Maximize Your Money With A Growth Mindset

Growth Mindset
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Maximize Your Money With A Growth Mindset

More than 3 in 4 Americans have at least one financial regret 

Money Troubles

  • More than half of Americans regret not saving more
    • Of those, most regret underfunding 
      • Retirement accounts: 48%
      • Emergency fund: 34%
      • Education for child: 18%
  • In 2020, Americans owed $14.15 trillion in total household debt
    • $1.64 trillion in student loans — That’s $29,900 per graduate
    • $1 trillion in credit card debt — An all-time high

23% added to their credit card debt during the pandemic

  • Financial Mistakes Are Costly
    • 33% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck
      • Less than 3 in 10 low-income earners* are able to save (*making less than $25,000/year)
    • 42% of student borrowers made a late payment at least once in the past year
      • 47% wish they had chosen a less expensive college
    • 46% of credit card holders don’t always pay in full
      • 35% make minimum payments

Less than 1 in 3 Americans understand at least 3 basic financial concepts by age 40

  • 60% understand borrowing
  • Just 35% understand risk
  • BUT that doesn’t mean it’s too late to learn

Build A Growth Mindset About Money

  • What Is A Growth Mindset?

Your mindset is built on whether you see your own character, intelligence, and abilities as fixed or capable of growth

  • Fixed Mindset
    • Desires to look smart or skilled compared to others
    • Avoids challenges and failure, gives up easily
    • Ignores useful negative feedback
    • Feels threatened by the success of others
  • Growth Mindset 
    • Desires to learn and improved compared to self
    • Embraces challenges and see setbacks as opportunities
    • Learns from constructive criticism
    • Learns and finds inspiration in others’ success
  • Grow Your Financial Literacy

53% of Americans feel anxious thinking about money — For young adults* it’s 63% (*age 18-34)

  • Those with higher financial literacy are more likely to
    • Invest wisely
    • Manage debt well
    • Plan for retirement
    • Overcome financial shocks

73% of people feel confident about their ability to achieve their financial goals — You can too

Recovering From Financial Mistakes

  • Overcome The Stigma
    • Simply talking about finances can help you learn
      • Students who talk to their parents about finances at least once a month have better financial literacy scores
    • 44% of Americans would rather discuss death, religion, or politics than personal finance
      • What’s stopping you from talking about money? 
        • Embarrassment
        • Fear of conflict
        • Social expectations
  • Address Your Debt
    • Know Your Debt
      • Start with a list of all outstanding debts
      • Include payment term and interest rates

Not sure where to start? Check your credit report for current debts and studentaid.gov for federal student loans

  • Consider Your Options
    • Contact each lender to ask about repayment options
    • Consider debt consolidation or refinancing as well

Beware of companies making exaggerated claims — some could lead to paying more interest in the long run

  • Choose A Strategy
    • Snowball Method: Pay off the smallest debt first to gain confidence
    • Avalanche Method: Pay off highest interest rate first for greatest savings

Whichever method you choose, always pay at least the minimum for all loans

  • Try Some Tech

39% use websites or apps to help with financial tasks

  • Create A Budget & Start Saving:
    • Develop and follow a budget to better manage your spending
      • Mint combines budgeting, credit monitoring, and account tracking to help you take control of your finances
      • YNAB offers mobile and desktop apps for its own approach to budgeting, based on giving every dollar a job
      • Simple offers fee-free round-up savings, savings goals, and envelope-style budgeting for account holders
    • Start saving with the help of apps and chatbots
      • Trim finds forgotten subscriptions and negotiates rates with service providers and credit agencies
      • Cleo tracks your spending habits, quizzing your financial knowledge, and roasts users for overspending
      • Earnin helps you celebrate your successes by depositing into a virtual “tip jar” 
  • Pay Down Debt & Improve Your Credit
    • After an emergency fund, good credit is your best defense against unexpected expenses
    • You can improve your credit score in just 12 to 18 months
      • Monitor your credit report for errors
      • Paying all bills on time
      • Increasing available, unused credit
    • CreditWise helps monitor your credit score with weekly updates and lets you simulate how actions would affect your score
    • Unbury.me helps calculate your loans, payment options, and calculate when each debt will be paid off
  • Start Investing In Your Future
    • Round-Up Investments: Acorns, Stash, Clink
      • Pro: Automatically rounds up each transaction and invests the difference — Simply and easy for beginners
      • Con: Fees have a big impact on small investments — Even $1/month fee can equal 5% of your total investment
    • Robo-Advisors: Wealthfront, Betterment
      • Pro: Easy automated investment with low fees and low minimum investments
      • Con: Require larger initial investment and may be more expensive than some funds
    • Financial Advisors: Don’t be afraid to seek expert advice — Risk and investments are among the least understood financial concepts

Change your mindset. Change your finances. Change your life. 

How to Build a Growth Mindset

Sources:

https://www.bankrate.com/banking/savings/financial-security-may-2019/

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-household-debt/u-s-household-debt-tops-14-trillion-and-reaches-new-record-idUSKBN20521Z

https://studentloanhero.com/student-loan-debt-statistics/

https://www.npr.org/2020/02/13/805760560/u-s-credit-card-debt-hits-all-time-high-and-overdue-payments-rise-for-young-peop

https://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/coronavirus-spring-debt-poll/

https://www.gobankingrates.com/saving-money/savings-advice/americans-have-less-than-1000-in-savings/

http://www.usfinancialcapability.org/downloads/NFCS_2018_Report_Natl_Findings.pdf

https://gflec.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Fact-Sheet_US-Parents_Final.pdf?x37292

https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/01/29/carol-dweck-mindset/

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/30/the-us-is-in-a-financial-literacy-crisis-advisors-can-fix-the-problem.html

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/29/this-financial-mistake-takes-americans-nearly-20-years-to-recover-from.html

https://www.thebalance.com/best-budgeting-apps-4159414

https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/banking/best-money-saving-apps/

https://www.asktrim.com/about

https://robots.net/it/cleo-the-ai-chatbot-that-can-handle-your-personal-wealth/

https://www.earnin.com/

https://studentloanhero.com/featured/how-to-improve-your-credit-score-surprisingly-simple-ways/

https://wallethub.com/edu/cs/how-long-does-it-take-to-improve-credit-score/42894/

https://www.lendup.com/articles/7-credit-monitoring-apps-to-help-you-stay-on-top-of-your-credit-score

https://studentloanhero.com/featured/awesome-debt-payoff-mobile-apps/

https://www.moneyunder30.com/spare-change-investment-apps

https://www.moneyunder30.com/robo-advisors