• inquiries to your credit are broken into two categories? ..hard inquiry and soft inquiry. Hard inquiries hurt your credit and happens when you apply for a loan, credit card, or credit line. It can do great damage to your score by dropping it several points. As for soft inquiries, it does not affect your credit at all, whether 1 or 10 of these are done. It is normally when you request your own credit history, or a background check is done by an employer before a job is offered to you, things like that. So keep this is mind the next time you apply for a card you don’t necessarily need.

• starting a 529 plan once your child is born is a great way to save money in an account that is tax deferred. With this plan, you use it to pay for your child’s tuition when he/she starts college.  Keep in mind that with rising tuition cost, you will less stressed when your child starts college with a plan like this. 

• it is best to try to keep your outstanding balances less than 40% of your credit limit.

• it is good to set aside at least six to nine months worth of living expenses in a savings account for any emergency that may come up.

• it is important to pay more than the minimum payment each month.

• you should start a 401K plan if you don’t have one, especially if   your company has some kind of matching program 

• that your credit score is calculated by the following categories? Check out the chart below.

• if you are writing a check to apply towards the principal of your loan, specifically write, “apply towards principal,” otherwise the lender will calculate in the interest.  Each loan varies so do check your loan disclosure.

• if you have any outstanding credit card balances or debt when you die, it has to be paid off before anything is given to the recipients. Don’t think that because you’re dead you don’t have to pay for it. And if there’s not enough assets to pay off your debts, no one will be able to inherit anything.For more on wills, check out legalzoom!

….more to come!!