Healthcare flexible spending accounts (FSAs) are great ways to avoid income tax on money you use for medical expenses. The tax isn't just deferred – you never pay tax on the money if you use it for qualified expenses. What happens to those accounts when you leave your job? There are...

Half the battle of paying bills on time, being reimbursed for expenses, and keeping financial tools like insurance up-to-date is finding the right document when you need it! And, one of the reasons it's hard to find the right document is that many of us keep too many documents. Everyone needs to...

Now that school's almost out, do you have plans for child care? The cost of child care during the summer can be quite the budget-buster! However, you may be able to cut the costs if you can use the Child and Dependent Care Credit. If you're sending them to summer camp, did you know that the money...

It's tax time! I know it's only December and you'd rather do anything but think about filing your income taxes which aren't due until April 15th 2016, but I am urging you to start preparing now and file as early as humanly possible. There are lots of reasons to begin your income taxes before the...

Saving money can be magical. Start small, contribute regularly, and through compounding returns amazing things happen! Compounding returns is a fancy way of saying that money in savings and investment accounts earns MORE money for you – it works for you. In a savings account, you earn interest. In...

Dear Karen, Thank you so much for the thoughtful information! I've read through it, and now it's marinating in my brain. I like the idea of "buckets," and I appreciate you breaking things into smaller chunks. (You must have heard stories of me and my "financial fatigue.")...

I'm so excited: it's America Saves Week!  One of my favorite weeks of the year. We'll have blog posts each day of the week to celebrate. We're kicking things off with a great article from the national America Saves office -- a partner of Cooperative Extension....

As some of you know, my husband and I recently got married last May. One of the next steps we would like to do together as a married couple is to purchase a house. I think one of the quintessential American dreams is that of owning your own home. It gives a sense of accomplishment as well knowing...

Recently identity theft has been in the news frequently. First, it seemed like one store's credit card database after another were breached. Now, government offices like the IRS online transcript service and the Office of Personnel Management's personnel files have been hacked! I feel like it is...

Interest rates on loans vary tremendously. For example, the benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage loan rate is 4.01%, according to Bankrate's recent survey of large lenders. In contrast, a vehicle title loan's annual percentage rate is often over 200%! What is a title loan? Auto...

The Financial Fat Cat is back with a new savings tips! This summer the Consumer Economics team wanted to be in the GoBankingRates #MoneyMinute Challenge again! With our great...

To rent or buy, that is the question! After being a renter for the last eight years of my life, I like the benefits of being a renter. I'm not tied down to my home and can move anywhere in the country. If something is broken, my property owner fixes it and I don't have to shovel snow or water the...

Whew! What a journey we've been on together with the Sasha Learns: How to Buy a House series! This month we're going to cover the closing process. If you've been working with awesome "

When the topic of credit comes up in one of my classes, people tend to have lots of questions about it. However, I am always shocked on the amount of people who don't check their credit on a regular basis. Below are some great reasons on why you should check your credit report! Check Your...

Recently a friend asked me, "Could she pay back her student loan more quickly and avoid some of the interest charges?" This is a great question! The answer is yes; most federal and private loans allow people to pre-pay their loans without penalty. Illinois students who borrow money for their...

As the Sasha Learns: How to Buy a House series comes to an end – the final step in the first time home buying process is moving in! When I first moved to Illinois I went through the moving process with my

I believe in the importance of financial education; I am a financial educator. I believe with good information people can avoid many costly errors and utilize their money to reach their dreams and goals. But it's not enough! And, as I talked to people during Money Smart Week I realized that it may...

March is a big part of a financial time of the year. For those sports fans, especially of college basketball, the all-important "bracket" is the subject of many studies, guessing and possible financial "investing". It can be an exciting or agonizing time as favorite teams are defeated, and a "...