Top Ten Personal Finance Mistakes

It used to be that credit scores influenced whether or not you could get a home or car loan. Now, they influence whether or not you can get insurance, interest rates on home and car loans, or even whether or not you can cash checks at certain establishments. There are lots of ways to improve your credit score. But you have to start by respecting the fact that your credit score really matters.

We know it can be hard to just make ends meet, much less save a lot. But, it is important psychologically and economically to know you could financially survive a few months if something catastrophic happened, such as losing your job, getting seriously ill, or having your home destroyed. Try to build a three month emergency fund. Where do you get the money for this? Look at your budget, cut expenses on something unneeded (did you read David Shoup’s personal story on not buying soda? Consider this or something like it, such as coffee, lunch, etc. Everyday take the money you would have spent on these items and put it into an emergency fund.