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1-Page Summary of Get a Financial Life

Overview

Banks often charge a fee for using other banks’ ATMs. You could be paying $3 per transaction, but you might not know because banks don’t usually make it clear that they’re charging these fees. It’s worth doing some research to find out how much you can save by using your own bank’s ATMs instead of those at other branches.

Being an adult is a big deal. You can choose to be one, or you don’t have to if you don’t want to. But there are some things that come with being an adult: paying back your student loans, having a bank account online, and planning for the future like buying your first car or taking a cruise.

Regardless of your financial situation, you can make smart money decisions. Here are some key points that will help you: (1) save thousands on insurance costs; (2) pay off credit card debt and turn them into investments; and (3) find out if your bank is safe by looking at a single sticker.

Big Idea #1: You should control your finances by figuring out how much you need to spend on goals.

It’s never too soon to start planning your finances. It can be quite daunting, but it’s not hard if you have a plan. First of all, figure out how much money you’ll need to fulfill your dreams. That means figuring out how much something will cost and then putting that amount aside in savings so you don’t fall short when the time comes to make a purchase. For example, say you want to buy a car for $30,000—you’ll probably need about 10% down ($3,000-$6,000), which is what we’re focusing on here.

Once you’ve figured out how much money your dream will cost, it’s time to start saving for that goal. To do so, you need to figure out where your money goes and what you can cut from the budget.

The best way to start saving money is by tracking your spending. This can be done by writing down all of your expenses in a notebook for a month and comparing them with how much you actually use the item or service that you’re paying for. For example, perhaps you spend too much on books because some of those books end up being unread or maybe you pay too much for cable TV when there are cheaper alternatives available.

Once you know how much money you have to spend, it’s easy to find ways to save. You’ll be amazed at how much potential there is for saving even if you feel like your finances are a mess. Now that we’ve learned about saving money, it’s time to talk about debt, which many people view as more terrifying than getting into a fight with an alligator while wearing boxing gloves and holding onto the back of a speeding motorcycle being driven by someone who just had their wisdom teeth removed without any anesthesia.

Big Idea #2: If you have credit card debt, pay it off immediately and negotiate a lower interest rate with your lenders.

Are you in debt? If you are, your strategy might be to pay the minimum amount possible and try not to think about it. If that’s true, you might want to rethink your approach.

Credit card debt is very expensive. For example, say you have $3,500 of credit card debt at 17% interest. You’re paying the minimum amount required until you can pay it off completely, but that will take a long time. At this rate, it’ll be 65 years before you pay off your debt and by then you’ll have paid $11k – of which about $7k is interest!

Credit card debt is expensive and should be paid off as early as possible. But if you’re in more serious debt, where you can’t pay your bills, it’s important to talk with the bank about your situation. They’ll likely be willing to help because they want their money back.

If you can’t do this on your own, you should consider hiring a credit counselor. They’ll negotiate with lenders and help borrowers get out of debt. You might also find help from unions in your area.