Happy Friday!
We know figuring out credit, banking, and money stuff can be confusing. And honestly? A lot of it doesn’t make sense until someone just explains it in plain language.
So this is your space to ask questions AND share what’s worked for you. Maybe you’ve figured out a strategy for managing payments, or you found a resource that finally made things click, or you have advice for someone dealing with something you’ve been through.
What’s a money question you’ve been wondering about but haven’t asked yet? Or what’s a tip that’s been working for you?
Paying myself first is the best way I set myself up for success. When I get paid, I send money straight to my savings and investments, then plan for bills after.
Things I’m still curious about include how to maximize my credit score and how to optimize my taxes as much as possible.
I was wondering what the best method for paying off a credit card is? lump some? minimum balance, and paying it off slowly? Whats the best way to boost my credit?
If you can afford it, lump sum. But, if you don’t have the money to pay off the credit card, pay off at least the minimum and anything extra you can afford. Imagine you could make 20% a year from a savings account, that’s basically what paying off you credit card would be like. The best way to boost credit is to treat a credit card as a debit card. Don’t make purchases you can’t afford, and pay it off all the time. Creditors like to see that you can keep up a very long streak of paying off your debt. Another thing would be to pay off any other debt that you have. This could be things like ilnes of credit, car loans, student loans, etc. tips-and-tricksfin-ugc
For maximizing credit score, it’s to basically pay off any debt you have ASAP and keep it there. Especially things like credit cards. Another thing would be to not open a ton of different credit accounts, at least in the short term this causes your score to go down. Also not keeping an owing balance on your credit cards. tips-and-tricks
For me the strictness is in what is reasonable to me. Obviously that’s personal to everyone, but to me, as easy rule of thumb is: “Is this improving my life and bringing me closer to my goals”. For example, every once in a while my friends and I will go out to eat, so I’ll be happy to spend on that, but by default I make my food at home and save money now so I can put more money towards experiences or travel. As for lifestyle, the hardest thing to do is to lower your lifestyle expectations for yourself, so until I’ve reached goals that I want to, or something is seriously affecting my life (i.e. bad living situation) I will try to not increase my spending even if I get paid more. It’s about looking at the future of what I want for myself. For example, I could give myself more spending money to buy whatever I want per month, but I need to think, is this sustainable forever and will it be worth it? If I spend $200 more a month on shopping, or eating out, I know in the future I won’t want to reduce my spending, and I think “Would I rather spend $200 more a month on things or take a $2400 vacation a year”. tips-and-tricks
@tsutlovic you’re dropping some gems, my friend. I added a tag to your post so the rest of the community can benefit from it. Appreciate you sharing your insights
I think having a basic understanding of how credit works is wise. However, I do like to provide different perspectives on things. I have met many individuals who spend a fair amount of time budgeting, monitoring their credit, and allocating considerable time to this. Again, a basic understanding is important, but a word of caution: do not obsess over these things as much when you are just starting. It can stress you to the max, and even worse, sometimes it can distract your eye from the prize.
“Comparison is the thief of joy.”
An hour learning any skill, basic math, basic computer programming, basic marketing, getting around faster on the keyboard versus the mouse, using ChatGPT to harness functionality that others are not aware of, etc.
This story doesn’t apply to all, but I will share it because it was pivotal in my thinking. I remember working on a budget once in a sales office, and the manager came by and said, “You can pinch pennies all day, or you can get on the phone and make three sales and never worry about your budget again.” The guy was not fun to work for, but he was right. I focused on sales, computer, and marketing skills, and before I was 30, I was earning amazing sales commissions. Then I focused on the budgeting for long-term success. I own a place downtown, and when I received that mortgage, they said, “We will check your credit out, sign here, please.” I was like, “Yeah, sure.” I had no clue what it was. I just knew I would get approved, since my focus was on money in the door, not saving a few pennies.
Again, my approach is not right, it is not wrong, but if you have a side hussle or your trying to get that next position inhouse or at another firm, you need to stand out and that comes down to raw skills, how you handle things, how you present yourself, how quiclky you can zip around on a computer and what functionality you can achieve out of these machines, what can you sell, who can you network with. Obsessing over a credit score and saving 40 cents can cost two hours of education.
Now, something even cooler. Suppose you have a Calgary library card. Guess what? You get free LinkedIn learning. Who needs school when there are a lot of jobs you can get if you can outskill others by having higher levels of concentration towards something?
Food for thought, folks! Here is the link to the free LinkedIn learning with your Calgary library card.
I am certain other city libraries have something similar. Don’t let anyone fool you about what is important. If you were smart enough to read to the bottom of this, I believe in you and get it. I am rooting for you, get into education and improve yourself always. Do not get a degree and then say, “Phew, now I can throw my brain away”.
We, the samurai, are here waiting for others to join our clan. We keep our blades sharp, we are principled, and we want the best for others. fin-ugc
Honestly, I recently put everything banking into ChatGPT. Created a multi-pronged prompt, input the traditional bank (we currently have and moving off) and digital banking solutions (including neo). It spit out a migration plan, along with the pro’s/con’s of each, with side by side comparisons. Now it’s about executing that plan, and changing all the inputs for personal, joint, and business accounts.
@mcguire74 Thank you for your comment! Leveraging AI to make sense of everything is definitely powerful. I’ve started using it for budgeting and planning purposes, and I’ve been loving it so far.
@mcguire74@TiffD_Neo You guys are giving me some ideas I usually by a yearly budget template on Esty but I don’t love the manual proces of it- maybe ill attempt setting something up with an AI tool - what are your top recommendations?
@Matcha12 Let us know how it goes!
I personally use ChatGPT like @mcguire74, but some friends have also recommended Claude or Notion. @mcguire74, do you have any other recommendations?
I use ChatGPT as primary, most personal and business conversations happen there.
I use GROK for blunt no BS responses and concepts.
Use Gemini (Google) for general non sensitive and quick questions, it is better then just searching, you have conversations and can grow that database, and because it searches everything it has ever seen online.
Claude is a very powerful database solution. We use it mainly for lead capture and enriching data.
Lots of others, I dabble with a few, but mainly for business and my go to (for now) is ChatGPT.
IF anyone needs an AI stack (marketing, leads, sales) or would like to enrich their existing and future leads, let me know… I know a guy.
Let’s figure it out together.
I usually by a yearly budget template on Esty but I don’t love the manual proces of it- maybe ill attempt setting something up with an AI tool - what are your top recommendations?