Dear Olga, I'm graduating college and about to start my first full-time job! What advice do you have for me in terms of budgeting and investing? Thank you, Dasani Congratulations, Dasani! What an exciting time!!! I believe when you go through a transition in your life, like a new job or a new chapter altogether, it's a good time to work on new habits. That includes your budget! Two weeks ago, I had a question about creating a budget. I won't rewrite the article, but you can f

Dear Olga, I have a really bad credit record. Long story. Someone has offered me a way of clearing out my record, so that I can get credit again. It sounds like a really affordable option for me. What would you advise? Thank you, Anonymous Dear Anonymous, When money hardships impact your credit score it can be stressful and all you want is to get over this hurdle. Before you sign up for an "affordable" credit repair service check your current credit score. My favorite tool to

We've all been there: it's another week, another run to the grocery store. You have the go-to shopping list that you've used as long as you can remember. But how much of that food are you throwing away week after week? The USDA reports that about 30% of food is either spoiled or sent to landfills. According to the US Department of Labor, American households spend on average $4,363 per year on food costs. This means families are spending $1,309 (that's $109 per month or $25 pe

Dear Olga, I live far from my family. My niece and nephew are teenagers and I would like to have some financial contact with them. I was thinking of a prepaid credit card. Any other suggestions? Or tips in using it? Thank you, May Dear May, A prepaid credit card can be a good way to give your niece and nephew some financial support while maintaining some control. With prepaid credit cards, you load an amount onto the card before anything can be spent. It's helpful to consider

Are you living paycheck-to-paycheck, but not sure why? 😨

As the world moves towards being cashless, one form of payment still lingers, especially in America. Checks! In 2015, Americans wrote on average 38 checks. One of the top 5 money questions Googled in 2018 was how to write a check. While checks continue to be used and until they are completely discontinued, knowing how to write a check is an important money skill. I learned how to write a check primarily because I worked as an accountant for years, otherwise I'd probably have

Dear Olga, I am writing a business plan for my business but I have a challenge with the financial statement and how to go about it. Please, can you guide me on how to write an accurate financial statement plan? Thank you, Amina Dear Amina, Starting a new business is so exciting, congratulations! 👏👏👏 While working on my MBA degree, I wrote several business plans each semester. To help me stay on track with all of the things that were required for each business plan, I used

How can you apply the envelope system as a saving strategy in today's cashless world?

This weekend it feels like summer has finally reached us in NYC! I've been dying for some natural vitamin D so I'm stoked 😊 As the weather warms up, people are more likely to go out. Chances are you'll have more spontaneous plans come up than you would in the winter. Just like impulse shopping, spontaneous plans can throw you off track for the week or the month. Summer FOMO is dangerous for your budget because most often it involves spontaneous spending. Maybe it's a last mi

Dear Olga, Can you give me tips to start planning for retirement when my full time job does not provide me with a retirement plan? Thank you, FBR Dear FBR, I recently explored how many employers provide 401k plans in a blog post and about only 56% of employers actually provide a 401k account as a benefit for their employees. I'm glad you asked this question, because you're not alone. For those folks who don't have a 401k plan provided by an employer or you're a freelancer, th

When it was time to prepare for college, I had my eyes set on Marymount Manhattan College. As a private, liberal arts college in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, it wasn’t going to come with a cheap tuition tab. My parents didn’t have enough knowledge or understanding of the college system in America, let alone think about college savings! By the time I was ready to apply to colleges, there wasn’t much to lean on and my mom was very honest about the kind of support I could e

Dear Olga, I have been working as a Developer (entry level) for 1.5 years. I used all of my money so far to pay off student loans from a different country. I want to go to a good business school in1.5 years. How can I save up enough to fund my education? I’m afraid of accumulating another student loan but I want to dream big. Please share your thoughts on this. Thank you, Pink Panther Dear Pink Panther, I can relate to wanting to keep your student loans down and staying out o

With student debt in the US up to a staggering $1.6 trillion, it's important to understand some of the basics.

Dear Olga, I've been "planning a wedding" for some time now. The truth is I'm building a freelance business and my fiancé doesn't make a whole lot of money and we aren't saving anything, and it's been about ten months now. There's still no ring and lots of pressure for a wedding. Please help! EV Dear EV, Wedding planning can be extremely stressful, there are so many expectations to manage. It's a special day that you want to remember forever, naturally your families will begi

Dear Olga, I don't have the best credit, but I'd like to start a nonprofit. How should I go about this? Thank you, WantToHelp Dear WantToHelp, Having credit score issues is never fun and if you're interesting in improving your credit score, check out my "Dear Olga" post from last week with tips how to improve your credit score. The good news from the research I've done, I don't see anything that says your credit score will impact your ability to start a nonprofit! Basic requi

We've all seen the generic blanket advice, laid out like a cookie cutout to be read by countless eyes. Usually told very matter of fact, as something you should have known. "By the age of 30, you should have an entire year of salary put away in savings." Fidelity has a nice summary of this what-you-"should"-be-saving advice: Personally, this is the first time I heard this advice. Considering I'm hearing it a week before my 30th birthday is not very reassuring! 😅 I believe we

Dear Olga, When my husband separated from the military we suffered from eviction and a car reposition. How can we fix our credit so we can live and rent in a more suitable environment. Thank you BadCreditBarbie Dear BadCreditBarbie, It sounds like you've had some difficult events hit you all at once in a short span of time. It's never easy to go through one difficult situation, let alone several situations at once. To move forward from any situation, it's important to underst

This week I had money conversations with several college students and the top question asked has been: "When should I start budgeting?". TL;DR answer is: if you have an income and don't use a budget, you should start today. Many folks don't budget their money because they think "I don't spend much, I can keep track of it all in my mind." But can you remember every monthly subscription and absolutely every charge each month? 🤔 Another popular reason for not budgeting is "I do

Dear Olga, I am trying to get out of debt asap. I am looking at getting a part time job to supplement my income. If it rains we don't work. We have been slow at work so I am not earning enough to pay extra on anything at the moment. Thanks for any advice, Anna Dear Anna, I have several suggestions to point you in the right direction. While you're looking for a part-time job, focus on making the most of your situation as it stands right now. My first suggestion is review your

Most people I speak with aren't thrilled to start our money talks. Some people feel anxious and stressed because that is what they are used to feeling when it comes to money. They want things to change but they also acknowledge that this change isn't going to be easy or occur overnight. It can be a reluctance to downgrade their lifestyle or fear of facing the consequences of their mistakes from their past. Everyone has their own reasons for avoiding their finances. Knowing yo