Personal Finance

Income is your cornerstone. It’s all the money you bring in and can then allocate to expenses, savings, investments, and protection. This includes salaries, wages, dividends, and other sources of cash inflow.

Your budget is a plan that outlines your income and expenses. Budgets are essential to controlling your financial life and to being able to build a base of savings, investment and security for the future. 

Spending is your cash outflow for bills and purchases, including rent, mortgage, groceries, hobbies, eating out, home furnishings, and home repairs. 

Savings are the income you don’t spend. Savings are important for covering larger expenses down the road, and for storing funds for the future. For most people, savings confer a sense of security and achievement. 

Debt is the money you owe to creditors through loans, credit cards, or mortgages.

A credit score is a number that represents an individual’s creditworthiness based on their credit history and borrowing behavior.

Investing is when you purchase assets, like stocks and bonds, with the goal of earning a return on your money. Investing is a way to increase your wealth. Keep in mind investments come with various levels of risk, depending on the investment.