As your purchasing power grows, so does your spending responsibility. As a consumer with disposable income, it can be difficult to separate actual needs from wants disguised as necessities. If you’re not careful, small purchases of nonessential items throughout the year can quickly add up and get you off track from your budget.

Retailers are excellent at making their products and services seem essential to everyday life. Buy now, pay later payment options saw significant growth in the 2010s due to the popularity of online shopping, and these deferred payment options aren’t looking to slow down anytime soon.

While this option may seem like a good solution for purchasing items without cash on hand, pay-later purchases can quickly get out of hand if you don’t have a solid plan. If you’re in the market for a big-ticket item and have been considering whether or not you should buy now and pay later, you’re in the right spot.

Let’s dive into how to define a big purchase, determining needs versus wants and the best way to pay for those high-dollar buys.

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At some point, we all start to accumulate important documents and valuable items that need to be kept secure. If you want a safe space to keep invaluable things, you don’t have to install a huge, heavy safe in your home. Instead, you can take these essentials to your local bank to find a secure storage spot, also known as the safe deposit box.

Wondering what these handy secure spaces offered by local financial institutions are all about? Keep reading to learn more about safe deposit boxes and whether you should use one.

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It’s exciting to step into your own place for the first time. You get a rush of independence you’ve never experienced before. You can make the space your own. Your home is a part of your identity now, so you want a place that fits.

If you’ve just started your first full-time job, you may be looking for that first place to call your own as well. While many young professionals return to live with their parents for a period after finishing school to pay off debt or save up for large purchases, you may be ready to make your own way, or perhaps you need to relocate to start your career.

When digging into your housing options, one of the decisions you will need to make is whether to buy or rent. You may feel overwhelmed by the number of boxes you have to check to secure a place to lay your head at night. These options may lead you to the age-old question, “should I buy or should I rent?” Changing housing market landscapes and varied financial situations are important factors to consider.

Luckily, if you plan to live in Missouri, especially the Mid-Missouri area, you may enjoy a lower cost of living, including housing. Before you start looking for housing options, it’s a great idea to develop a financial overview, so you have a strong grasp on how much you can spend on housing. 

Let’s look at the pros and cons of renting versus the pros and cons of buying a house.

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If you’re looking to save for retirement or have another substantial financial goal, setting aside money in a savings account is a great start, but it may not yield the returns you need. This could lead you to explore a variety of investment options to see where you can put your money to work.

While there are many options out there, you may be considering how risky different types of investments are. It’s important to realize that every investment has an element of risk. However, the range of risk varies depending on how you choose to invest.

Stick with us to learn more about the importance of investing, different types of investments and how to better understand your appetite for investment risk.

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“A new job is like a blank book and you are the author.” – Unknown

As you start your first full-time job, many opportunities open up. You get a chance to put all the hours you spent studying, training and developing your craft into practice. It’s exciting to start setting your goals and think about what you want to accomplish. The feeling of starting your career can make it tough to envision life after you finish working. After all, you just got started; why should you have to think about how you will live after employment?

Regardless of how long you plan to work or the level of your ambition, saving for retirement should be approached like the tortoise in the race. Slow and steady is the only way to win, so starting your saving plan early is essential. But the best part: you don’t have to give up on your current dreams to prepare for retirement.

Keep reading to learn more about standard retirement accounts, how they work and how you can start saving.

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