Tis the season for holiday spending. Retail sales typically increase during the fourth quarter of the year due to seasonal holiday shopping. If you expect to spend more during the holiday season, are you financially prepared? As holiday...

The Consumer Expenditures 2023 report was recently released from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and gives some insight into how people are spending their money in U.S. households. Consumer spending is up 5.9% from 2022 to 2023....

Big purchases can be overwhelming! While having reliable transportation may be a necessity, find ways to benefit your financial well-being by learning how to make decisions that fit your values. While public transportation is typically the most economical choice, the options may be limited in many...

In the Midwest, the summer months can bring the heat. Many people look forward to this season for a variety of reasons like possible vacations or camping, baseball season (for local kids and professional teams), and fun summer activities like gardening, swimming, and biking. The part of the season...

Financial wellness goals often include feeling financially secure in the future. While this may look different for everyone, building financial reserves may be a challenge. The reported personal savings rate as a percentage of disposable income for...

Have your groceries been eating up your budget lately? If you have noticed the increased cost of buying food, you are not alone. Some current financial wellness challenges are inflation outpacing income, the cost of expenses continuing to rise, and savings levels are lower recently. Food costs are...

A season of gifting does not have to mean taking on debt. Do you take on debt for holiday gifting? Debt comes in many forms, such as using a credit card, borrowing money from a friend, or using a buy now pay it later service. As a previous blog post...

The holiday shopping season is upon us. The upcoming Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales will be here soon. Don’t forget occasional expenses, like gifts, when creating a spending plan. When shopping for presents, comparison shopping and shopping on sale may be good practices. A concern with sale...

When trying to bring awareness to your spending habits, do cashless purchases register the same for you? The pain of paying is a term used to describe the negative emotions experienced during a monetary transaction (...

Right now is the time of year that kids are getting ready to return to the classroom. For some, this is a welcome excitement; for others, this may be an unprepared expense. Going back to school may bring some financial challenges, but you can account for them in a well-planned budget. Are there...