeting, saving, and investing helps you “look out for number 1.” And you’ll want to stay on this path by learning how to “pay yourself first” by prioritizing your personal savings above other discretionary expenses. For step 6 of your financial wellness...

Financial Wellness Planning: Practicing Mindful Spending

Step 5 of 10 Steps to Financial Wellness In this day and age, every impulse buy is just a swipe or tap away, making it more challenging than ever to rein in your spending. You may not be able to avoid spontaneous purchases completely (nor should you), but you can prevent an occasional indulgence from becoming a bad habit. For step 5 of your...

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...

Financial Wellness Planning: Paying Down Debt

Step 3 of 10 Steps to Financial Wellness Paying down debt can be one of the biggest challenges you’ll face. As you try to keep your credit card balances in check, it can often feel like you aren’t getting anywhere. But with intentional action and commitment, the road to being financially independent is possible. In step 3 of your financial...