There are some great basic ideas in here.
Steve
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If you follow the news, you’ve probably read a lot about the state of American finances. Between the 1% getting richer, the cost of college rising over 500% in the past 30 years, and even the tooth fairy leaving more under the pillow, it can feel like everyone must be swimming in cash.
But according to the U.S. Financial Diaries, that isn’t the case. The Diaries—a research project conducted by New York University’s Financial Access Initiative, the Center for Financial Services Innovation and consulting firm Bankable Frontier Associates—tracks low and moderate-income families over the course of a year to get a detailed picture of how they handle their money. The families profiled in the Diaries—from the Bangladeshi immigrants whose impressive education credentials don’t translate to the U.S. to the dual-income foster parents living in Mississippi—are doing the best they can, but there are lessons we can all learn from them about financial basics we could be doing better.
In reading about their experiences, you’ll not only appreciate all you do have but glean tips for ways you could improve your own financial well-being. Read on to find out which steps to financial security these Americans aren’t taking—and many of us may not be, either.
Create (and Stick to) a Budget