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Starting a new routine in any area of life can be challenging. Be it changes to your finances, exercise habits, health or any other type of new routine, one of the best ways that you can increase your chances of success is to make it part of your existing daily routine. Making small changes to something you’re already doing drastically increases your chances to stick with any new habit. Here, we’ll take a look at some ways that you can incorporate finances into your daily routine.

Setting yourself up for success

If you are planning or have already set a goal or resolution to improve your finances, Mint can help. Mint makes keeping track of your finances feel less like torture and more like a natural part of your day. Instead of feeling like it’s just “one more thing” that you have to do each day, you can handle your finances in the background of many moments. This makes it much more likely that you will continue on the right path.

Constantly making progress

The hardest thing about making progress is constantly making progress. It’s really difficult to stay in the same place. So if you’re not always moving forward, you may find yourself moving backwards. All you have to do is keep up the pace — and fortunately, Mint makes that easy to do.

One thing that you have to watch out for is making one mistake and then completely giving up on your new financial goal. It’s unrealistic to think that you will never slip up even once — so if you set the mentality of perfect or nothing, you’re more likely than not to end up with nothing. Instead, remember that the road to financial health is a marathon, not a sprint. If you’re over budget one month, don’t give up — instead review what went wrong and strive to improve next month.

Keep track of your spending

Probably the most important thing that you can do to set yourself up for good financial health is to keep track of your spending. This means not only your big ticket items like rent, mortgage, utilities and other loan payments, but keeping track of EVERYTHING. There are many different ways to keep track of your spending, and each of us may prefer a different way. The important thing is to find the way that works best for you and stick with it.

You can go as low-tech as a paper spending journal where you write down each expense and then categorize it into a budget. If you prefer something more advanced and automated, Mint may be a great option. When you connect your bank accounts and credit cards to Mint, it will automatically track your purchases and categorize them for you based on the merchant. You can also set up a weekly or monthly budget and get alerts when your spending approaches or goes over your budget.

Using Mint to keep track of your spending

A good way to use Mint to incorporate your finances into your daily routine is to set up a reminder to review Mint regularly. Once or twice a week is probably a good cadence for many people, but if it’s easier, you can also just review it daily. Find something you do regularly and make checking your Mint account a part of that. This could be during your lunch break, your morning coffee or anything else that you are already regularly doing.

When you review your Mint account, there’s a few things that you’ll want to be on the lookout for:

Look for any fraudulent or unauthorized charges — if there’s a charge you don’t recognize, you’ll want to investigate where it came from
Check for any mis-categorized purchases — Mint uses the merchant where you make a purchase to assign it to a budget category. Check and make sure all of your purchases are being assigned correctly
Review your budget — Take a look at your budget and see how your spending so far is lining up. Make any adjustments that make sense.

The Bottom Line

Making any changes to your life requires mental and physical adjustments. Changing your finances is no exception, and the best way to make a change is to incorporate checking on your finances into something you’re already doing as part of your daily routine. Mint can be a great tool to help you keep track of your finances and stick to your budget. And remember, no matter where your day takes you, it’s always time to Mint.

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Credit card debt is the worst, am I right? And the really nasty part is, your credit card companies are counting on you falling behind on your payments. That’s how they really make their money.

Sure, it’s awfully handy to swipe that plastic whenever you want something. But before you know it, you’ve got an outstanding balance you can’t pay off that month. It sticks around month after month, like a black cloud looming over your head.

Then your credit card companies get to charge you stiff interest rates on your unpaid balance.

Had enough of this? Consider fighting back by putting technology to work for you. Check out Bright, an app that’s designed to help you pay down your credit card debt.

It uses artificial intelligence to analyze your income and spending, and then it pays down your credit cards for you in the smartest, most strategic way possible.

Best of all? The whole thing is automated, so Bright helps you pay off your credit cards without you thinking about it or worrying about it.

A Personalized Plan for You

The app, available for iOS or Android, offers a 10-day free trial. So you can see for yourself how it works.

Once you sign up, Bright uses an artificial-intelligence system called MoneyScience to help you manage your money and your debt. It studies your bank account and your credit card accounts to come up with a personalized plan for how you’ll get out of debt.

Bright takes a look at:

Your outstanding balances
What minimum payments you have due
What interest rates each card is charging you
What you can afford to pay each month

Using 34 different algorithms, the app uses this data to calculate payments that get you debt-free faster, based on what you can afford.

Every two or three days, it withdraws a small sum of money from your bank account and puts it in your Bright account. We’re talking maybe $5 or $10 at a time. The app uses those funds to make your monthly credit card payments for you.

You’re Still in Control

Although Bright will automate your credit card payments, it’s not like it’s some runaway computer program that you can’t control.

If you’re suddenly in need of more cash to cover bills, you can move funds from your Bright account back to your bank account whenever you want.

You can also put a limit on how much money Bright can withdraw from your bank account for credit card payments.

As Bright’s powerful artificial intelligence engine learns more about your income and spending habits, it’ll adjust how much it withdraws per week.

What’s It Cost?

Bright costs $6.99 per month if you sign up for an annual plan. The powerful tool can earn you that money back with what it’ll save you on credit card interest.

If you choose a six-month semi-annual plan, it costs $8.99 per month.

Or, if you prefer to go on a month-to-month basis with no commitments, the app costs $14.99 a month.

This is important: No matter which plan you choose, you still get a 10-day free trial so you can make sure that Bright is right for you.

Is This Safe?

Good question! Yes, it’s totally safe and secure.

The money in your Bright account is FDIC-insured just like a bank account.

Bright also uses bank-level encryption to keep your data and your money secure.

Do Users Like the App?

Bright Money generally gets good reviews from users, who find it convenient to automate their credit card payments. That way they don’t have to worry about it anymore, and some users have found the app’s impact to be profound.

The average user pays off $700 in credit card debt in a matter of months, the company says.

The Bright Money app is rated 4.6 out of 5 in Apple’s App Store from 3,800 users’ rankings. It’s also rated a 4.6 in the Google Play Store.

If you need customer support, you can email the company, or you can call on weekdays. You can also reach a real human 24/7 via chat.

The Bottom Line

Bright has a couple more offerings. You can use the app to save up a rainy day fund, or improve your credit score by taking out a small line of credit through Bright’s credit builder system.

However, credit card debt is still the app’s main focus.

This is an innovative money management app, and it’s a powerful tool for fighting credit card debt.

You can always change your mind after the 10-day free trial. It only takes a few minutes to sign up.

Mike Brassfield ([email protected]) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. He knows a lot about credit card debt from personal experience.

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Source: thepennyhoarder.com

It’s a bit of a cliche to say that all you need to do to become a millionaire is cut out your daily latte and unused gym memberships, invest it in the stock market and sit back for 30 years. Saving for retirement, like most things in life, takes hard work and discipline. But there are two important nuggets of truth in that old cliché. It’s usually the simple changes to your habits that are the most long lasting, and compound interest is an amazing tool.

So in honor of National Coffee Day, let’s take a look at how brewing coffee at home might help you get closer to your million dollar savings goal.

How does buying coffee tie into your spending for joy?

The first thing to ask yourself is how much joy does coffee bring to your life. Then you can give some thought to what it is about coffee that you enjoy. Is it the energy from the caffeine? A specific flavor or experience? The act of being social with others? That will help you decide

If you like to have the caffeine but you don’t need a fancy cup of coffee to bring joy to your day, consider brewing it at home or cutting it out of your life
If it’s medium, maybe you can find ways to balance how you treat yourself vs. how frequently you pick up a latte. You could cut the habit back to twice a week – perhaps reward yourself on Mondays for kicking off the week and on Fridays for closing it!
If coffee brings you a lot of joy, maybe it’s better to cut back on other things. After all, the whole point of a budget is to save money on things you don’t find important so you still have money left to spend on the things that are important to you.

Mint has worksheets that allow you to compare your spending in various categories to the level of joy you feel you got from that spending. That can help you decide if your budget is calibrated towards the things that bring you the most overall happiness.

How to turn your daily cup of coffee into micro investments

Could you turn your coffee habit into a savings habit? Auto-invest debit cards and micro investing might help you get the best of both worlds. Micro investing allows you to invest in super small increments by buying fractions of shares.  This form of investing helps to maximize your money’s growth potential, so rather than your money sitting in a bank account with no return to lose value over time, micro investing can help give your money a chance to increase with inflation and retain or grow in value. Recently, micro-investing apps like Acorns have been growing in popularity by allowing users to easily invest and save starting with their spare change.

One feature of Acorns is the ability to round up your purchases to the next whole dollar and invest the difference. When you sign up to the Acorns Round-Ups® feature, your spare change gets automatically invested into a diversified, ETF portfolio. This can be a great way to invest a small amount on a consistent basis and help build good financial habits. Acorns also gives additional bonus investments when you shop with one of their brand partners, including Bulletproof coffee, Peet’s and Coffee Bean, so you can save and invest more. Sign up for Acorns here to get a $10 bonus investment when you start.

How much could you get from investing your coffee money?

So, what does the actual math look like of compounding your coffee money in the stock market until you retire? While there are a lot of different variables involved, here are two examples.

Example 1: Ditching your fancy latte

$4 daily coffee — replacing it with nothing (drink water instead)
20 coffees per month
8% average annual return on investment

After 40 years, your coffee money has turned into $248,694.26! Not quite enough to make you a millionaire, but you’re well on your way.

Example 2: Rounding up

30 debit card transactions per month
Average of 50 cents of roundup per transaction, invested.
8% average annual return on investment

After 40 years, rounding up all of your transactions each month has netted you $46,630.17. Not bad for your spare change that you probably didn’t even miss.

While neither of these scenarios are likely to solve all of your retirement needs, that’s not what their intent is. Instead, plans like this allow you to be more focused on where your money goes and where you want it to go.

The Bottom Line

Coffee is something that many people drink on a daily basis and there are a large variety of different ways (and costs) to drink your coffee. Even if you don’t drink coffee, you may have other similar habits in your life — tea, soda, a daily afternoon snack or regular lunches out. None of these things are necessarily bad — instead, you just want to make sure that your spending is matching up with your overall life priorities. Using an app like Mint can help you regularly review your spending and make sure it’s helping you get where you want to go.

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Today, we’re excited to introduce our #TimeToMint campaign, a reminder that wherever you are, whenever you want, for whatever you need — anytime can be a time to Mint. Taking a moment to Mint before making financial decisions is an opportunity to make progress toward any goal, whether it’s to stay on budget, to save for a big purchase, or to make strides in paying off debt.

We know goals may change, life gets messy, windfalls appear, and your feelings about your finances may move around from week to week. No matter what life throws your way, we’re there for you through your biggest life moments, daily realities, and everything in between.

Seeing Minters achieve their goals is the greatest reward and we can’t wait to see what you will do next!

What are your tips and tricks for staying motivated? How do you use the Mint app to accomplish your goals – big AND small? We want to hear! Share with us here and on Twitter and Instagram.

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You may have heard that in November 2021, inflation reached the highest rate in 30 years, but what does that mean, and how does it impact you? Let’s start with the basics.

Inflation is an economic phenomenon where the value of goods and services in an economy increases over time. Have you ever heard someone talking about how, back in the ’60s, you could get a Coke for a nickel? The reason why a soda now costs $2 is because of inflation—the relative value of money has gone down compared to the price of goods.

In general, there are two main types of inflation that economists care about. In this post, we’ll explain those two causes, explain factors that influence inflation, explore ways experts suggest we counteract inflation, and what you can do about it. But first, we’ll dive into the current causes of inflation and how they’re impacting your current buying power.

4 Main Causes of Inflation in Our Current Economy

In the last few months, you may have noticed that prices have been rising on everything from grocery items to gas, with consumer prices up 6.8% compared to this time last year. That’s the power of inflation. But what’s currently causing inflation and this undesirable strain on your wallet?

With respect to the current economy, there are a few causes of inflation:

1. Increase in the Money Supply:

An increase in the money supply is meant to help stimulate the economy by helping to put more money in the hands of consumers. While this might sound like a positive shift, it can actually have negative influences on the economy, like contributing to inflation.

The Federal Reserve has printed trillions of dollars over the last two years, which has contributed to the devaluation of U.S. currency and the high inflation rate we’re currently experiencing—and is being speculated to continue.

Not only that, but the money supply has increased faster than the rate of production, which contributes to shortages. And, with more money in circulation, consumers have more to spend—which in turn is spurring greater consumer demand.

However, with demand outpacing production, there are many shortages across the country.

2. Supply Chain Disruption:

Whether you’re in the grocery store or waiting for something to ship from overseas, you’ve likely been having a hard time getting ahold of certain goods in recent months. There are a few factors that are playing into this current issue.

First, during the height of the pandemic, many companies decreased output because consumers weren’t spending. However, they are now and companies have been trying to play catch up.

Pair that with the shortages in an all-around shortage of supplies to make certain goods, and it’s become a compounding issue.

And we haven’t even gotten to the traffic jams at the various ports throughout the country that have led to a massive amount of goods being stuck for long periods of time, sometimes months. With goods stuck at these ports and unable to be unloaded, it means that many shelves will continue to sit empty.

3. Overnment-Sponsored Unemployment:

In response to the spike in job losses we saw in 2020, there were increases and expansions to existing unemployment programs both on the state and federal level. While this may have helped get many people back on their feet, with many people unwilling to go back to work for previous wages—combined with concerns over health and safety—we’re now seeing long-term impacts that are affecting the current inflation.

The gist of the issue is that government-sponsored unemployment benefits pay workers not to work, which causes a shortage of workers. Ultimately, this leads to businesses having to raise wages above the unemployment benefits.

As such, businesses are having to pivot and restructure their approach to compensation and employment. While some businesses will be able to adapt to the demand for higher wages in order to ensure they have the staff they need to support their operations, many small businesses will not.

4. Poor Government Policies:

Bad government policies can impact inflation—most specific to our current circumstances are those regarding fossil fuels. If you have a car, you’ve likely seen gas prices rising over the last year.

While these policies need to be addressed, this isn’t a quick fix. U.S. oil production and refining have been down this year due to several causes including Hurricane Ida, which impacted oil supply. Pair that with oil-exporting countries not providing enough, and there are supply constraints on both sides of the equation.

With supply constraints and the current increase in demand for gasoline, prices don’t look to be coming back down in the near future.

Now that we have a better idea of what factors are contributing to inflation most recently, let’s take a look at inflation causes through a more generalized lens.

What Are the General Causes of Inflation?

It’s important to take the time to dive deeper into inflation as a whole so you can better understand how and why inflation occurs and how that plays into the economic impact consumers experience.

There are two broad, general causes of inflation. Each is also its own type of inflation and requires its own unique response from policymakers. The two main causes of inflation are:

Demand-pull inflation: Demand-pull inflation occurs in a strong economy. Incomes are increasing, people are being paid more, more people are at work, and they are demanding more goods and services. This decreases the total number of goods and services available—more people can afford the limited supply of existing goods and services. This, in turn, raises prices. In general, some demand-pull inflation is a sign of a functioning economy, as people are working and earning enough money to demand everything that’s produced.
Cost-push inflation: Cost-push inflation is caused by an increase in the cost of goods due to causes on the supply end. For example, if the costs of raw materials go up significantly, and businesses cannot keep up production of manufactured goods, this causes the manufactured goods sold at the market to be more expensive. Natural disasters, pandemics, and rising oil prices may all result in cost-push inflation, for example. Many different economic conditions can result in cost-push inflation, and it’s something policymakers may worry about, as cost-push inflation can be difficult to rein in.

We’ll go into more detail below about the typical causes of cost-push and demand-pull inflation. For more about inflation, check out the definition of inflation and our free inflation calculator here.

Causes of Demand-Pull Inflation

Demand-pull inflation happens whenever there’s an increase in the amount of goods and services that people want to purchase. Some of the most common causes of demand-pull inflation include:

Economic growth: As economies grow, and people have more money, they feel more confident in their ability to buy goods and services. This causes the costs of goods and services to increase, as a greater number of people can now afford a larger amount of scarce products.

The expectation of inflation: Sometimes, if enough people, especially large companies, expect inflation to come, they increase their prices in anticipation of coming inflation. This expectation itself then causes its own inflation.

Government spending: Some people believe that excessive government spending may cause inflation. For example, enhanced social benefits programs that supply people with the money they need to purchase essential goods they need to live may slightly increase consumer purchasing power. Additionally, some monetary policies, like printing more money to fund spending, may also contribute to inflation.

Increased demand for exports: When the demand for exports increases, this creates a complicated situation where the currencies involved in the exchange may both experience some inflation.

Causes of Cost-Push Inflation

Cost-push inflation occurs whenever the supply end of the production chain experiences cost increases. That includes situations like:

Raw material costs: Sometimes, the price for raw materials increases. For example, there may be a shortage of a certain type of metal that a computer manufacturer needs to produce computer chips. This will increase the cost of the consumer item, the computer, as the company will likely have to spend more money to obtain the metal they need. Increased prices for oil are another common example—when gas is more expensive, companies have to pay more to ship their products around, so they raise their prices.

Labor costs increase: If the price of labor goes up, the cost of the goods the labor is used to produce is likely to go up as well. For example, if workers are being underpaid, goods and services may have artificially low prices. Then, if workers organize for a fair or living wage, and the cost of labor goes up, goods and services may begin to cost more than the artificially suppressed price, causing inflation.
Unforeseen production obstacles: The goods and services we buy often have parts from all over the world, and require massive amounts of travel to arrive at our local stores. If there’s a drought in a country that supplies a certain crop to an American manufacturer, or a hurricane near an important port, or a pandemic that makes it dangerous for workers to labor in close proximity to each other, companies may face steep increases in the cost of production.

In addition to these two broad types of inflation, there are also many factors that can influence inflation. We’ll go over those next.

Factors That Can Influence Inflation

When policymakers and other experts are concerned about inflation, the following are some of the most common factors that they monitor:

Cost of production

If the cost of production increases, it’s likely that companies will also increase the cost of goods and services. As noted above, this is one of the causes of cost-push inflation.

Prices of goods

When the prices of goods go up (whether because of cost-push or demand-pull inflation), this is a sign that general inflation across the economy may be looming.

Demand for goods

If the demand for goods is increasing—for example, because there is low unemployment—it’s likely that the cost for goods will increase too, at least before production can catch up. That may spur some inflation.

Skilled labor availability

The availability of skilled labor is another potential cause of inflation. If labor necessary to produce certain products is scarce, then it’s likely the cost of those products will increase.

New technology

New technologies often cause disruptions to sectors of the economy. Depending on the way this goes, it may increase demand for certain products, may increase supply, or may increase costs somewhere along the supply chain. All of these factors can affect inflation.

Current money supply

The amount of money currently in circulation can also have an effect on the state of inflation. When there is more money in the economy, it may make the relative value of a unit of currency (like $1) go down. This is why some economists believe that printing more money to pay for government spending could result in inflation.

Counteracting the Effects of Inflation

A little bit of inflation is normal in most economies, but rapid inflation can be detrimental to society, as people can no longer afford many of the goods and services that they rely on. This leads many economists and policy analysts to wonder what inflation’s causes are, and how its adverse effects can be stopped.

The ways that governments can counteract the effects of inflation vary depending on the type of inflation that’s occurring, and the factors that are causing it. Economists are also not in agreement about the best ways to approach inflation. It’s an area that still needs a lot more study.

That’s not particularly helpful when you’re facing high rates of inflation in the present moment. However, that doesn’t mean you’re a sitting duck completely at the mercy of the economy.

As an individual, there are steps you can take to ensure that your money isn’t being adversely affected by inflation:

Invest when you can. Money sitting in a savings account is, because of inflation, slowly losing purchasing power. If you start investing in the stock market, bonds, or other high-yield options, you can offset the effects of inflation (while also incurring other risks). Investing in property, like a home, can also be an effective way to offset inflation, as property often appreciates in value over time.

Ask for a raise. If you haven’t received a raise in months or years, it’s possible that your real rate of pay has decreased. That’s because, as inflation goes up, your monthly paycheck may not go as far. Working for and asking for raises to meet inflation is one way you can offset its effects.
Organize your workplace. If you and your coworkers have not received raises, it may be time to think about workplace organizing. By banding together with your coworkers and committing to deny your labor until your wages are increased, you can secure a higher wage and offset the effects of inflation.

According to the Joint Economic Committee, prices are increasing at a faster pace right now than they have in decades, which is increasing concerns over inflation. While there’s no real emergency, now’s as good a time as any to take proactive measures.

Plan for the Future with Mint

If you’re curious how your income, debts, investment tracking, and more are stacking up against inflation, there’s one way to keep track: Mint. The Mint app lets you plan for your future by aggregating all your different financial info into one convenient place. Sign up now and download the app for free today and get a bird’s eye view of your finances, so you can plan for whatever the future holds, inflation or not!

Sources: NPR | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | Joint Economic Committee

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Earnest money is a deposit a potential homebuyer places to signal to the seller that they have serious interest in a property. Also called a “good faith” deposit, this money benefits both the buyer and the seller during the homebuying process.

Purchasing a home involves a number of financial transactions, like saving for a down payment, securing a loan, and paying closing costs. Earnest money is another cost associated with buying a home, but it has the added role of protecting both buyers and sellers from some of the risks associated with a real estate transaction.

If the purchase falls through, earnest money helps sellers recoup time lost when the house was off the market.
If the contract terms are not met, earnest money is often refunded to the buyer.
If the purchase is successful, the earnest money deposit is applied toward the down payment for the home.

Read on to learn all about how earnest money works, how it benefits buyers and sellers, and what these deposits look like in different situations.

How Earnest Money Works

When a buyer is serious about purchasing a property, they use earnest money to signal their intent to purchase it. Although the deal is not finalized at this point, a significant earnest money deposit often prompts the seller to accept an offer, which changes the listing status to “under contract.”

While the amount of earnest money required varies, it frequently amounts to 1 to 3 percent of the total cost of the home. While earnest money is not always required, most sellers do prefer the deposit as a way of finding serious offers, and in competitive markets, a larger deposit provides the possibility of standing out in a crowded field of offers.

When a buyer places an earnest money deposit, the money goes into an escrow account, which means that a third party keeps the funds safe until an agreement is reached. After the house is closed on, the money is applied toward the down payment.

However, the real value of earnest money comes from the way it benefits both homebuyers and sellers.

When Is Earnest Money Refunded?

Earnest money deposits can be refunded in situations that don’t go according to plan, helping to protect homebuyers from several risks.

After the deposit is placed, a buyer and seller enter into a contract to begin the process of changing ownership. This contract describes several contingencies, which are conditions that have to be met before the contract is considered binding.

If any of these conditions are not met, then the contract falls through — and in several cases, the buyer will get their earnest money deposit refunded.

In the following situations, a homebuyer will have their earnest money refunded:

If the appraised value of the home is lower than the cost to purchase, the buyer can back out of the sale with their deposit.
If the home fails inspection, the buyer can leave the sale with their deposit or negotiate a lower price based on the cost of repairs.
If the buyer cannot secure a mortgage for the cost of the home, they are able to void the contract and reclaim their deposit.

That said, all of these situations are only covered if these contingencies are specifically laid out in the contract, so make sure to read carefully before signing. In any case, it’s very helpful for homebuyers to know that their deposit can be refunded in situations where the contract cannot be fulfilled by the seller.

Earnest money deposits also benefit sellers, who take on a risk when they begin contract negotiations with a buyer.

How Earnest Money Benefits Sellers

The most obvious way that earnest money benefits sellers is that it provides a clear signal about which buyers are serious. That said, there is an even more crucial way that earnest money deposits protect sellers during the course of a real estate sale.

After a potential buyer has put down an acceptable earnest money deposit, the seller will typically enter into negotiations. As a result, the listing for the home changes to “under contract,” which discourages other potential buyers.

If the buyer backs out of the sale, the seller has lost time that the house could have been shown to other buyers, and they may need to pay additional costs to re-list the house on the market. However, because the seller is given the earnest money deposit in this situation, they are able to recoup some of their losses.

While these deposits may at first seem burdensome, ultimately they are beneficial to everyone involved in the process of buying or selling a home.

Examples of Earnest Money Deposits

In order to truly understand how earnest money works, it can be helpful to imagine some of the main scenarios that occur after a deposit is placed.

After a buyer puts down an earnest money deposit and contract negotiations begin, there are three typical situations:

The buyer backs out: If the buyer backs out of the sale, the seller retains the earnest money deposit.
The contract conditions are not met: Conditions that are not met — like the home inspection contingency or the appraisal contingency — lead to a void contract, so the buyer can walk away with their earnest money.
The sale closes: If the buyer and seller agree to terms and the sale closes, the buyer’s earnest money deposit is applied toward the down payment.

As you can see, earnest money deposits are positive for both buyers and sellers. Sellers benefit because buyers are more committed and financially invested, and buyers benefit because contingencies allow them to walk away from a situation that was not as it appeared. And if the sale closes, the earnest money is applied to the cost, leaving all parties satisfied.

Purchasing a home is an important financial milestone, and understanding earnest money is a great first step in the process of buying real estate. To make sure you’re on track, fine-tune your budget before preparing to buy a home. And once you’ve settled on the right place, don’t forget to consider additional costs like home improvements or home repairs.

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Meal prep services have become increasingly more common over the past few years. During the COVID-19 pandemic when people limiting their trips out of the house, food delivery services increased drastically. In addition to straight food delivery like DoorDash or UberEats, services that delivered meal kits became more and more prevalent. While these meal prep services aren’t a great fit for everyone, they can make sense for certain budgets.

What Is a Meal Prep Service?

A meal prep service, also sometimes known as a meal kit, provides you with a certain number of meals per week. You select the number of meals and which meals you want, and they will be delivered to your door. The ingredients are measured out in exact serving sizes, usually to make one to four portions.

It is common for meal kit services to offer a certain number of “free” meals when you initially sign up. The idea is that you can try out the meal service for less of a financial commitment to see if it’s something that will work for you.

One thing to be aware of is that these free meals usually don’t all come upfront. If you sign up for a deal that offers 10 “free” meals, you won’t just get 10 meals delivered to you for no cost. Instead, it might be a discount that is equivalent to 5 free meals for the first week, then 3 for the second week and 2 for the third week.

What Are Some Popular Meal Prep Services?

There are many, many meal prep services. Each of these meal kit companies shares several characteristics, though they sometimes differ in a few key areas. Here are a few of the most common meal prep services:

Blue Apron — Blue Apron has you choose from their Signature recipes, Wellness or Vegetarian. You can also pair your recipes with their monthly wine subscription. Cost is $63 for three meals a week for two people
Freshly — With Freshly, you can choose from 4, 6, 8, 10 or 12 meals per week, with each serving one meal for one person. The cost starts as low as $8.49 per meal, plus shipping
Home Chef — With Home Chef, you can choose from a variety of different meals each week based on your preferences and dietary restrictions. Meal plans start as low as $6.99 per serving. You can also find Home Chef meal kits at select Kroger grocery stores nationwide.
HelloFresh — HelloFresh has over 27 fresh recipes each week designed by chefs and nutritionists. Prices start at $7.49 per serving and you can easily swap, skip or pause your order at any time

When Does a Meal Prep Service Make Sense?

While a meal kit or meal prep service may be more expensive than cooking your meals at home, it may make financial sense for some people. If you find you are eating most of your meals at restaurants, a meal prep service could save you a significant amount of money.

The best way to figure out if a meal prep service might make sense for you is to take a look at your current food budget. How much are you spending each week or month on food? Is that primarily spent on groceries, single meal deliveries, or restaurants? Track your spending with a tool like Mint to figure out where your money is going now.

Then you can take a look at a few different meal prep kits and their prices to see if that might make sense for your budget. Remember that many of these companies offer introductory rates so you might even be able to try a few options to find one that works for you. Another thing to remember is that some of the meals might have large enough portions that they could work for leftover lunch the next day as well, further reducing your per-meal cost.

The Bottom Line

Using a meal prep service may be more expensive than buying your own food and cooking at home. But, if your culinary skills, time, or energy don’t allow that luxury right now, using meal kits might be cheaper and healthier than ordering delivery or eating at restaurants. You may even find preparing meal kits are a good first step to more confidence in making your own meals.

Learn more about security

Saving money helps create a sense of stability and control over your finances, especially as you get older. From being able to invest in your future to spotting the spending habits that eat away at your money every month, there are only benefits to learning practical and easy ways to save your money. Keep reading for some money-saving tips that will turn you into the financially savvy person you want to be, or jump to the section that’s most helpful for you:

1. Create a Budget

The first place to start when trying to learn how to save money is to assess how much you really have and where that money is going. Think about using the 50/30/20 rule to create a budget. The 50/30/20 rule states that 50 percent of your income should go to essentials like rent and food, 20 percent should go toward savings, and 30 percent should go to personal expenses like entertainment.

2. Track Your Spending

You may be surprised about where your money is going. Keep a record of what you spend to see how small expenses take away from your monthly savings. You may not think that coffee every once in a while impacts your ability to save money, but seeing the sum of your purchases may change your mind.

3. Make a Plan

Breaking your long-term goals into smaller, more manageable milestones for the month and year can help you save better. With an understanding of how to properly save money in the short term, you can plan how much you need to be saving to set yourself up for success in the future.

4. Automatically Save Money

If you’re used to manually transferring money into your accounts, you may be forgoing potential money savings altogether. Try having a portion of your paycheck automatically deposited to a savings account to keep you contributing consistently.

5. Use the 30-Day Rule for Saving Money

When you want to make a large purchase, think about it first. Write down what it is and how much it costs, and if after 30 days you still feel it’s necessary, purchase it. A good rule of thumb is that if you have to dip into your savings to make the purchase, you should wait a little longer until you save more money.

6. Consider Accounts and Equities

You should always thoroughly research your options or talk to a professional financial advisor before making any riskier investment moves. You may want to be aware of certain accounts that gain interest on your money through equities that will help you save more money every year. While things like stocks, mutual funds, and certificates of deposit shouldn’t be your only form of savings, they may provide attractive returns on your investment over time.

7. Consider Refinancing Your Mortgage

You may find that you can save money over time by changing the rate of your mortgage. Making beneficial adjustments to your mortgage rate, you could have thousands over year over year and put more money back into your pockets every month. Remember to talk to a financial advisor before signing any major financial contracts.

8. Avoid Debt

Pay off your credit cards every month to keep your debt from piling up. If possible, avoid going into debt in the first place by spending within your limits and keeping your credit card at home. Without a large credit card bill to pay off every month, you may be able to start saving money over time for a large purchase you’ve had on your mind.

9. Build an Emergency Fund

Some experts recommend setting aside six months’ worth of living expenses in case of emergencies. Save your money to create a padding that can help you avoid going into debt if you ever lose your job or have to pay unforeseen medical expenses.

10. Create a Savings for Retirement

One of the best savings tips we can give you is to save for your retirement. Some experts recommend saving at least 15 percent of your income each year. Determine how much you’ll need and break that down by decades to make sure you’re hitting your goals over time.

11. Switch to a Cheaper Phone Plan

With the prevalence of Wi-Fi hotspots, the standard smartphone owner today only uses 4.5 gigabytes of data per month on average. Interestingly, most service providers’ cheapest data plan provides more than that. Track how much data you’re actually using and stop paying for services you don’t need, allowing you to save more money every month.

12. Time Major Purchases Around Sale Periods

Because demand fluctuates by the season for certain items, you can time your big buys to rake in the money savings. For example, October, November, and December can be a great time to buy a car because dealerships want to meet end-of-year quotas.

13. Use Coupons for Money Savings

Not just in newspapers and junk ads anymore, coupons are available on company websites and apps, making them a convenient and easy way to save money when shopping. Before you go out shopping, check your phone or computer and increase your savings.

14. Plan Your Groceries

Making a list of what food you’ll need for the week is one of the things you can do to save more money. Keep in mind what meals you can make from the ingredients, and don’t buy anything that isn’t on your list.

Meal planning is another great option that can help you save money and time while making it easier for you to eat healthy. Use Mint’s grocery budget calculator if you need help determining a reasonable budget for your trips to the store.

15. Lower Your Utility Bills

Evaluate whether or not you’re being as conservative as you can with your utilities. Some quick tips to save money on your bills include:

Insulating your windows with bubble wrap
Unplugging appliances you’re not using
Turning the faucet off when done using the sink

16. Share Entertainment

Similar to saving tips like swapping clothes, another one of the small ways to save money is asking your friends to split monthly streaming fees for subscriptions like Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, and Apple Music.

17. Cancel Your Gym Membership

Many of the exercises you do at the gym can be done at home with a bit of creativity. Some money-saving techniques for those who want to prioritize their health on a budget include:

Watching YouTube tutorials for ideas about home workouts
Going for a run in your neighborhood
Swimming laps at your community pool

18. Carpool to Work or School

One of the easiest ways to save money on commute expenses is by creating a carpool spreadsheet at work to see if anyone lives near you who you can swap rides with. If you have kids, enlisting nearby parents or friends’ parents to help lighten the burden of the school drop-off lines is a great way to save money on gas every month.

19. Buy Used

If you love money-saving deals, local thrift stores and online auction sites like eBay and Facebook Marketplace offer everything from clothes to electronics at stellar discounts. You can get slightly used high-quality items at a fraction of the cost of their newer counterparts.

20. Think Twice About Sales

While some stores are great at offering money-saving deals that help keep more dollars in your pocket, there’s no sale that’s going to cost you less than not buying the item at all. When thinking about buying something, ask yourself if you would have bought the item if it were full price, and if the answer is no, skip it.

21. Buy Generic

A great way to save more while shopping is not allowing name-brand medicines and foods to influence you. If you can’t detect any difference in quality, you don’t necessarily need to buy the name brand.

22. Use the 24-Hour Rule for Saving Money

This is similar to the 30-day rule, but designed to help with saving your money on less expensive purchases. Wait a day before buying a small item and you may find you don’t want it after all.

23. Go to the Library

Some people don’t realize that going to the library is a great way to save money if you need something to entertain you. Many offer movies and games in addition to books, as well as free events and readings for kids on a regular basis.

24. Eat In

Eating in is one of the best ways to save money every month. And fortunately for you, if cooking at home isn’t the most appetizing thing in the world, there are plenty of ways to make it fun and appealing, such as:

Cooking new recipes
Setting up a picnic
Simple meal prepping

25. Designate No-Spend Days

Challenge yourself and your family to go one day a week without buying anything, from your morning coffee to a movie ticket. You’ll learn to save better by reducing your spending and becoming more aware of how frequently you make small purchases.

26. Try Envelope Budgeting

Envelope budgeting can help you with saving money by forcing you to work with divided up cash allowances. This method makes you more aware of what you’re spending, and also ensures you don’t spend too much of your money in one area. Mint’s envelope budgeting printables are perfect for those looking to explore this incredibly useful money-saving technique.

27. Take Public Transportation

Try replacing your drive to work one day a week. You’ll be able to get other things done on the bus while saving money on gas and avoiding some wear and tear on your car.

28. Go Outside

Among the smart ways to save money is remembering that the world is your playground. With the great outdoors almost always free for people to use, there’s tons you can do to take up your time. Just think — instead of meeting your friend out for lunch next week, try making your own sandwiches and going on a nice picnic in the park.

29. Use a Budgeting App

Using an app like Mint can help you tremendously with not only saving money, but staying on track with spending goals, expenses, and budgets. This can also be an easy way to stay up to date on how you’re doing and get more familiar with your spending habits.

The key to saving money and budgeting successfully is having patience. You may not become rich overnight, but making an earnest effort to change your unconscious spending habits puts you one step closer to financial freedom. After all, patience is a virtue — and, in this instance, saving it also brings value.

Learn more about security

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Additional Resources

My family and I recently stayed in a two-bedroom apartment for the same cost as cramming into a dull corporate hotel room. I don’t have an in with the owner or know someone who knows someone. I just used a booking app.

A hotel booking app can help save you time, hassle, and money when planning your next trip. And these hotel booking apps could help you find a deal just as good as the one they found me.

Best Independent Hotel Booking Apps

Independent apps aren’t affiliated with a specific hotel brand. They aggregate options across a range of hotel chains and independent lodging to provide you with an abundance of choices and travel deals. To get the best deals, download the heavy hitters and check them all before you book.

1. Booking.com

Arguably the most popular website for reserving accommodations, Booking.com has a robust, easy-to-use app that deserves a spot on your smartphone. One of the best things about this app is the sheer number of options it offers, including accommodations in off-the-beaten-path locations around the world.

If you’re traveling to a country where you don’t speak the language, the app makes it easy to view the address of your hotel in the local language. If you need to show a taxi or rideshare driver where you’re headed, you can simply pull it up in the app and point.

Finally, the interface makes it easy to see all past, current, and future trips, and it highlights any loyalty discounts you’re eligible for at properties across the globe.

But you can book more than just hotel stays. The app searches for private vacation rentals like those listed on Airbnb and Vrbo. It also displays the hotel’s or host’s cancellation policy, noting the date range for free cancellation.

2. Hotels.com

Another major search engine in the online booking space, Hotels.com includes hundreds of thousands of properties in more than 200 countries and territories.

Hotels.com’s best perk is the free night you get for every 10 nights you book through it. But you have to use the app to book your reward night at no charge. If you use the website, it costs $5.

The app also lets you view or modify current reservations and view your reward progress toward free nights.

3. Priceline

Priceline rose to fame for its name-your-own-price feature. While it phased out that feature starting in 2016, Priceline replaced it with two new features called Pricebreakers and Express Deals.

Pricebreakers show you a price quote and the names of three hotels in your destination city, and you book without knowing which hotel you’ll land. You get a deal in exchange for flexibility.

Express Deals also involves a bit of dice-rolling. They quote you a price, the approximate location, the hotel star rating, and the hotel amenities and bed size. You also see three possible hotels on a map, one of which is the real one.

With a bit of online detective work, you can often sleuth out which hotel they’ve quoted you. But even if you can’t, the deal you get may still be worth it.

The only drawback is that there’s no free cancellation when you book through these programs.

Or you can use Priceline’s more common features, such as booking hotels, flights, rental cars, and even cruises at retail pricing. It includes exclusive deals and promotions on hotels you can’t get on the website.

Priceline also now offers a loyalty program called Priceline VIP. Once you complete two trips with Priceline, you start seeing discounts up to 50% on over 15,000 properties on their platform.

After five completed trips, you reach VIP Gold and start seeing discounts on over 30,000 properties. And at 25 completed trips, the number of discounted properties rises to 45,000.

4. Expedia

If you enjoy playing the travel rewards game and want to see just how steeply discounted a rate you can find, Expedia is the app for you. It often features exclusive app-only deals. Plus, you get double rewards points on everything you book through the app.

Like other hotel booking apps, Expedia hosts a wealth of hotel reviews from real guests to help you find the best stay.

You can also use the app to book other Expedia services, like flights, car rentals, tickets, and tours. Expedia offers mobile-only discounts of up to 30% on hotels and says you can save an additional estimated 43% when bundling a hotel with your flight.

Plus, the app alerts you about important travel information like flight updates, delays, and gate changes before it causes a problem.

Expedia also offers a convenient buy-now, pay-later service for hotel deals so you can pay at the hotel rather than upfront.

5. HotelsCombined

HotelsCombined sets itself apart from the rest in a few ways. It offers tons of pictures of potential hotels, which appeals to people who want to know exactly what they’re getting into when booking a room.

It also has a price alert feature that lets you sign up for an email notification when a room you’re interested in drops in price by 10% or more. If you can plan ahead to get the specific hotel you want, this feature can help you score a great deal.

HotelsCombined also offers a best-price guarantee. If you find a better deal elsewhere within 24 hours of booking, HotelsCombined matches it and refunds you the difference.

The app also says it can unlock “secret deals” exclusive to users. Try it to see how much it can actually save you. You can always invoke their best-price guarantee if you spot a better deal later.

6. Travelocity

The Travelocity app does everything you’d expect. You can book flights, hotels, and rental cars and bundle them for discounts. You can also browse and search activities to fill out your trip.

Beyond hotels, the app also includes private vacation rentals like you’d find on Airbnb. That helps you find the best accommodation at the lowest price regardless of the property type.

Travelocity offers free cancellation on most hotel bookings. You can even filter search results to list only hotels that let you reserve now and pay later.

Travelocity offers its own price guarantee. It not only matches the better offer but gives you a $50 coupon toward your next booking. But the window only lasts 24 hours after booking.

In addition to their price guarantee, Travelocity guarantees excellent and timely customer service. That includes 24-hour customer service through email, phone, chat, and social media channels.

Best Hotel Booking Apps for Last-Minute Deals

Most hotels have loads of unused rooms that go unused on a given night. And some apps take advantage of that by offering these vacant rooms for far less than their list price.

If you enjoy the thrill of a last-minute hotel search or need a place to stay in a strange city on the fly, these apps have you covered.

7. HotelTonight

Perhaps your Airbnb host cancels your reservation the day of your arrival or you miss your flight and the first available connection isn’t until the next day. With HotelTonight on your phone, you can book a hotel reservation for the same evening or up to seven days in advance.

HotelTonight aggregates a city’s empty hotel rooms in one place, and you can book one for up to 50% off the full price. The app’s express deals go live at noon each day, and in some cities, you could have thousands of hotel rooms to choose from across multiple price points.

The app is user-friendly and has a tiered loyalty program called HT Perks, which can net you even better rates the more loyalty credits you accrue. Even better, those loyalty points never expire.

8. One Night

If flying by the seat of your pants when you travel sounds appealing, One Night is the app for you. You can only book a reservation after noon for the same night in a select number of cities, usually at an enticing discount to sweeten the deal.

Once you book a night, you can extend your accommodations for up to seven days.

The thing that sets One Night apart from other last-minute booking apps is that when you select your hotel, the app gives you hour-by-hour suggestions for fun things to do in your destination city. If you like to travel like a local, this is the app for you.

Best Hotel Chain Apps

If you take advantage of travel loyalty programs, it’s smart to have the app of your preferred hotel on your smartphone. With these iOS and Android apps, you can skip the line, choose your room, and unlock other member perks with ease.

9. Marriott

Marriott boasts more than 6,700 hotels in 130 countries. That means Marriott group owns 1 in 15 hotel rooms in the world. So you definitely won’t be starved for choices if you book accommodations on the Marriott app.

Once you book, you can request upgrades and late checkouts right from your phone. You can also request extras for your room, like a hair dryer or extra towels.

If you frequently stay at any of Marriott’s 30 brands of hotel properties, join Marriott’s Bonvoy rewards program and keep this app on your phone. The app’s Eat Around Town feature lets you link a credit card and pay for meals directly, earning up to six Marriott points per dollar spent.

Marriott Bonvoy also keeps you posted about hotel promotions all over the world, helping you save money wherever you visit.

10. Hilton Honors

If you’re a Hilton Honors devotee, you’ll love the app feature that everyone raves about: getting to choose your exact room ahead of time.

At many hotels, you can see a map of the property and pick the room you want via the app. That’s especially popular with travelers who have a particular preference, such as a high floor with a view or distance from the elevator, or those who want to be near a specific amenity like the pool or fitness center.

The app also has a digital key feature that lets you use your smartphone to unlock the door to your room at select properties. Finally, being able to check out of your room at the end of your stay via the app means you won’t be stuck in line at the front desk during checkout.

The Hilton Honors app particularly helps you manage and optimize your Hilton rewards, finding exclusive promotions and stretching your reward points further.

11. Hyatt

Hyatt’s mobile app is called World of Hyatt after their rewards program.

Through the app, you can stream personal entertainment content through the TV in your room with Chromecast, unlock your door with your phone, and contact the hotel directly in real time through a chat function both before and during your stay. Best of all, you can skip the front desk check-in entirely.

You can also view your progress toward rewards, tap into exclusive promotions, and see any points you’ve earned with previous stays at a Hyatt property.

12. IHG

Shorthand for InterContinental Hotels Group, IHG has almost 6,000 hotels worldwide.

Its app encourages customers to book travel directly with the chain instead of using a third-party site. It does so by offering a member-exclusive rate with savings of 3% on average if you book directly.

The app also features special rewards offers and discounts and lets you view your points balance toward a free or discounted stay.

In addition to a user-friendly interface, the app has a travel tools section with neighborhood guides and maps. Finally, it offers a white noise feature in case you don’t sleep well in hotels.

Final Word

If you enjoy hunting for the best hotel deal to save money on vacation or racking up loyalty points you can trade for free nights and other perks, it pays to download the best travel apps to your smartphone.

From skipping the line at check-in to finding the lowest hotel prices to simply being able to view the property beforehand, using hotel booking apps is an easy, free way to be a savvy traveler.

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G. Brian Davis is a real estate investor, personal finance writer, and travel addict mildly obsessed with FIRE. He spends nine months of the year in Abu Dhabi, and splits the rest of the year between his hometown of Baltimore and traveling the world.

Source: moneycrashers.com

We all have our favorite games to play on our phones. If yours happens to be Bingo, we can’t blame you. It’s a classic for a reason. The only thing that could make it more fun? A shot to win cash.

That’s why we like a free iPhone or iPad app called BingoKing. Not only is it fun — it will also pay you up to $75 per win.

Win Real Money Playing Bingo on Your iPhone: How it Works

There’s a lot more to BingoKing than simply marking bingo cards as the numbers are called, though it can be that simple if you want it to be.

BingoKing makes sure you’re matched with players of similar skill levels and ranks. But you can always just play offline or play one-on-one with a friend. Everyone playing gets dealt the same card and sees the same balls, so it’s totally skills-based.

If you want to play for the chance to win money, BingoKing’s $5 buy-in is among the lowest of the Bingo apps on the Apple app store, which makes it much more accessible for newcomers looking to test the waters.

The app is easy to use, and the games are quick — usually lasting about two minutes. In head-to-head games, you can win up to $20 per game. In multiplayer mode, you can win up to $75 per game. Plus, there are daily prize pools where you could win $1,000 — or even up to $10,000.

You can cash out your winnings via PayPal or have it credited to a credit card. There are no limits on when or how much you can withdraw.

Pro Tip:

Want a shot at $1,000 from playing a few minutes of Bingo? You need to learn the core strategies of the game:

Speed: Speed and decisiveness win rounds. The faster you stamp a number on your sheet, the more points you stand to gain.
Props: Props are like power-ups that can grant you more time, multiply your points and more. Learn what each prop does and then use them strategically to keep you near the top of the pecking order.

How to Get Started

BingoKing flaunts an iOS App Store rating of 4.8 out of 5. It attracts tens of thousands of active players.

It’s free to download BingoKing from the iOS App Store to join the fun and play for the chance to win real cash.

BingoKing is only available for iOS. Cash prizes are restricted in the following states: AZ, AR, DE, FL, LA, MD, MT, NE, NM, TN and SC. Players can compete for virtual currency in states where cash games are prohibited.

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Source: thepennyhoarder.com

Setting yourself up for success

Constantly making progress

Keep track of your spending

Using Mint to keep track of your spending

The Bottom Line

A Personalized Plan for You

You’re Still in Control

What’s It Cost?

Is This Safe?

Do Users Like the App?

The Bottom Line

How does buying coffee tie into your spending for joy?

How to turn your daily cup of coffee into micro investments

How much could you get from investing your coffee money?

The Bottom Line

4 Main Causes of Inflation in Our Current Economy

1. Increase in the Money Supply:

2. Supply Chain Disruption:

3. Overnment-Sponsored Unemployment:

4. Poor Government Policies:

What Are the General Causes of Inflation?

Causes of Demand-Pull Inflation

Causes of Cost-Push Inflation

Factors That Can Influence Inflation

Cost of production

Prices of goods

Demand for goods

Skilled labor availability

New technology

Current money supply

Counteracting the Effects of Inflation

Plan for the Future with Mint

How Earnest Money Works

When Is Earnest Money Refunded?

How Earnest Money Benefits Sellers

Examples of Earnest Money Deposits

What Is a Meal Prep Service?

What Are Some Popular Meal Prep Services?

When Does a Meal Prep Service Make Sense?

The Bottom Line

1. Create a Budget

2. Track Your Spending

3. Make a Plan

4. Automatically Save Money

5. Use the 30-Day Rule for Saving Money

6. Consider Accounts and Equities

7. Consider Refinancing Your Mortgage

8. Avoid Debt

9. Build an Emergency Fund

10. Create a Savings for Retirement

11. Switch to a Cheaper Phone Plan

12. Time Major Purchases Around Sale Periods

13. Use Coupons for Money Savings

14. Plan Your Groceries

15. Lower Your Utility Bills

16. Share Entertainment

17. Cancel Your Gym Membership

18. Carpool to Work or School

19. Buy Used

20. Think Twice About Sales

21. Buy Generic

22. Use the 24-Hour Rule for Saving Money

23. Go to the Library

24. Eat In

25. Designate No-Spend Days

26. Try Envelope Budgeting

27. Take Public Transportation

28. Go Outside

29. Use a Budgeting App

Additional Resources

Best Independent Hotel Booking Apps

1. Booking.com

2. Hotels.com

3. Priceline

4. Expedia

5. HotelsCombined

6. Travelocity

Best Hotel Booking Apps for Last-Minute Deals

7. HotelTonight

8. One Night