Education Articles

How To Pick the Right Student Loan

College isn’t getting any cheaper. And worse, with so much competition for scholarships, funding is far from a sure thing (no matter how qualified you are). Even college-bound students who do receive funding typically discover it’s not enough to cover the cost of a degree. But don’t let this sway your decision whether you attend college. Between...

Time to Rethink Your Savings Strategy

If you’re like many Americans, chances are you put saving on your back burner the past couple years. The personal savings rate, which measures the percentage of your disposable income that you save, has historically averaged 8.45% from 1959 until now. For obvious reasons, that rate soared to 33% during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020...

5 Ways It Pays to Have Your Own Insurance Agent

There are seemingly endless ways today to achieve instant gratification with a few mouse clicks. Shopping has become so streamlined that you hardly need to leave the house anymore. With so many e-commerce stores offering free shipping and next-day delivery, the shopping and buying process has become ridiculously easy. How about insurance? Surely...

Is a Personal Loan Right for Me?

Personal loan . It’s such a general term that can theoretically be interpreted many different ways. For instance, back in the day, people would simply write “IOU” on a piece of scratch paper, a veritable handshake promise that you’ll eventually pay your buddy the 20 bucks you borrowed. A college student living on ramen noodles may get a small...

Tricks to Selling Your Home Quickly

Are you on the fence deciding whether to sell your home? Depending on your station in life, it's still a pretty good time to sell. The market has cooled somewhat for sellers, but housing inventory remains historically low, which in turn has kept prices high. Before diving in, though, make sure your financial home is sound. After you sell your...

Is My Insurance Enough When Disaster Strikes?

The Pacific Northwest has its share of natural disasters. Because of their unpredictable nature, they should serve as a good reminder to be prepared. If you feel like you’re not ready for the next big one, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has a detailed guide for improving personal preparedness at  Ready.gov . When natural disaster...

Hitting the Reset Button in Spring

If you’re like many people, spring cleaning just feels good. It gives us a sense of purpose—even in normal times. Organizing and cleaning gets you moving, makes you feel more productive. You get to open all the windows and blinds to let fresh air and sunshine in, and follow that natural light outside. Decluttering your home, inside and out, also...

What Does Value Mean When It Comes to Banking?

Value means something a little bit different to all of us. Ultimately, though, value comes down to a feeling—a feeling that you are getting more than you expected. Financial institutions claim to hold the key to value. Some will tout a rate or dangle a special introductory offer to express value. But to many of us, these deals are superficial an...

The Financial Mistakes of Our 20s and 30s

Early in our careers, we tend to focus on the here and now. It's an understandable impulse. Why worry about the unknown? And how would you prepare for something so far off? But the thing about the future is, it has a habit of sneaking up on us. We may not have a crystal ball, but that doesn’t mean we can’t prepare for what’s to come—and the soon...

Couples' Therapy: Investing Together

You like to take risks when investing. Your partner would rather play it safe. So where do you go from here? Many couples grapple with this dilemma. While it might seem like a good compromise to split your funds and invest as you each see fit, that likely won’t bring peace—or wealth—into your relationship. In a marriage, for one thing, whether...