Weekly Round-Up
I know it’s been awhile since we’ve done a round-up at MYC and I’m sorry about that guys! Jonathan and I are still reading all the great articles out there, we’ve both just been swamped with beginning of the year stuff. That said, there’s a lot of great things coming up in the new year.
One thing I do want to share with you guys is a new segment that I’ll be working on called Banking 101. I’m always talking about how this should be a course in high school, well I’m creating the content. I’ll be posting articles and how-to videos (yes, videos) on some of the basics of banking. Some of the material will be no-brainers for most of you who have some financial background, but for those starting out, they’ll have a place to visit where they can learn the absolute basics of banking.
Some topics I’ll be discussing will include:
- What is the difference between a checking and a savings account
- How to write a check/use a debit card
- How to fill out a deposit/withdraw/transfer form
- How to use a check register
- How to read a typical bank statement
More advanced topics within the segment will include a thorough breakdown of what is in your disclosures – your rights, the bank’s rights, etc. Because this section is specifically about banking, feel free to send Jonathan and I questions that you’d like answered or topics you’d like to see discussed in detail.
Alright, now that the updates are out of the way, let’s get into the round-up!
- J.D. @ Get Rich Slowly has a great article on replacing bad financial habits with good ones. It’s a guest post, but still very much worth the read!
- Living Almost Large has a post that I found rather thought-provoking. LAL says that regardless of socio-economic class, there will always be those who are responsible with their money, and those who are not. I agree…I don’t think status has anything to do with how responsible one is with their finances. I think it’s more the education and training they received growing up.
- No Debt Plan reminds us that we should be checking our credit reports again. Remember, you get one report from each of the credit bureaus free each year. If you haven’t done so, now’s a good time to make sure everything is in order for the new year!
- Penelope @ Pecuniarities explains why it’s not a bad idea to have “too much” protection when it comes to computer health. The best part? All of her suggestions for programs are free!
- Trent @ The Simple Dollar has a great post on what we can learn from the baby boomer’s who’ve gone bust. It’s good advice for everyone and it bears repeating. Start early, save as much as you can, diversify, and revisit your plan at least once a year!
- Trees Full of Money talks about the benefits of writing an effective goodwill letter when trying to get creditors to remove negative information from your file. I’ve never had much success with goodwill letters myself; however, TFMs is very good. Check it out and see if it works for you!
- Blue Jeans Millionaire, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite personal finance websites, has a topic on discussing financial matters in family meetings. I think it is so important that we teach our children to be financially responsible at a young age so we can help avoid disasters like 2008 in the future.
- Billionaire Woman talks about how not all humans have mastered the art of success…we tend to make excuses to ourselves for why we didn’t achieve something – not all the time, but for many of us, this is a regular occurrence. But, she’s also got some pretty interesting views on money and what it means when we earn more than our peers. Be sure to check it out!
- Frugal Dad offers his advice on where to place large student loan payments in the debt snowball repayment plan.
- Bryan @ Frugal Logic lists 24 ways you could live frugally in the extreme. Neither he nor I are actually advocating that, but I included it in the roundup because the principles of frugal living can help a lot of people improve their financial situation.
I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend, and happy reading!
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Hi Kristy. Thanks for the link to my post.
I think it’s a great idea to do a Banking 101 course. I also feel a lot of practical education is missed at High School, as you state being able to deal with finances, but I also would have liked to learn how to cook and how to touch type (both of which I had to learn later in life). Other topics could include goal setting and even a class on interpersonal skills.