If we're connected on LinkedIn, you may have seen some of my recent posts promoting grants. I love grants because they are infused cash without having to be paid back. These days, there are grants out there that also have a mentorship aspect. This means when you're awarded the grant you'll have access to monetary and non-monetary resources to take your business to the next level. Now don't get the wrong idea, there's nothing wrong with loans. If you're qualified to receive lo

Dear Olga, How much emergency savings is enough? Thank you, Stressed About Money

Dear Olga: What is the difference between a Traditional IRA and a ROTH IRA?

A few months ago I wrote two posts that explored changing your dialogue with money. The first post was proclaiming yourself as a money magnet. Believing you can change your relationship with the money in your life is the first step to making that change stick. Telling yourself you are a money magnet, even if you don't believe it just yet, will set you on the path to making those changes in your life. The second post covered the actual language you use about money or when you'

I bought a fixer-upper home when I was making 6 figures but now that the commission has slowed, I ran up my credit cards. Please help!

Dear Olga, I started freelancing a few years ago and still don't understand how taxes work. HALP! Thank you, Anonymous Dear Anonymous, Taxes can be incredibly confusing and daunting especially as a creative. Admin business tasks probably make your skin crawl 😖 I promise this won't be painful 🤗 Your tax rate is 15.3% to cover Social Security and Medicare. Typically as an employee, you split this cost with your employer. Now that you're self-employed, you're considered an emp

Most of us underestimate how much money stress actually effects us. The American Psychological Association conducts a stress survey every year and money is one of the top stressors every year. The 2018 survey found that 30% of youths are stressed about their family having enough money. Knowing what causes it would be a first step to addressing any money stress in your life. Money clutter can be visible or invisible. Let's talk about visible stress first. It could be stacks of

My last post focused on fostering a better relationship with money, making it your ally instead of something you deal with because you have to. This post is going to focus on taking your relationship with money to the next level. You can't move to this step without creating a friendly relationship with money, because until that happens it's very hard to believe the possibility of creating the financial future you want for yourself. With the right intentions, it's not just a p

Most of us have beliefs that prevent us from holding onto money even when we make a large amount of it. For example: "Money is the root of all evil" or "I hate money." Sometimes we don't realize that we are keeping more money from coming to us. Think about how often you think "Do I have enough money for this? 😰" or "When I have enough money, I will... 🙄" While you aren't telling money directly to go away, you aren't calling it with a beautiful call of "Money, yes please, c

Dear Olga, What is your best advice to get out of debt? Thanks, Jack Carter Dear Jack, My first piece of advice for getting out of debt is: commit to no new debt starting today. Many people say they want to get out of debt, but continue to add new balances to the old balances carried over on their credit cards. This means you should be prepared to pay for everything upfront, in cash. If you don't have enough cash, this may be a sign that you're spending more than you make. Th

Have you experienced a financial setback recently and were so low on cash that you stopped talking to your creditors? Do you break into a cold sweat whenever you see an unknown number show up on your caller ID? The good news is you're not alone! As of 2019, Americans owe more than $1 trillion in credit card debt. On average, each family owes about $8,602 in credit card debt. If you're finally finding your way from the financial setback that caused you to stop paying your cred

When you hear the word budget, what comes to mind? Here are some common misconceptions I hear most often: Budgeting takes a lot of time Living on a budget means I can't have nice things I can't go to restaurants or on vacations when on a budget If you want to make money-smart choices, then start your budget sooner than later. It may take a little bit of time to get your budget set up the first time around, after that first month, you'll be mostly tracking and analyzing to ma

As I begin to do more podcast interviews, I realized that as they publish it will be nice to have one place to store the links. And why not share them with all of you 🤗 My first podcast interview was with the incredible Adam J. Carswell on his podcast Dream Chasers. Listen to me dip my feet into this podcast thing here: Spotify - open.spotify.com/show/0fqzz3iJS2uARrz4N6dlmN?si=EQrwkWIUSoSsqmKzRRXx8g Apple Podcasts - itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/dream-chasers/id1441685534?mt=2

Dear Olga, What are the biggest money drains on students' bank accounts and what can they do to reduce costs? Thank you, Money Scared Student Dear Money Scared Student, What an exciting time! I remember getting my first bank account when I started my first job in high school. The bank closest to my job had a student checking account option and there weren't any fees associated with my account, it seemed like a logical choice. Before opening a new bank account, make sure to as

Recently, a client asked me to help them understand their paycheck deductions. This made me think about how I learned how to read my paycheck and the truth is I learned because I'm an accountant. I've recorded so many payroll entries in my career that I take understanding payroll deductions for granted. Understanding what is being deducted from your paycheck gives you clarity about your current position, there is no vagueness or uncertainty. You know what you can expect each

Dear Olga, Should you use financing for big purchases? What are the advantages and disadvantages of financing and how can you decide what's best for your personal situation? Thank you, Tight on Cash Dear Tight on Cash, Before we discuss how to decide if it's the best decision for you, let's talk about what financing means. Financing a purchase means that you will be getting a loan to cover the large purchase. For example, you want to buy your child a new computer and instead

Dear Olga, How can you buy a home with bad credit? Or rather, should you ever buy a home with bad credit? And why or why not? Thank you, Bad Credit Dear Bad Credit, Having a low credit score can be stressful but that doesn't mean that you don't have options. Before we go into my advice, did you know that it's not always "better" to own your property versus renting? In March, I wrote a blog post about how it's sometimes more cost effective to rent, you can read the blog post h

I have written posts on budgeting, savings, and paying down debt but I have still to write about income or how to find additional income. Until today! Once you have your budget together and are able to stick to it month-to-month, your next step should be to look for additional income. Additional income streams give you more flexibility with how you spend your time and of course add more cash in your pockets! This will allow you to get out of debt and reach your savings goals

Dear Olga, How would you use an envelope style system for bill paying when you don't use cash? Thank you, Anonymous Dear Anonymous, The envelope system tends to be a favorite because it helps you visualize your goals and physically putting away money each time you get paid gives you accountability and satisfaction of watching your efforts grow. Because this system works, banks have been working on incorporating cashless envelope systems within today's banking institutions. In

This guide to graduate student loans will help you understand what is a FAFSA form as well as federal and private loan options.