The First to Know Blog

“Save money” is a timeless bit of personal finance advice, but actually doing it can be another story. If you need a way to boost your savings and stay consistent with your goals, setting up an automatic funds transfer can help. There are two ways you might do this. You can set up a transfer from your checking to a savings or investment account at your financial institution. Another method can be having a portion of your paycheck directed into a retirement or other account by your employer, if possible. Here’s a closer look into why saving this way might [ read more ]

As routine financial tasks move online, you may have fallen out of the habit of banking at a branch office. If so, receiving a paper check can be a hassle, requiring a special trip just to deposit it. Thankfully, mobile depositing is now widely offered by banks and credit unions, allowing you to put that refund from the cable company or birthday check from your uncle into your account without having to go to a branch. How it works Financial institutions that offer remote depositing generally do so through smartphone apps. Although the procedure can vary, in most cases you [ read more ]

Sometimes it’s smarter to buy certain items according to the season, like sweaters near the end of winter and swimsuits in late summer. But what’s the best season for buying a house? The answer: the fall. As temperatures cool and trees shed their leaves, enough factors break in the buyer’s favor to make it the No. 1 season for homebuying. Here’s why. Less competition Many homebuyers are families who want to minimize a move’s effect on their kids’ schooling. They want them to start at a new school on the first day, not midyear. And so if their spring and summer searching didn’t [ read more ]

Once the thrill of becoming a homeowner wears off, reality sets in. Your home is likely to be the biggest single investment you’ll make in your lifetime. If you want to preserve its value over time, that means doing regular maintenance. Know what to expect Mortgage finance company Freddie Mac has a useful checklist to help you plan for regular upkeep, and you should also expect periodically to do larger home improvement projects like replacing the roof. Keep a budget Predicting maintenance costs is tricky, but some experts suggest setting an annual budget of 1% to 4% of your home’s [ read more ]

Traditional financial literacy efforts haven’t been a rousing success. Research from Harvard Business School shows that even Americans who are taught personal finance in school don’t seem to save more or manage credit better than anyone else. That’s why many experts concerned about Americans’ money habits — including regulators such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and financial think tanks such as the Center for Financial Services Innovation — are promoting the concept of financial health. “Financial literacy is really what you know. Financial health is the outcome,” says Rachel Schneider, the center’s  senior vice president. “You might know what [ read more ]

Many parents tell me they feel guilty about allowances. They aren’t consistent about when and how they give their kids money. They wonder if allowances should be tied to chores. Even how they dole out money can be a problem. Cash is easiest, but much of what kids want to buy — downloads of a favorite show, a toy on Amazon, a realm in Minecraft — requires plastic. I’ve used our daughter as a guinea pig to test all kinds of allowance systems and apps, starting when she was just 3. We started with divided piggy banks that had sections [ read more ]

School is out, and summer is upon us. It’s time to let loose and have some fun. That sounds great in theory, but it can be horrible for our finances if we aren’t careful — especially when it comes to taking summer vacations. For many people, travel is a significant part of their summer budget, but reckless spending while on vacation can wreak havoc on their finances. People often spend more when on vacation, perhaps because they get caught up in the moment or simply because things are more expensive than at home. So what can you do this summer [ read more ]

If you’re reading this article online, you’re probably at least somewhat tech-savvy. But when it comes to digital banking, you might be missing out on a few time-saving tricks. Here’s how the Internet can help make your financial life easier. Online banking: You don’t have to leave home for everyday transactions, because financial institutions offer a slew of online banking tools. For example, you can set up free online bill pay, review your statements, see when checks clear and more. You can also make transfers between accounts at different financial institutions. E-statements: With so much snail mail, it’s easy to [ read more ]

As if being laid off weren’t stressful enough, most Americans don’t have enough money saved to pay monthly bills if they’re jobless for more than a few weeks. But you can avoid that added stress: Create an emergency fund now for potential unemployment. A recent NerdWallet study found that Americans don’t save enough to weather several common emergencies, the most expensive being unemployment. Even factoring in state unemployment benefits and average annual savings, most people come up thousands of dollars short. Among those who lose their jobs in the U.S., the average length of time spent unemployed is 26 weeks. [ read more ]

For many people, debit cards are the perfect plastic. They offer most of the conveniences of credit cards with no risk of accumulating debt. But like credit cards, debit cards are vulnerable to rip-off artists. And debit card fraud is particularly scary because thieves can withdraw money directly from your checking account. Here’s how debit fraud happens and how to protect yourself. How identity thieves operate Debit card fraud can be sophisticated or old-school. Thieves use techniques including: Hacking When you bank or shop on public Wi-Fi networks, hackers can use keylogging software to capture everything you type, including your [ read more ]