Hey there, let's talk about how to save up some money, shall we?
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Disclosure time, I am not a financial professional, but we at CNET did a bunch of research with our new personal finance hub that we wanna share.
Second, we're not being paid to suggest any of these apps or services.
The first thing to do is to find out what you're spending your money on.
Now you can pour over your bank and credit card statements, then you could put everything in a spreadsheet, then generate reports, that totally works.
You have full control of all the data, you can customize the heck out of your spreadsheet.
However, if that is too daunting, you still have other options What you could do instead is link your accounts to a tool that can track your finances for you.
There are plenty of options out there.
Like you need a budget also known as YNAB good budget and pocket card.
I'm going to focus on mint and Clarity money since I use them on the regular.
Both of these Services can give you a better picture of what you're spending.
Transactions can be grouped under a number of categories like home, entertainment and groceries.
[UNKNOWN] can see where you've been spending money once you link your accounts.
Then you get to see a very visual presentation of what you've spent where, when I did that, I found out that I used to spend a lot of money on take out and dining out.
Remember dining app?
That was nice.
Word of warning, this apps are not perfect.
They sometimes miscategorize things.
However, you can correct that pretty easily.
Both apps offer advice on how to save more money net can give you recommendations on credit cards, investments, and even better savings accounts.
That offer more interest.
Now note this, Mint has an advertiser disclosure, it says, we get paid by the advertisers on our site.
This compensation may affect how and where products appear on the site, and in what order.
Mint.com does not include all products.
Or all available offers.
So when you're looking at Mint's suggestions, make sure you look through all of its options, since the order could be odd.
If you're concerned with the safety of these apps, Mint is by Intuit, Intuit is behind QuickBooks and TurboTax.
Meanwhile, [UNKNOWN] is owned by Goldman Sachs.
After you got all that data you can create a budget and whatever service you using.
Let's talk about budgeting everybody's favourite thing.
It's time to figure out what needs to be paid now, what can wait and what you need to cut out entirely.
If you got student loans, good news, those are two phrases that don't usually go together Anyway, if you've received money using a federal student loan, you can out off paying without penalty until September 30, that's right no interest will be applied.
A lot of banks are being lenient if you reach out to them, dust off that phone app, you might have to do some talking, what about car payments?
That depends on your lender but many have brought in their financial hardships to family programs.
This would allow you to skip a month or more.
So you have time to get things settled.
For instance Ally Bank is letting users sign up for car payment deferral.
No additional late charges will be tacked on the deferral period will extend your contract.
Auto makers are also coming to help.
They're offering financial relief.
The list is pretty big but it includes Ford, GM, Hyundai, and Nissan.
Let's talk about credit card payment.
There's a good chance a phone call could also help.
So pull out your card and take a look at the number on the back.
American Express is working with customers individually to provide help You could try to get your interest rate lowered.
Avoid past due payments or try to lower your monthly payment.
You can do the same with Bank of America, give them a call and try to get fees and interest charges waived.
You may also be able to increase your credit card limit so you can buy what you need.
At the time I'm recording this there's a new bill in the House of Representatives.
It's called the Rent and Mortgage Cancellation Act.
The act would give valid for the duration of the public health emergency.
In the meantime you can always call up your landlord or leasing agency to work out some kind of deal.
So the.
Bottom line is, it is definitely worth it to make a call and work with your bank or credit card company or whatever credit card, to see what could be done right now.
We not done yet there is a chance you gat some recurrent bills you have no interest in paying Maybe you have signed up for a bunch of free trials for music services or video streaming resuming and you did not cancel.
Take a look at Trim or True Bill.
Once you link your account to one of this services either can show you your recurring payments.
Then it's time to decide which things are worth keeping around.
Maybe that pro-Google steady account wasn't worth it.
Do you really need that much iCloud storage?
Did you sign up for Disney Plus and never used it after the.
[UNKNOWN] What about Netflix?
Look, let's not go crazy here.
Anyway let's talk security.
Trim uses 256-bit SSL encryption on its site.
Encrypted databases and two factor authentication.
True Bill also used a 256 bit encryption.
It security section says that it hosts its services using Amazon Web Services, which is the same service used by the Department of Defense and NASA.
Both use the Plaid API, which means your banking and credit card credentials are never stored.
So that sounds safe.
Also everyone has an extension on their federal tax returns until July 15th.
That should give you a better idea on how to prioritize your money.
Hopefully with all of that, you've got a clearer picture of your finances.
That should let you find new ways to save more over time.
And long after this whole Covid thing is history, there's a lot more coverage of this at Cnet.
So definitely give that a look.
I'm and I'll see you online.
