Maximize Your Money With A Growth Mindset -

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<a href="https://www.moneyhacker.org/maximize-money-growth-mindset/"><img decoding="async" src="https://www.moneyhacker.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/growth-mindset.jpg" alt="Growth Mindset" width="500" border="0" /></a><br />Source: <a href="https://www.moneyhacker.org/">Money Hacker</a><br />

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