Search for: stimulus

Every American who received the first $1,200 stimulus check did something different with the money. Few did what Ellie Diop did. People paid off bills and credit cards, stashed money away for an emergency, or blew the money on stupid purchases. Diop is a 28-year-old single mother. She was laid off before the pandemic and,… Read more

This is a tax season unlike any other. With most (but not all!) states extending their deadlines until May, taxpayers have a little extra time to get things in order. But there are still plenty of landmines and unprecedented variables like stimulus checks to navigate when filing your 2020 taxes. One question many taxpayers are… Read more

Costco is one of the largest retailers in America. From home supplies to food to patio furniture; you can buy almost everything you want from a single trip to Costco. Given its size, Costco is also a breeding ground for scammers who want to prey on Costco’s massive customer base. And these scammers aren’t just… Read more

Novelist and playwright James Baldwin once said, “People can cry much easier than they can change.” While research has shown that crying can be beneficial and therapeutic, allowing the tears to flow is just a momentary release and serves no purpose in the long term. Crying over money seems especially silly, considering the thousands of… Read more

Millennials and Gen Z have been blamed for a lot of things – killing traditional industries like retail department stores and traditional cable, ruining the housing market, abandoning the traditional 9-to-5 work day. The list of greivences goes on and on. Now younger generations are being blamed for “sticky inflation” – meaning the costs of… Read more

It is sometimes called the most honorable profession. Staying home and raising kids. In this stressful and fast paced world, it is refreshing and admirable to see moms and dads staying with their kids to ensure they get the right level of support, nurture and education to be successful and well rounded later in life…. Read more

Financial guru Dave Ramsey has an expression he often spits out whenever the topic turns to credit cards and credit card rewards. “Not one person has ever built wealth off credit card points,” Ramsey will say, or some variation of the statement. In other words, using a credit card for purchases to build up rewards… Read more

If we learned any money lessons in the past 18 months, it is that we need to create a financial fortress for when unforeseen threats to our wellbeing arise. A lot of people who weren’t prepared going into the pandemic got hit very hard by companies closing and jobs being lost. That’s not to say… Read more

It’s hard to look at an event such as the Covid-19 pandemic and say “well, there were some bright spots” but, well, there were some bright spots. People found high-paying jobs that involve never leaving the house, started a side hustle, stayed home more with family, and paid off a ton of credit card debt…. Read more

The pandemic is close to being in our rearview mirror, but that’s not to say that America has completely opened up or returned back to normal. In fact, a lot of Americans are still out of work and relying on weekly unemployment benefits to pay their bills. However, governors in 22 states are trying to… Read more

Where’s my tax refund? That is the question everyone is asking this year. When you’re owed a refund from the Internal Revenue Service, the last thing you want is a long wait to get your money. Sadly, your tax refund could be delayed this year, because the IRS is holding almost 30 million tax returns… Read more

The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan signed last month contains new and expanded child tax credits. And while the credits are technically tied to 2021 tax returns, which you won’t file until 2022, the IRS plans to start delivering cash this year in the form of monthly installments. Below we’ll answer commonly asked questions about… Read more

Taxes. Are. The. Worst. But they are never going away so no sense in complaining. The best thing you can do as an American citizen is find legal ways to pay less taxes and be as prepared as possible when the time comes to file your yearly taxes. Part of that is understanding what is… Read more