Category: Personal Finance

Amazon Closing Its AmazonSmile Charitable Giving Program

In some bad news for Amazon customers and non-profit organizations alike, the online retail giant has announced that it's ending its AmazonSmile service. According to an email sent to customers, the program will be wound down by February 20th. Instead, the company says it will focus on some of its other philanthropic efforts including its Housing Equity Fund, its Community Delivery Program, Amazon Disaster Relief, and more along with continuing...

Money at 30: My Top 3 Finance Apps and Tools to Watch in 2023

Over the past few years, I've offered up my list of the top FinTech apps and tools. This originally started as a way to highlight a few of my favorite tools but eventually evolved to also highlight offerings from startups I just found fascinating. Well, as it turns out, my track record has been a bit hit-or-miss on that front. So, this time around, I thought I'd keep the tradition...

Survey: Americans Lose Average of $1,819 to Financial Illiteracy

How does a deficit in financial education impact the wallets of Americans? A recent survey conducted by the National Financial Educators Council (NFEC) asked more than 3,000 consumers, "During the past year, about how much money do you think you lost because you lacked knowledge about personal finances?” The majority (61.8%) reported losing between $0 and $499 due to their financial illiteracy. However, 15% said that they'd missed out on...

Money at 30: Is the Cost of Dog Training Worth It?

A few months ago, my wife and I welcomed a four-legged friend to our family. Since then, our dog Rigby has made tremendous growth as it pertains to get getting used to our home, adjusting to our routines, and even basic things such as walking on a leash. While part of this progress can just be attributed to her spending more time with us, the professional training we purchased for...

NerdWallet Names Best Banking Products, Credit Cards for 2023

With the holiday season in the rearview and 2023 now officially underway, many Americans may be taking a closer look at their finances — especially after the spending and traveling that comes with the holidays. As that happens, the site NerdWallet has just announced its "Best-Of Awards," highlighting the top banking products and credit cards across a number of categories. And while some victories were to be expected, there were...

2022 Holiday Debt Reaches Record High in LendingTree Survey

With the holiday shopping season now in the rearview and the New Year just ahead, an annual survey from LendingTree is assessing the damage done to consumers' debt load over the course of the season. First, although the survey found that slightly fewer Americans took on holiday debt this year compared to last (35% of respondents versus 36% in 2021), the average debt taken on rose. In fact, the $1,549...

Money at 30: 10 of My Favorite Money at 30 Articles from 2022

Amazingly, 2022 is already coming to an end. What's more, its final few days are in a weird sandwich where there are five "work days" between two holiday weekends. This weird setup inspired me to, yes, take things easy this week — but also to highlight some of my favorite columns that I've written this year. To compile my top 10, I decided to feature five of my reviews as...

Majority of Americans Found 2022 to Be Economically Difficult 

With 2022 coming to a close, many are now looking ahead to the new year. Unfortunately, it seems that some consumers have had a rough financial year that's left them pessimistic about what's ahead. According to Slickdeals' survey of more than 2,000 Americans, 58% of respondents described 2022 as being "economically difficult." This was a major change from 2021 when only 15% of those surveyed said the same. In fact,...