Greatvest Tools

Debt and depression are often linked, but with the right strategies it's possible to manage both. Here's some advice on managing depression and finances.  When talking about mental health and financial issues, the conversation often leads to a "chicken or the egg" dilemma. Do people with depression, anxiety, or other mental health disorders disproportionately fall into debt and financial disrepair, or do money problems lead to poor mental health? The truth is, these problems can't really be tackled separately. It might seem like your anxieties should fade if you don't have to worry about money, or that your financial worries wouldn't seem so bad if you had a healthier outlook, but the two are inextricably linked. If you want to be healthier financially and mentally, you need to embrace a holistic approach. That's what I did when depression and anxiety hit me like a ton of bricks in my early 20s. It wasn't easy, but eventually I was abl...

Finding an affordable mechanic that also takes good care of your car isn't always easy. Here's how to find the best (and most affordable) mechanic or car repair shop. Going to a mechanic is sort of like going to the doctor. You don't like to do it, your doctor probably knows that, but you both suck it up because to stay healthy you have to get a regular check-up. The same goes for your car. A car needs to visit the mechanic fairly in order for it to continue running smoothly. So when the time comes to find a repair shop, how do you go about finding one that's affordable and offers good service? Keep reading to find out. Go local Word of mouth matters a lot to mechanics. That's how small-town shops get a lot of their business. You can call multiple repair shops near you and ask for an estimate (for the repair and the hourly rate for labor). You have the right to know how much a repair costs. If a shop won't tell you, if they're rude, or seems ...

A fiduciary, in short, is a financial advisor that's bound by ethics to act in your best interest. Without a rule in place, your money could go towards padding the pockets of financial firms instead of your own. Here's what you need to know about the fiduciary rule.  The fiduciary rule may seem boring (and maybe it is a little) but it's extremely important for anyone who has a retirement account. Recently, the Trump administration has halted the rule from being enacted -- which would allow investments professionals to make financial decisions on your behalf that aren't necessarily in your best interest. Read on to learn more about the rule and what to look for in the upcoming months. What's a fiduciary? A fiduciary is a general term for someone (or some company) that is obligated to have trust and show good faith to others -- typically its clients. This includes being ethical and making decisions (or acting) in the best interest of others. So what do...

If you work for the government or a nonprofit, you could qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. But is it too good to be true? We explore. The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (often referred to as just PSLF) is a program put in place by the government to help give individuals relief on their student loan debt if they work for a nonprofit or government organization. The program is designed to completely eliminate the balance remaining on your qualifying Direct Loans, assuming you've met all the requirements. PSLF was a part of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act that went into place in 2007. According to The Institute for College Access & Success, the act "redirects taxpayer subsidies away from student loan companies and toward increased grant aid and improved benefits for borrowers." It came with three other major provisions in addition to loan forgiveness: interest rate cuts, income-based repayment options, and an increas...

Credit card refinancing and debt consolidation are two big phrases that have similar meanings. But it makes a difference which one you choose. One will get you a lower interest rate and other will give you a set time to pay off your credit cards.  If you have severe credit card debt and a high interest credit card, you're stuck in a never ending cycle of minimum payments and more debt. There are a few ways to get out of this hole you've dug yourself into -- credit card refinancing or debt consolidation. On the surface, it seems that they both accomplish the same goal. To some degree, that may be true. But how they do it can be very different. For that reason, if you're considering either, you should decide what's most important -- getting a lower interest rate, or paying off your credit cards. What is credit card refinancing? Credit card refinancing, also known as a balance transfer, is simply a process of moving a credit card balance from one card to another...

Almost anybody can earn more money with a side hustle: babysitting, catering, coding, etc. Question is: Why aren't you doing it already? Everyone wants to earn more money, right? Of course, who wouldn't? But let's ask a different question: Will you earn more money this year? If the answer is a definitive yes -- great! Maybe you landed a new job, negotiated a significant raise, or got yourself a side hustle. If the answer is no -- why not? What's your excuse? I read a Lifehacker piece recently about why you might not want to follow financial advice when you're broke. The reason? So much financial advice assumes that you have money, you're just using it wrong -- spending too much on food and not saving enough. But what are you supposed to do if you don't have enough money to begin with? You're not squandering $500 or $1,000 a month on unnecessarily luxuries, you're paying your rent, your utilities and your student loan, and you've ...

When you have to wear glasses or contact, the last thing you want to do is pay an arm and a leg for them. Here are the best places to save on eye care.  Having poor sight can be a pretty expensive problem. Whether you choose to correct it with eyeglasses, contacts, or even shelling out for laser corrective surgery. However you slice it, being near or far-sighted can put a dent in your budget. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to minimize the damage without compromising on quality. There are several quality frames manufacturers that now have an online presence and great return policies - to make sure you get what you want without the hassle of making another trip to the eye doctor. Here's some of those manufacturers and what it'll cost to buy with them. Please note that you will still need a current prescription to buy lenses from any of these retailers. Coastal.com Types of Retail: Eyeglasses, Sunglasses, Contacts Lowest Price Glasses: $35 Highest Price G...

It's no secret - iPhones are expensive. With the iPhone 7 (and 7 Plus) priced at over $600, it may be difficult to justify spending that kind of cash on a cell-phone. Apple offers a new lease program similar to phone carriers. Which should you go with? I don't know why I'm still so surprised that, when a new iPhone comes out, some fanatics go out and buy it right away. If the same people bought a brand-new phone over the last three or four generations of iPhones, upgrading like this has cost them well over $2,000. Never mind the fact that their phones probably didn't even need replacing. But these are the exact Apple had in mind when they thought up the iPhone Upgrade Program, intended to allow consumers to lease iPhones and upgrade each year, rather than pay between $600 and $700 upfront. Of course, this is essentially what carriers have done for years by baking the price of phones into their expensive monthly service plans. If you want to save money, you g...

Selling your old stuff takes time and might not make you a whole lot of money. When do you sell vs. donate? Read to find out.  When you need a little extra cash, selling your possessions is a no-brainer. It's a relatively quick way to monetize the value in your home, and just about everyone has an old television or sofa collecting dust in the basement or attic. But when you're just looking to declutter, the question becomes a little trickier. Is it worth your time to help a college student haul your sofa out of the basement? Is the money you'd receive from selling that old television really significant enough to justify the effort? Do the tax breaks and good karma from donating your items make that a better option? Read ahead to find out when it's best to sell vs. donate, and the best methods for hawking the items you do choose to sell. Is it worth it to sell your stuff? Whether you sell or donate your stuff boils down to how much you value your time. Are ...

If you're a young professional carrying around some consumer debt, you're certainly not alone. Learn how Prosper is helping consumers like you get ahead financially, one loan at a time.  Ten years ago, at the age of 26, I was in debt to the tune of $80,000. My mid-20s should've been carefree years. Instead, they were anxious ones. When I wasn't lying awake at night worrying about money, I was working two, often three, jobs to chip away at my debt. Although I used several resources to knock out all $80,000 of my debt before turning 30, one product -- Prospect Loans -- stands out to this day. (Note: I was an actual Prosper customer and the following is based on my experience. Today, Prosper is an affiliate of Greatvest Tools, meaning we may receive a commission if you use our link to get a loan. If you choose to support us in this way, thanks!) Can a lender really be one of the good guys? I know what you're thinking -- borrowing money was my problem. Try...

Tired of paying hefty cable, phone, and internet bundle prices? Switching to a wireless cable or internet service can save you a lot.  You desperately want to cut the cord and stop wasting hundreds of dollars a year for cable channels you don't need (and might not even want). But, there's a catch: You're held hostage by your bundle, which includes the internet access that you DO actually need. The good news is, broadband wireless internet and cable replacements are quickly making gound, and for a good reason -- many can save you $20-$100 a month. If you're looking to boot your high cable and internet bills, here are some alternatives. Redzone is applicable only to those who live in Maine (specifically the upper east coast), but similar services around the country are popping up. Redzone, and similar companies, found their niche market in areas where cable and internet are already hard to come by. At $39 a month, Redzone's cheapest plan is a par with ...

Boxed offers low prices on big-sized grocery and household items with no membership fee and mostly free shipping. Clearly, Boxed is more convenient than a trip to Walmart. But can Boxed save you money, too? Routine grocery shopping is on my all-time top five least favorite things to do. So I was thrilled to hear about Boxed -- a company that delivers groceries and household essentials, in wholesale club sizes, to your door at tiny prices...without a  membership fee. It's not that I hate the grocery store. I enjoy planning a meal and picking up fresh meat, produce, and a bottle of wine. But those big shopping trips to stock up for a week or two at a time? I'm rarely organized enough to remember everything. Or this happens: Once, halfway through a Target shopping trip, after tossing a dozen items into my cart, I reached for the shopping list I had left on top. It wasn't there. Then, I noticed something odd. Wait...I didn't pick out a women's bathing ...

You swerved for a skunk and wrecked your ride; now your car insurance is going to double, right? Not necessarily. With the right insurer -- or some clever maneuvering--you can still save money on car insurance after an accident.  If you're reading this article, you may have gotten into a car accident recently -- or you know someone who did. First, we hope no one was seriously hurt. Second -- and we hate to give you more bad news -- there's a chance that even if you weren't injured at the scene, you may feel some pain in your pocket the next time your car insurance is up for renewal. That's because car insurance companies often raise premiums for drivers who have recently been in an accident. (Your premium is the amount you periodically pay to an insurer for coverage.) Then again, there's a chance your premium will stay exactly the same. If the accident is not your fault, it's the first in which you've been involved, and your driving history is...

Having a budget wedding doesn't just save you money, it can be the foundation for a happy, debt-free marriage. Here's how to have an awesome wedding on a budget.  If you've gotten married, odds are you spent quite a bit. The cost of a wedding these days is ridiculous (as you'll read below). But if you're planning to get married soon--know that there's hope. You don't have to spend a year's salary on a single day. You can have an amazing, unique, and memorable wedding on a budget. Is anyone getting married anymore? It sure doesn't seem like it, does it? By in large, people are getting married later than they ever have, and sometimes not at all. According to a study done by Avvo, less than half of millennials think of marriage as a life goal. And about one-quarter of the millennial population will remain unmarried into their mid-40s, and up to their mid-50s. Antonia Hall, a psychologist and relationship expert, told Bustle.com that mill...