Financial Education for Colorado Educators (and those they love). Absolutely Free.
Many school districts have a salary schedule for teachers where your pay increases based on a combination of the number of years you have taught in the district ("steps") and the educational level you attain ("lanes"). While steps are automatic (well, except for the occasional bad budget year where steps are frozen), lanes are dependent … Continue reading Salary Schedule Lanes: Your Million Dollar (or two or three) Decision
In the financial literacy class I teach for educators we frequently talk about the concept of "paying yourself first." Think of "yourself" (or your future self, if you prefer) as an expense that you have to budget for and, just like you set aside money for the mortgage and the electric bill, set aside money … Continue reading Invest Half Your Raises
I've written previously how I think some financial terms we use - for example, "unexpected expenses" - perhaps do more harm than good. In that same vein, I'd like to suggest that we stop using the term "emergency savings." Instead, we should just use the term "savings." Some folks will see this as semantics, and … Continue reading We Should Stop Using the Term “Emergency Savings”
Update 6-25-24: I originally posted this in August of 2023. At that time, the Cash Management Account (CMA) at Fidelity only allowed you to put your "core position" in an FDIC-insured bank account that was paying around 2.7%. Since Fidelity's brokerage account's core position was a Money Market paying around 4.9%, that was my recommendation. … Continue reading Fidelity: One Account to Rule Them All (including checking and savings)?
When I talk with people about financial topics, either in my class or in person, they often say something along the lines of, “But it’s so complicated!” I agree that some topics can get pretty complicated, and certainly there are many things you can learn to help you optimize your finances. But I also gently … Continue reading Financial Literacy In One Sentence
“Unexpected Expenses” is a topic that frequently comes up in my classes and when talking with others about finances. This is in the context of a discussion around spending less than you make, saving and investing the rest, and letting compound interest work its magic. Pretty much invariably, several folks will say something similar to … Continue reading Most Unexpected Expenses…Aren’t
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