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More and more people – especially single moms –  are working multiple jobs or side gigs to make ends meet. But not all of those jobs come with a “normal” paycheck, the kind with taxes taken out. And that’s why you need to know about self-employment taxes. When you work as a freelancer or independent contractor, have your own business (no matter how small), or have a side gig where you’re not an official employee, […]

Last Updated on February 19, 2025February 19, 2025 Leave a Comment This post may contain affiliate links. Advertiser Disclosure.This post may contain affiliate links. Financial Panther has partnered with AwardWallet and CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Financial Panther, AwardWallet, and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact on how and where card products […]

Before the article, here’s what’s happening this week on our podcast, Personal Finance for Long-Term Investors: I’m reading Morgan Housel’s recent book, Same as Ever, right now. One of the chapters is called “Best Story Wins.”  [While I’m not sure it’s word-for-word the same, this chapter can be read (for free) via Morgan’s blog: https://collabfund.com/blog/story/] Housel’s idea is fascinating – and probably makes sense to us all. The takeaway is that humans promote or discount particular ideas simply because of the story told around that idea. We ignore some great ideas because of a bad story. And we promote some terrible ideas because of a good story. Housel challenges us readers to ask in on our lives:  Who has the right answer, but I ignore it because they are inarticulate?  And what do I believe is true, but is it just good marketing? Be wary of “good stories” I immediately thought of one of my former engineering colleagues. In our early years working together, I saw him as quirky, obtuse, at times unprofessional, and an overall oddball. Over time, though, I realized: while all those things were still true, he was also one of the smartest people in the room – in every room.  Now, call me a jerk, but I think the average person confounds “quirky” with “intelligent.” As in, “She’s so strange…she must be a genius or something.” No, no, no. Just because someone is weird enough to memorize Wikipedia doesn’t make them intelligent. Hollywood might have taught us to correlate “weird” with “smart,” but I don’t buy it.  This former coworker, though – I know enough to know he was genuinely brilliant and coincidentally also quirky.  But here’s the problem he faced: 99% of our shared colleagues, customers, stakeholders, etc., could not get past the strange exterior to see, understand, and appreciate the genius underneath. His “story”—the way he presented himself—was a perfect example of Housel’s idea that a bad story can discount a terrific idea. Nobody took him as seriously as they should have. Though sometimes “weird” has its benefits… I thought of this idea again recently when one of my clients emailed me an insurance pitch they received. The video featured an affable, well-dressed, well-spoken insurance sales guy. He explained, to paraphrase, the untold downsides of all traditional retirement investing (e.g. everything I talk about here) while preaching the incredible upsides of his indexed universal life insurance.  All the upside, none of the downside, and a free steak just to attend your seminar?!  …woof It was a great story. Delivered smooth as Irish butter. I’ve seen these pitches before. The math they use is patently untrue. The language they choose is overly emotional, stirring up the audience’s deep fears (“If I can scare you, I can sell to you”).  But to the unknowing outside viewer, I’m sure this insurance pitch works! It’s a good story! Is it dishonest? Of course. And if a viewer sees through the lie, the jig is up. But until that point,

Get money into your child’s hands and help them learn some valuable money lessons with the Earn Your First $50 Challenge. The #1 thing I hear parents say they want their child to learn to do with money: Learn how to save it. But here’s the thing: you can’t save what you don’t have. A child who has no money to begin with (or who has an inconsistent money source, like through a duct-taped Kid […]

[Good morning, friends! Got a fantastic guest post for you today that’s got me reconsidering all kinds of habits over here! It comes from Amanda Grossman over at Frugal Confessions, and hopefully it gets you rethinking some of your routines too Take it away, Amanda!] ******* I’m about to introduce you to a frugal living rule I started using almost a decade ago. It’s saved me untold amounts of money. And to be honest, it’s without much sacrifice at all (none, in some circumstances). It’s called The Half Rule. I only wish I’d discovered it back in my early 20s when I could’ve really used it! It’ll help you fight inflation. It’ll cut your grocery bill down without having to stop buying the products that you like. And you’ll start to have some money left at the end of the month. While it can’t be used on everything, it can be used in more cases than you think. Ready for it? What is the Half Rule? The Half Rule means cutting the amount of product you use in half, and seeing what happens. Does it still perform like it should? Then keep it at the new, half-level. Do you need to add a bit more to it? Go ahead and do it. You’ll likely always end up using less than you were before, causing you to have to buy a replacement product less (and saving you money). I started playing around with this over a decade ago. and I can’t tell you how much money it’s saved me (without having to buy generics or go without). You see, I’m going out on a limb here, but I think we all use too much product. And there are three main reasons for that: Manufacturer Recommendations are Inflated: Manufacturer recommendations are often asking us to use more of the product than necessary. Habits are Hard to Break: We have developed a habit of using a certain amount of a product, and it’s hard to change habits. (J$: This is me!! I need to work on this!) Product Inflation is a Real Thing: We’re experiencing product inflation, where we think to get the same amount of pleasure out of something, we need to use more of it (has anyone increased their Starbucks size to grande, for example, to get the same degree of pleasure they used to get from a tall?). I tested this rule out by cutting in half my use of: Shampoo Laundry detergent Dryer sheets (I’ve cut them in half to no bad effect for decades now) Cooking oil (started using an oil mister instead of pouring it) Restaurant meals (I typically take 1/3 to ½ home for lunch) Bagels for breakfast (I started eating half a bagel at home, instead of a whole one) Starbucks order size Glass stovetop cleaner Tape (when wrapping gifts) And those are just the easy ones you can start with. [TIP: to save even more money, pair

Click Here to Read the Transcript for This Episode This week on the podcast, I am joined by Shannah Game, certified financial planner, trauma of money specialist, and author of Unraveling Your Relationship with Money. Shannah shares her journey from overcoming financial fears to becoming a money expert, emphasizing the emotional aspects of money management. We dive deep into overcoming financial shame, fear, and anxiety, exploring money personality types, emotional blocks around money, and practical […]

How to make cash this year Need extra cash today? Have you been searching for ways to make it happen? Take these steps to make extra cash (fast) Take action now with these 25 ideas on how to make quick cash in 2023. Whether you need some extra money for a fun weekend trip or saving towards something special, these ideas can help get the ball rolling. From gigs that don’t require any experience to […]

Have you ever felt like you were taken for a ride—literally and financially—when buying a car? Well, you’re not alone. There’s a scandal brewing in… The post PCP Mis-Selling: The Gender Divide No One Is Talking About appeared first on Money Nuggets.

I’ve been part of the personal finance blogging world for a few years now and I’ve realized a few hard truths. One of them is that there is no one answer to the problem of poverty. In the personal finance sphere, it’s a truth barely ever acknowledged that not everyone has enough. We bloggers love to talk about our successes and we will happily share our “pathways to success”. What we’re not so good at […]

The George Washington University doctor union threatened a strike to demand fair pay, better benefits, and a sustainable future in medicine. I’ll never forget how burnout hit me in the… The post Doctors on Strike: The Rising Wave of Physician Unionization appeared first on The Darwinian Doctor.

Moving every few years comes with challenges, especially once a military member has a spouse and/or children. Sometimes, it makes sense for the service member to move to a new duty station while their family remains at the old duty station. Or sometimes the service member moves to one location and the family moves to… | Read More… The post Geobaching: When Military Members Live Away From Their Families appeared first on KateHorrell.

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Recently, I noticed I was short $400 in my checking account. As a frugal nerd who prides herself on all sorts of odd things like goal digging and yet another financial challenge, any chunk of money gone missing is noticeable. Despite my meticulous tracking, compliments of a budget, I couldn’t decipher where the money went. The post The Case of the Missing Money appeared first on Budget Life List.