Gen Y Planning – Financial Planning For My Generation

How Refinancing Your Mortgage From a 30-Year to a 15-Year Fixed Rate Could Save You Six Figures

by Sophia Bera September 21, 2016

If you own a home or you’re currently looking to buy, odds are you’ve got (or are considering) a 30-year mortgage. It’s by far the most popular mortgage option. (And with interest rates at historically low levels right now, I highly recommend locking those rates in with a fixed-rate mortgage!) Now, what’s popular isn’t what’s […]

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You’re 30 — Stop Doing What You Did in College

by Sophia Bera September 7, 2016

I’m a big fan of automating your finances as a way to grow your wealth. After about 30 minutes of set-up, your money is whisked into different accounts, and you’re less tempted to spend your savings because you don’t really see that money. But every year (or whenever you experience a big life change like […]

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How to Save on Child Care

by Sophia Bera August 24, 2016

Many Millennials are at an age where they’re deciding when, or if, to grow their families. In addition to imagining all the ways having kids can change your life, it’s important to prepare financially. One big expense many soon-to-be parents worry about is child care. The average annual cost in the U.S. is $18,000 — […]

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5 Ways to Repair Damaged Credit

by Sophia Bera August 10, 2016

When used responsibly, credit cards and loans can be amazing tools. Using a credit card instead of cash allows you to maintain a detailed record of your spending, and racking up rewards points can save you a lot on large expenses. Loans make it possible to spread out payments on big-ticket items like a house […]

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Weighing a Job Offer? Look Beyond the Salary

by Sophia Bera July 27, 2016

You’ve been job hunting for months, and you finally receive a job offer. You’re desperate to get out of your current job, and the salary they’re offering looks decent enough, so you should just go for it, right? Eh, maybe. If you think of a job offer as a pie, the salary is but a […]

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Don’t Fall For These Myths About Homeownership

by Sophia Bera July 13, 2016

If you currently rent, I’m willing to bet that at least one friend or family member has said something like this to you in the past year: “You should buy a place. It’s a good investment.” “You can always sell it or rent it out if you need to move.” “Renting is throwing money away.” […]

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Stupid Sh*t People Do With Their Money

by Sophia Bera June 29, 2016

Two months ago, I wrote a blog post about ways people pretend to have their money sh*t together, and I got a lot of responses from readers who loved it. Apparently you all know people who are good at keeping up appearances … or maybe you just like when I include partially-obscured curse words in […]

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Why Millennial Women Need to Invest, Even If We Don’t Think We’re Ready

by Sophia Bera June 15, 2016

When it comes to investing, women still lag behind men in terms of getting started and that means we miss out on years of compound interest. Investing is important because it allows your savings to grow considerably more than they would if you kept all of your money in a savings account. A recent survey […]

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I No Longer Qualify for a Roth IRA — Now What?

by Sophia Bera June 1, 2016

You’ve heard the advice when it comes to saving for retirement: contribute enough to your employer-sponsored retirement plan to get the company match, and then contribute up to $5,500 per year to a Roth IRA. But Roth IRAs have income limits — $132,000 for single tax filers, and $194,000 for married filers. And if your […]

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Ways People Pretend to Have Their Money Sh*t Together

by Sophia Bera May 18, 2016

When you’ve got friends who live like the Rich Kids of Instagram, life can feel distorted. Especially if you’ve talked about money with these friends and you know they don’t make more than you do. How can they afford dinners out, travel, and designer clothes? Where did they get the money for that $500,000 condo? […]

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