7 hard truths about money, in cartoons that will make you smile
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Managing your money doesn't have to be complex.
New York Times columnist, author, and financial planner Carl Richards boils down everything you need to know about personal finance into simple, black-and-white "napkin sketches." University of Chicago professor and author Harold Pollack claims that the best money advice fits on a three-by-five inch index card.
To further prove that you don't need to be an expert to understand personal finance, we've rounded up seven hard truths about money in cartoon form, courtesy of Albert, an upcoming app that provides simple financial advice and lets you act on it from your phone.
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One of the best things you can do for your investments is leave them alone.
When it comes to money, our choices are often clouded by fear, greed, and nervousness. These emotions tempt us to constantly move our investments around — into what seem at the time like safer positions or more conservative investments — and can ultimately wreck even the most sound investment portfolio.
That's because one of the best things you can do for your investments is leave them alone.
"Avoid impulsively selling an underperforming investment and stay the course with a diversified portfolio that is able to withstand inevitable short-term rises and dips in the market," certified financial planner Shelly-Ann Eweka writes on Business Insider.
To help focus on your long-term investment plan, avoid the temptation to check a stock ticker or your account on a daily or weekly basis. Markets go up and down every day, and so do individual stocks — if you're investing for the long term, you don't need the anxiety of constant updates.
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Credit card rewards don't matter if you're carrying a balance.
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If you want to save big, ditch your plastic.
You don't have to lose your debit or credit card to save $200 each month. Try leaving your plastic at home and going with all cash for a couple of weeks. Research shows that people spend significantly more when using credit cards instead of cash, and several people have used this strategy to get out of deep debt.
Rather than blindly swiping your credit card, you may find yourself thinking over purchases more thoughtfully — it's harder to part ways with your money when you're handing over physical cash and watching it disappear.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider