Healthy Habits for Your Credit Score

In the premise of a memorable Black Mirror episode, every person has a “rating.” On an Amazon-like scale of 1 to 5 stars, your rating is based on how your fellow citizens score you after an interaction. So if you run into an old fling at the grocery store and share a delightful conversation and look good to boot, you’d probably get 5 stars, which would incrementally improve your overall rating. And this rating, in turn, determines everything from merchant privileges and discounts to your network of friends — in other words, it’s your all-in-one socioeconomic score.

Fortunately we’re not there (yet), but the next closest thing is your credit score. Designed to help lenders gauge your creditworthiness, your credit score is also used to evaluate you in all sorts of contexts like insurance underwriting, background checks by landlords, and even job applications. Yikes!

While a poor credit score can limit your options, a good credit score provides opportunities to invest in the things you love — your family, work, hobbies, and dreams. So let’s start by breaking down the essential need-to-know facts about credit reports and scores, and then we’ll look at healthy habits for managing and improving your credit.

If Cash Is King, Cash Management Is Queen

Cash is like the unloved stepchild of the personal finance industry. Turn on Mad Money and you’ll hear all about hot stocks. Read John Bogle’s legendary The Little Book of Common Sense Investing, and you’ll learn all about index funds. But when a crisis hits, it’s cash that turns out to be the Cinderella that everyone chases. In the first quarter of 2020, U.S. money market funds (which invest in cash) saw record inflows of almost $700 billion, while stock funds and bond funds each saw net outflows of around $30 billion.

What’s so good about cash? It’s liquid and doesn’t lose its value (apart from inflation). So it’s kind of like your boring, trusty mule — dependable and there when you need it.

When the Stock Market Tanks

Well here it is folks, the stock market drop we all knew would eventually come. U.S. stocks are down around 12% this week, while global stocks aren’t doing much better. But in times of market turmoil, it’s essential to keep perspective. Here’s why to stay calm and stick to the plan, along with some practical steps (and non-steps) to take when the market tanks.

When Money Brings Wholeness: Five Ways to Use Your Money Better

As we flip to 2020, I hope you’ve found some time amidst the holidays to reflect on the past year and what the coming one holds.  (And if not, there’s still time!) When it comes to money, the new year is the perfect time to reset and reprioritize. Perhaps this is the year you get your finances organized or pay off that debt or start saving in earnest for retirement.  But it all starts with asking the why of your money: How can your money bring wholeness to you and those around you?

Employee Stock Compensation 101

Stock options. The words still conjure images of dark-suited executives in mahogany-paneled board rooms. But these days all sorts of people receive equity compensation, from c-suite officers down to new hires at tech companies. And that means there are more and more employees being paid in a form that can be difficult to understand and even harder to manage. That may include you. And so today we’ll go through the basics of employee stock compensation and how to best leverage it to reach your financial goals.

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