Graduating from college is an exciting time, but it can also be daunting. With an unstable job market and gloom and doom in the media, what is a recent grad to do?  If you do have a job, that’s great; you’re one step ahead. If you don’t, I’ll present tips for finding one. This post is meant to help college graduates, both with jobs and without.

Living frugally now can be fun. However, it is not nearly as fun when you are older. Let’s face it, looking like you shop at a thrift store might be cool now but doesn’t have the same edge when you’re in your 70’s. In addition to living frugally, think about the types of things you would like to accomplish in the next five years. This gives your actions purpose so that each day your choices can propel you toward your goals.  What else can you do to build your financial foundation?

No job? Here are 3 things you can do:

1. Volunteer. Nonprofits have experienced funding cutbacks and need help. This is a great way to use your skills, meet people who might know of job leads or make yourself invaluable so they have to hire you. Either way you have more credibility proving to a potential employer that you are a motivated individual who would be an asset to their business. Here is a link to a website where you can find volunteer opportunities in your area. www.volunteermatch.org
2. Treat job hunting like having a job. Put in time working on your resume (or three resumes targeting different industries), researching companies you are interested in, networking, attending industry events, etc. 
3. Be open to a variety of opportunities. Pitch ideas for adding value to a company and essentially create your own job. Also, any job is better than no job. You have to start somewhere, so be open to where that might lead … even if it doesn’t seem promising at first.

All set up with a job? What now? 

1. Save Save Save. Develop this as a habit (use auto deposit). Time is on your side like never before; see my post on compound interest. Additionally, don’t increase your lifestyle as your salary increases. This will add to what you can save. 
2. Understand your benefits package. Many companies offer insurance (health and life), a 401(k) (possibly with a match,) and other benefits. Maybe your company will match your charitable giving or pay for additional education within your field. Understanding the tax implications of a stock options package or how your beneficiaries are assigned are all aspects of  your financial effectiveness. You want to maximize these benefits. Otherwise it is like leaving part of your salary on the table.  
3. Keep your resume up to date. This way you’ll be prepared if another opportunity presents itself or if this job doesn’t last.  

Be persistent so that you land a job. Then you can start to build your savings by developing good financial habits. Live within your means and embrace a frugal lifestyle. I’ve given you some specific action items, but I don’t want to dismiss the big picture either. Check out this Wall Street Journal Article titled “10 Things Your Commencement Speaker Won’t Tell You.”  Although, it doesn’t mention financial suggestions, I have no doubt it will help you SaveUp.

This Post was written by SaveUp’s personal finance contributing writer, Catherine B. Hawley, CFP®.

Happy Friday! It’s been a while, but we’ll be starting our Weekly Roundup posts again. Here are a few interesting posts about saving that we’ve discovered this week: 

10 Frugal Activities for Memorial Day Weekend - Check out this great list of fun things to do this weekend that won’t hurt your wallet.

Sound Advice from Unlikely Sources: The Avengers and Credit Card Debt - Didn’t think you could learn about personal finance from the Hulk? Well this article from Credit Karma shows that you can!

5 Messy Money Mistakes - This Yahoo Finance video and short article talk about 5 ways you may be spending more than you need to. Find some great tips to save some extra cash.

We hope these articles and tips help you in achieving your financial goals. Have a great long weekend!

Maybe it’s collecting vintage Michael Jackson dolls or designing elaborate costumes for your dog. Whatever it may be, chances are you have something you enjoy doing in your free time. What if you could earn money while doing something you love? Your hobby may not necessarily help you strike it rich, but it might save you some money or be a nice boost to your income.

Here are a few examples of hobbies that can help you save or even earn some money on the side.

Selling a skill

• Tutor/Teach a skill: Whether it’s solving SAT math problems, playing guitar, or shooting 3-pointers, there is something you excel in. Why not give lessons? Websites like Wyzant.com help you find students looking for private lessons. You can also check out Fiverr.com, where you can sell or buy small services for as little as $5 (some sillier than others).
• Start a blog: Have a Shakespearean way with words and something worthwhile to write about? Bloggers can earn money from ads or sponsored posts, and many even receive free products to test out and review. You can also consider freelance writing for magazines or other websites
• Build websites or graphic design: If you’ve got masterful coding or web design expertise, building websites can be a lucrative hobby. You can search for potential customers on websites like Craigslist.org.

Saving money at home

• Create your own garden: You may not have space for an organic mini-farm, but you might have the resources to plant a little herb garden in your yard or on your balcony. Use your super fresh herbs or veggies for your own cooking needs or sell them at your local farmers’ market.
• Unleash your inner master chef: Are you a foodie? Instead of trying every new, trendy (and most likely expensive) restaurant, save money by cooking at home. It’s much cheaper and almost certainly healthier. And with millions of great recipes available online at websites like Epicurious.com and  Recipegoldmine.com, the world is your oyster. Epicurious even has a mobile app that transforms your phone into a travel-size recipe book.
• Be car-savvy: It’s inevitable. Things break and need to be fixed. If you’re already interested in car maintenance and repairs, you can make minor repairs yourself and save your wallet some pain. Knowing the basics and doing proper research can also ensure that your mechanic doesn’t overcharge you for larger repairs you can’t handle on your own.

Utilizing your creative talents

• Use those photography skills: If you enjoy photography as a hobby, perhaps you’ve already invested in a fancy camera. Hone your skills and you can sell photos to stock photo websites like Jupiterimages.com and istockphoto.com. You get paid every time someone purchases one of your photos from the site. If you really do have a knack for it, consider photographing for events. You can always start with small events for friends and family.
• Take up knitting or sewing: These pastimes aren’t just for your grandma. Knitting your own winter accessories like scarves and hats can save you plenty and also enables you to create them in exactly the right color, fabric, and style to suit your taste. You can also use those sewing skills to patch up old clothing or create new Project Runway-esque concoctions from old fabric to update your wardrobe with the newest trends.
• Design your own jewelry: If you have an eye for jewelry or accessory design, websites like Etsy.com make it easy to show off and sell your unique creations. Your local flea markets are always an option as well.

Keep in mind that many of these examples hobbies take a bit of investment, so first figure out whether the equipment you need is worth the cost. If you’ve been eyeing that new DSLR camera or stainless steel barbecue grill, why not suggest it as a prize on SaveUp’s prize voting feature? If your suggestion is selected as a winner, you receive 1000 SaveUp credits and the chance to play for whatever it is you need to get your money-saving hobby started. Check it out at www.saveup.com/vote.

Sources: Image 1: LinuxLibrarian Image 2: Blvesboy Image 3: Alan Stoddard Image 4: Riverofgod

Recently President Obama came out in favor of gay marriage. Although you may not think of it as such, marriage is one of the most critical financial decisions you’ll ever make. This is in part because under the law, two people who are married are recognized as one economic unit. This made me think of the financial implications for same sex couples if gay marriage legislation is passed on a federal level.

The way it stands now the federal government, under the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), defines marriage between a man and a woman. Each state has its own legislation. Some approve gay marriage, others offer civil unions, some recognize marriages or unions granted in other states and others ban it outright. That might change.

Here are several financial benefits and responsibilities, for same sex couples, of passing gay marriage at the federal level:

• Federal jobs would be required to offer health insurance and spousal survivor benefits for pension plans. Additionally, same sex couples wouldn’t have to worry about paying income taxes on health insurance they receive through their partner. Currently, married couples do not have to do this. 
• Joint insurance policies could be purchased for home, auto and health.
• Divorce protections including community property and child support.
• Joint leases with automatic renewal rights in the event one partner dies or leaves the house or apartment.
• Inheritance of jointly-owned real and personal property though the right of survivorship (which avoids the time and expense in probate court). Additionally, there would be a spousal exemption for property tax increases upon the death of one partner who is a co-owner of the home.
• Benefits such as pensions plans, social security and medicare would be available to the spouse who didn’t directly earn the benefit.  Also, wrongful death suits would be an option for surviving partners and children. Additionally, there would be workers’ compensation benefits if a spouse dies due to a work related accident or illness as well as bereavement or sick leave to care for a parent or child. 
• Partners would receive veterans discounts on medical care, education and home loans. 
• Filing taxes jointly on a federal return would also be an option. This may or may not have an economic benefit. Currently, gay couples often pay more to file taxes because of the different treatment of their relationship between state and federal law. 
• Tax benefits would include the marital exemption upon death and marital exemption for gift tax (which is currently unlimited for married couples).   

Until gay marriage is federally recognized, there are ways to plan in order to minimize challenges for same sex couples and their families. Regardless of your sexual orientation or marital status the main thing is that you have a plan and understand what is in place so you can take steps to improve your situation.

This post was written by SaveUp’s personal finance contributing writer, Catherine B. Hawley, CFP®.

We are often bombarded with account-related mail and paperwork. Even if you opt for e-delivery, it isn’t always clear what information is being delivered. It can feel overwhelming when it’s unclear what these documents mean and how we should handle them. Today, we’ll examine an account statement (this could be a brokerage account or 401(k) etc.) and highlight the pertinent information you should look for.

Here is a list of items on your statement to make note of:

1. Balance - This is the total amount of money you have in the account on the last day that the statement covers, usually the last month or quarter; the dates will be on the statement. Compare this number to your last statement balance. This will give you the amount your account has grown (or lost) over that time period. 
2. Performance - This number is a percentage of what all the investments in the account gained or lost during the time the statement covers. If you sold some of your investments, you would have a realized gain (or loss) which would also show up on your statement. 
   
   
    
3. Account Holdings - These are the various investments in your account. It might be cash, money market funds, mutual funds, bond funds, exchange traded funds (ETFs) or individual stock holdings. Your account statement will not only give you aggregate performance but also information for how each of these holdings performed. 
   
   
    
4. Asset Allocation - This is a “pie chart” that will show you the percentage each holding comprises in the account. This allocation should be part of a larger strategy that is in line with your overall goals and purpose of this account. 
   
   
    
5. Transactions (or Trades) - This shows the activity in the account. By activity, I mean investments that were purchased or sold. Usually, you will be sent a confirmation of this activity a day or two after it happens (called a trade confirmation). 
6. Deposits - This is money added to your account.  Make sure that any money you deposited was indeed credited to the account. Also, check for dividend deposits. This is money paid out by some investments that should be added to your account. 
7. Margin Balance - Margin is a way to borrow money (or leverage) against the assets in the account. In other words, the assets in the account secure the loan. Check how much debt you have against the account. You might not have a margin balance in your account if it isn’t leveraged.

If there is any information on your statement that is inaccurate or that you don’t understand, call the number of your financial institution (it should be on the statement) and ask for clarification. Use this information to make better sense of your progress, what you’ve deposited, how your account is growing. SaveUp will also encourage you to track your progress and reward you for your savings too!

This post was written by SaveUp ’s personal finance contributing writer, Catherine B. Hawley, CFP®.

We will be giving a demo of SaveUp at Finovate, a conference for startups and established companies in the banking and financial technology fields. The conference is held in San Francisco and we are demoing on May 8th from 2:30-3:30 PST. Check out a more detailed agenda on Finovate’s site.

We’d love to hear from you if you’ll be Finovate. Stay tuned for updates from the event! 

This is the second post in a two part series about how to pay for a vehicle. We talked about trade offs and lifestyle decisions in the last post. Now, let’s look at the numbers. How much does it actually cost if you lease, finance a purchase or buy a car?

I’ll assume you are purchasing a new car. This way we can compare apples to apples. However, as I mentioned in the last post, you will generally save money and get more value for purchasing a used car (all else being equal). I’ll say the car costs $15,000 and you lease it or finance it at 6% and put $1,000 down. Let’s look at the costs over a 10 year period. I’m assuming this is the length of time you’d keep the car if you owned it. For the purpose of this example, you’ll pay off your car loan after 5 years or lease a new car every 4 years. The $205 lease payment is an estimate based on what the depreciation charge and finance charge might cost.

Try out LeaseGuide.com’s Calculator to help you play with the figures.

As we can see, over time, you save when you buy outright. However, none of your financial decisions happen in a bubble. You can use this financial information in order to make a decision that is best for your overall lifestyle and fiscal situation. Maybe leasing better suits your car needs and you decide to put money in savings each month because you have lower car payments.

The terms of a lease are important. Keep in mind that the length affects the monthly payment just as much as an interest rate. You might not want that term to go out longer than the life of the car as it is impractical and annoying  to pay for a car you no longer use.

Although it costs more than buying outright, sometimes financing is necessary. Check out LeaseGuide for more information on how to secure the best financing available.

If you plan ahead and set aside reserves for a car before you really need one, you can save money. If you are desperate and need a car immediately you’ll have a greater challenge finding a good deal. Planning ahead can help us save in other ways. For instance establishing some emergency savings can help you maintain your car if an unexpected fix is needed. Additionally, it could help lower your insurance if you are prepared to have a higher deductible.

I hope these comparisons help you make an informed decisions about how to purchase a car so that you can balance your various financial goals.

This post was written by SaveUp’s personal finance contributing writer, Catherine B. Hawley, CFP®.

This is the first in a two part series about how to pay for a vehicle. I’ve heard people refer to cars or even clothing as an “investment.”  No!  It’s not an investment but it is still important that you allocate your resources wisely when purchasing or leasing a car. Sure there are exceptions, like specializing in the antique or luxury car market but that’s not the focus of this post. I’d like to examine the trade-offs of leasing vs. buying a car. The right financing can have an impact on the amount of money you have left over to save and invest.

You pay a premium for a new car. It is much easier to find value when buying a used car. As with most big purchases you make your money when you buy. That is the case with a car as well. Check out this Cars.com article for more information about the trade offs of new vs. used cars.

If you want to drive and maintain a car over the life of the vehicle, generally it will be cheaper to buy. Sure, you’ll have higher monthly payments if you finance but you’ll eventually own your car outright.  However, not everyone wants to keep a car for that long.

When Leasing makes sense:

1. If you want to drive a new car every few years.
2. If you need the cash flow associated with lower monthly payments and can afford the extra cost over the long-run.  
3. Peace of mind knowing the car will be under warranty and also have newer safety features.

Downsides of leasing include:

1. The fact you’ll never own the car outright, so in that sense your payments don’t go toward anything. 
2. You could face a lack of insurance coverage if you owe more on the remainder of the lease than the car’s market value. This will become an issue if the car is stolen or totaled.
3. The potential to be charged extra for additional mileage (depending on the specifics of your lease agreement). 
4. If you want to get out of the lease you may have to face expensive penalties. 
5. The nature of a lease agreement is less straightforward than a purchase agreement. 
6. General lack of flexibility (as illustrated in the points above) is an important downside to consider.

In addition to buying or leasing, there are other options that might meet your needs. You may also want to consider a lease option to buy, certified-pre owned, or taking over someone’s existing lease. Make sure your decision is informed and designed to meet your needs for a vehicle as well as aligned with your other financial goals!

Next week we’ll consider whether you should pay cash or finance the purchase of a vehicle. Stay tuned!

This Post was written by SaveUp’s personal finance contributing writer, Catherine B. Hawley, CFP®.

SaveUp winners deserve a huge shout out so we want to make every Wednesday, “SaveUp Winner Wednesday,” where we profile a few winners and congratulate them for making positive financial actions. 

This SaveUp Winner Wednesday, we’d like to give a shout to:

Michael L.

Michael won cold hard cash last week on the “Deposit to Savings” ticket and here’s what he had to say about SaveUp:

This is my 2nd time winning. SaveUp has become a site I visit everyday to try my chance at winning. In the process, I have built up a decently sized savings stash. Thank you SaveUp for helping me save!

I plan on being a millionaire one day the slow way: by saving.  Every dollar saved is a dollar earned.  SaveUp helps me to do that by having many tempting prizes that can only be won through credits earned by saving.  With the American savings rate at 5% (at best, it was negative during the housing boom), SaveUp is a revolutionary idea that hopefully can entice Americans to save for a rainy day and stop trying to keep up with the Joneses.  Thank you SaveUp and sponsors for helping to make saving SEXY!

Lisa M.

Lisa won a $300 Amazon gift card drawing and this is what she has to say about SaveUp:

I love getting up in the morning to see how I am doing on reaching my financial goals and play at a chance to win some prizes. It is nice to be rewarded for making good choices!

My husband and I are working hard to pay down our debt and save for emergencies. Saveup has helped remind me of my goals. I am much less likely to justify expenses because I love seeing the numbers on my savings go up instead of down.

Kristen C.

Kristen won cold hard cash last week on the “Deposit to Savings” ticket and here’s what she had to say about SaveUp:

I’ve been a SaveUp member for a little over a month and love logging on every day to play the games. I never thought I’d win anything, though, so it was such a fun surprise when I actually did! SaveUp is awesome, and has really encouraged me to be more conscientious about my finances.  

We’ve had many SaveUp winners since our launch last November and we look forward to featuring more winners every Wednesday. You can view the ever growing list of winners here.

Congratulations to everyone on SaveUp, even those who haven’t won yet, for making positive financial actions and taking control of your personal finances. Keep saving and keep winning!

Since Earth Day is on Sunday, we wanted to share 4 ways for you to reuse household items, promoting frugal sustainable living:

1. Reuse old t-shirts for rags
   
   
    
2. Reuse coffee grounds in the garden fertilizer or even as a natural bug repellant
   
   
    
3. Reuse jam/mason jars for water glasses (plus it’s stylish and trendy!)
   
   
    
4. Reuse old toothbrushes to clean hard to reach places in the kitchen and bathroom