Don’t Spend Less to Save More (Do this Instead)
Your savings aren’t growing, but you can’t afford to increase the percent you contribute each month. The solution is to spend less money in other areas of your life, right? Wrong. The notion that we have to subdue our quality of life for financial freedom is...
Developing Relationships and Building Wealth for Your Family ft. Andy Hill – PB174
Andy Hill is a husband, father, and entrepreneur who founded Marriage, Kids, and Money, a blog and podcast that focuses on understanding family finance. A self-confessed money nerd, Andy started the podcast as a hobby then took it to the next level when he began...
Making Money Online ft. Pete McPherson of Do You Even Blog – PB172
Pete McPherson, the founder of Do You Even Blog, gave up the ‘American Dream’ and left corporate America to pursue his personal dream of making a full-time income from a creative career. He’s a former accountant with a CPA license who now provides new and experienced...
How I negotiated my rent down and saved over $100/month
Ever wondered if it’s possible to negotiate your monthly rent down? I’m here to tell you that it is indeed a thing, and it can happen in different ways! Let me tell you my story. A few months ago, I received my lease renewal paperwork. Even with the...
Let’s Talk Real Estate Investment Trusts ft. Andre Albritton of The Millennials Next Door – PB171
Andre Albritton, the founder of The Millennials Next Door, is a nationally recognized personal finance expert focusing on how to solve the financial problems millennials and centennials face. His clear-cut approach to personal finance helps simplify how individuals...
Investing in a Volatile Market ft. Ryan Inman – PB 170
Self-confessed ‘money nerd’ Ryan Inman began his financial practice Physician Wealth Services specifically to help guide young physicians toward financial independence with truly unbiased, quality financial advice. A graduate of the University of San Diego...
Discovering Financial Independence ft. Jamila Souffrant — PB169
Jamila Souffrant is the creator of the blog and podcast, Journey To Launch, where she teaches and inspires others how to eliminate debt, save money, and increase their net worth. The lessons she’s learned through trial and error helped her family to save...
The Perfect Portfolio ft. Kevin Matthews, Financial Expert
This page may contain affiliate links. Please read our Advertiser Disclosure for more info. Kevin L. Matthews II was named one of the Top 100 Most Influential Financial Advisors by Investopedia. He is a Certified Financial Planner, bestselling author, and former...
Hey Berna: Your Financial Hype Woman
Berna Anat, or @HeyBerna to her over 20,000 followers, describes herself as, “The financial world desperately needs a hype woman, and I have more than enough energy, hair, and #debtfree-vibes to do the job.” We originally met at FinCon: Where Money and...
A Bad Tax Plan Is More Costly than a Bad Investment Plan ft. Rick Ferri, CFA
OMFG, THE STOCK MARKET IS DOWN!!! OMG, THE STOCK MARKET IS UP!!! I’m just covering all my bases so this post will be relevant no matter when you read it. If you already read my review of A Random Walk Down Wall Street, Irrational Exuberance, or The Intelligent...
EconoMe and The Road to Financial Independence – PB136
Diania Merriam is the creator of EconoMe. EconoME is a one-day conference aimed at reclaiming the American Dream. The American Dream started as an idea that every person had the right to pursue his or her own idea of happiness. EconoMe is about reclaiming that right!...
How Leah Marie Collins Paid Off $40,000 in Debt and Launched Her Own Business in Only 18 Months
This page may contain affiliate links. Please read our Advertiser Disclosure for more info. To be exact, Leah Marie Collins paid off $40,000 in debt, increased her credit score to over 800, purchased a rental property, and launched her own business to help other women...
This Accountant Shares How He Taught Himself to Pay Off $116,000 in Debt
Welcome to our latest Personal Finance Spotlight where we share relatable stories from people like you–the reading audience–who discovered life after debt instead of paycheck-to-paycheck til debt do us part. This week we introduce you to Lawrence Gonzalez....
Losing Two Jobs in One Week May Have Been the Best Thing that Ever Happened to Me
This is the story of two offers. It is not as cool as the story of 2 Chainz, but it will have to do. Recently, we all relearned a good fighter will fall if you hit them hard enough. Word to Anthony Joshua. What does the story of Mr. Joshua have in common with Mr....
This Couple Paid Off Six Figures in Debt in 23 Months with the Debt Snowball
Money doesn’t solve all our problems, but money does solve our money problems. That’s one of the many theories behind Jhanilka and Anthony Hartzog debt free success story. The two millennials joined financial forces to pay off their $114,151 debt. Next, they have...
This Couple Paid Off $78,000 in Less than Three Years
Fo Alexander is the Personal Finance Coach and Business Systems Strategist behind the Girl Talk with Fo podcast and blog. She specializes in teaching millennial women how to dump debt and build bank. As part of her journey, she and her husband paid off $78,000 in debt...
How Dave Ramsey’s Debt Snowball Helped Her Pay Off $89,000 in Two Years
By listener request, we introduced Personal Finance Spotlights to the website this year. It’s been great! I love sharing stories of people taking charge of their personal finances. Our readers and listeners said they wanted to read more profiles on “ordinary” people...
Personal Finance Spotlight: The Godmother of Financial Coaching
Saundra Davis, MS, APFC® Saundra Davis is the self-described Godmother of Financial Coaching, and I believe it. When we met for the second time–at FinCon Expo: Where Money and Media Meet–Saundra dropped a quote on me so powerfully insightful that I had to...
Self-Made Millionaire Blogger Credits Three Key Steps
This page may contain affiliate links. Please read our Advertiser Disclosure for more info. Pictured: Michelle Schroeder-Gardner Related: I Made My First Million, and I’m Still Broke We’re all busy people. Maybe you’re one of those people who came here to make money,...
I Made My First Million, and I’m Still Broke
According to the most recent Census data, the average person earns nearly $2.7 million over his or her lifetime. Yet, after 40+ years of work most Americans are still financially unprepared for retirement. Unless it’s by choice, I don’t want to work until...
Broke Millennial Takes on Investing ft. Erin Lowry – PB122
Erin Lowry, the author of Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together, is a Personal Finance Expert who helps millennials navigate their big money questions and teaches them how to control their finances like a boss. Her first book was...
Marsha Barnes Raises The Finance Bar With Each Stop on Her Tour
All Black History Month we highlighted young men and women of color making history in the present. Just in time for America Saves Week, Monday February 25 – March 3, 2019, we introduce you to Marsha Barnes. She is the founder behind The Finance Bar and a...
The Student Loan Doctor Has Helped Thousands Save Millions
We met Sonia Lewis, aka The Student Loan Doctor, in sunny Florida while attending FinCon18. For someone with 38,000 followers (and counting) on the Gram and a resume including accolades from the Steve Harvey Morning Show, The Shade Room, BET, The Ricky Smiley Show and...
From $130,000 in Debt to $100,000 in Net Worth ft. Pennies to Wealth
We all have to start from somewhere on our financial journey. We all have to look for the best Credit Cards for No Credit when first applying for cards because we’ve not had a chance to grow your financial history yet. From there, every choice you make can...
Make a Successful Career Change with These Five Steps
The next industry Millennials “destroy” is ourselves and the burnout will be televised. According to an annual Deloitte Survey, almost half of Millennials are unhappy at their current job and plan to quit/switch to nontraditional work within their career....
The Best African American Financial Literacy Podcasts and Blogs
This page may contain affiliate links. Please read our Advertiser Disclosure for more info. At Paychecks & Balances, we help Millennials make money, save money, get out of debt, and build wealth. These are some of the best money voices from our network. Personal...
A Financial Plan for HENRYs: High Earner, Not Rich Yet ft Rianka Dorsainvil, CFP – PB108
Rianka Dorsainvil is the founder and CEO of “Your Greatest Contribution” or YGC. Rianka is a Certified Financial Planner who has works with multi-generational high earners and low-income families. Rianka created YGC after realizing her mission didn’t align with the...
This Is How Much You Should Have Saved by Age 35 to Retire Comfortably
On a recent guest feature, we were asked, “can someone really save $1,000,000 on an average salary?” The simple answer: Yes. The harder answer: Is it easy? No. It’s very complicated and will likely take a really long time. Two out of 3 people haven’t created a budget,...
CBSN: Making Your Money Matter ft. Paychecks and Balances (Video)
We were invited by CBS News on their 24-7 streaming video news channel CBSN at cbsnews.com/live to join a panel of experts discussing student loans, credit cards, debt management, retirement and more. Hosted by Vladimir Duthiers (@vladduthierscbs), the panel included...
We Read the 15 Best Personal Finance Money and Investment Books and Summarized the Calls to Action From Each That Will Make You Rich
This is a continuously updated list of our reviews of the best personal finance and investment books. The original list of 15 is presented in order of our favorites. How do you read 15 books in 12 months? I Don’t Have Time to Read “I never have time to...
I’m Struggling to Pay Bills and Fix My Credit Score of 460
The following question has been edited into a Q&A format and some details may have been changed to keep our listener’s information anonymous. Share your support or feedback in the comments. If you have your own question, use the ASK P&B button! This...
Here is How Much Home, Car, and Debt You Can Afford on a 30, 50, and $100,000 Salary
Seventy percent of millennials (ages 21-37) believe they are not saving as much as they could. The primary culprit? They blame spending too much on dining out (we cut our food spending in half btw). Many people believe the key to all their budgeting and debt woes is...
When should I use a 401k loan to pay my bills and debt? Quick Hint: Never!
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I want to buy my girlfriend a $10,000 engagement ring but I’m already $15,000 in debt
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How Can I Start Living a Healthier Financial Life?
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