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CEO & Co-founder
Andrew started his career at a Chicago hedge fund and quickly noticed a problem: the people who most needed financial guidance weren’t getting any. He co-founded Money Crashers in 2009 to fix that with free, plain-language money education. He’s been interviewed by MSNBC, CBS News, NBC News, and Fox News, and featured in Forbes and US News & World Report. Off the clock he plays ice hockey and tennis, and meditates. Andrew holds a bachelor’s in economics from Brown University.
A money market account is an FDIC-insured bank deposit account: safe, accessible, and backed by the federal government. A money market fund is a brokerage investment product that holds short-term securities and carries no FDIC protection. Check which one you actually hold before parking your emergency savings in it.
Store your emergency fund at a different bank than your checking account. The small friction of a transfer delay makes you far less likely to dip into it for non-emergencies. Out of sight, out of reach, and that’s exactly the point.
Most traditional savings accounts pay 0.01% APY while high-yield savings accounts at online banks regularly pay 3% or more. Move your cash there and your savings start working without any extra effort. On $10,000, that’s the difference between $1 and $300 a year.
One surprise car repair or medical bill can undo months of progress if you have nothing set aside. Before investing or attacking debt, save a starter emergency fund of one month of expenses. Grow it to three to six months as the rest of your financial order falls into place.
Cutting a daily coffee habit saves roughly a thousand dollars a year, while refinancing your mortgage, moving to a cheaper apartment, or dropping an expensive car payment can save tens of thousands. Get the big fixed costs under control first: housing, transportation, and insurance. The small stuff takes care of itself once the major levers are set.
Stash is worth its $12 a month only if you actually use it. Fund the IRA to collect the full 3% match and swipe the card every month, and the perks outrun the fee. If you just plan to buy and hold a few funds, open a free brokerage instead.
School costs for children are one of the most significant expenses for many middle-class families. Some parents pay thousands of dollars each year to send their kids to private schools, while others spend thousands in mortgage costs to buy homes…
There are some jobs in life that you can DIY and others that you leave to the pros. While you can handle simple tasks like paying your bills, what about doing your taxes, forming a business, or making a will?…
Whether you have questions about investing, taxes, retirement planning, or budgeting, there are professionals who’ve made it their life’s work to provide the assistance you need. One professional who covers all of those areas is a financial advisor. We’ve compiled a list…
An index fund tracks a market index like the S&P 500 and charges minimal fees. The majority of actively managed funds, where a professional picks stocks, underperform their benchmark over a 10-year period after fees. You don’t need to pick winners. Own the whole market cheaply and stay in it.
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