Living Greater

According to a 2017 survey from Varo Money, 74 percent of Americans say they often fail to budget properly for the holidays. And so many end up racking up holiday debt, particularly on credit cards.
 
The problem is that debt on credit cards tends to linger past the holiday season. According to a 2018 Magnify Money survey, 49 percent of holiday shoppers said it would take five months or longer to pay the season’s debt off their credit cards. That means those shoppers were going to paying off their 2018 holiday debt well into May of 2019.
 
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Here are tips to help manage holiday expenses:

Heating, air conditioning, and water heating account for more than 74 percent of the energy consumed per household nationally and for 60 percent of the household energy dollars spent, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In fact, each household in the U.S. spends about $1,856 per year. 

Now that temperatures are cooling down in Nevada, the following tips can help you save money on energy costs during the winter months, and even all year long in the Silver State or any place you call home!

Buying your first home, saving for retirement or even building an emergency fund can be intimidating for any of us. Add the need to pay down student debt and you may find yourself worried about the best approach. But it doesn’t have to be this way. There are some simple steps you can take to reassess your student loan and make sure you’re on the right track to reach your financial goals that much sooner.

Many of us consider our house our most valuable asset; but are we doing everything to make sure it’s fully protected? In the third part of our summer blog series, local Nevada insurance agent Brent Cordell outlines the coverage you need to keep your home protected.
 

When you hear friends and family talk about a great deal on insurance, it can be tempting to get a quote of your own. But first, you need to know the key terms, what items can impact your cost, and how to evaluate the monthly costs and savings against the amount of coverage you’ll get.
 

We need insurance for just about everything: Home or renters, car, life, business, pets and possibly a whole lot more. But without the proper research, you may not be fully protected or could be paying more than needed. Greater Nevada Insurance’s local agent walks through easy tips to review your coverage and find quick savings.

CONSIDER THIS: According to a Deloitte survey, back-to-school season has become the second biggest shopping season of the year in the United States. American households were expected to spend about $27.6 billion on clothes and supplies for the new school year in 2019.
 

One of the common threads of a mobile workforce is that many individuals who leave their job are faced with a decision about what to do with their 401(k) account.¹ You have three basic choices with the 401(k) account you’ve accrued at a previous employer.

According to consumer credit reporting agency TransUnion, personal loans were the fastest-growing loan products with more than 27 million people using them in 2016. Though they’re growing in popularity, many of us may not be as comfortable with the “ins and outs” of a personal loan as we are with a car loan or mortgage. Learn what a personal loan is, how to apply for one and smart ways to use a personal loan to improve your finances.