What you really need is to trash the app and rethink your approach. Think about what kinds of things they like, rather than worrying about the exact thing to get them.

The answer? A subscription box. With everything from culinary explorations and personal pampering to art and pets, these subscription boxes are creative, easy, and fun, and they give your loved ones a little joy on their doorstep all year long.

For the foodie

Ingredient-forward snacks from around the world? Check! These food-based subscription boxes focus on carefully selected, diverse snacks and flavors that’ll be sure to take your senses on a world tour, so you can ditch the passport.

Crispy Club Chili Crisp

The chili crisp revolution has gotten so big that people are fighting over who gets to use the name! Luckily, your giftees won’t care what it’s called as long as it tingles their tastebuds. 

For those who believe life’s too short not to live on the spicy side, the Crispy Club Chili Crisp subscription box delivers a crunchy chili oil that transforms every meal from bland to grand.

Lata Tinned Fish

If there’s one food trend that’s given chili crisp a run for its money, it’s tinned fish. Bonus: they actually go together like peas and carrots (but with a lot more flavor).

Take the tin game up a notch with Lata’s Tinned Fish discovery box. Each seaworthy snack pack boasts premium tinned fish from across the globe — perfect for impressing friends at the next charcuterie soirée or simply indulging in some gourmet goodness at home. 

Fuego Box Hot Sauce

If they’re the hot-sauce-in-their-bag type or have ever sent you a Jennifer Lawrence meme from Hot Ones, let them fire up their taste buds with Fuego Box, a monthly parade of hot sauces that’ll take them on a spicy adventure, catering to every level of heat tolerance. 

If that tolerance is high, test it with the “Pain Seeker” subscription. But a warning: you may never know if they’re crying because you’re so thoughtful or they just had a taste of Heartbreaking Dawns Cauterizer Hot Sauce. 

Bokksu

If they binge-watched Netflix’s hit series Shogun, or have an affinity for Pokki sticks and Pokemon, gift them a Bokksu subscription. Each month, subscribers receive a box filled with authentic Japanese snacks and teas, carefully curated to transport them straight to Japan. 

And it doesn’t stop with food. Bokksu also includes a cultural guide, providing insights into the traditions and stories behind the snacks. So they’re not getting just a snack box: they’re getting an immersive experience that enriches their palate and their perspective.

Try the World

We all know someone who’d answer the question “What would you do if you won the Lottery?” with “Travel the world.” Well, if they haven’t won yet, replace “travel” with “try” and give them the next best thing — Try the World is a unique service that offers a selection of gourmet foods from different countries.

Each box is thoughtfully designed to take you on a culinary journey with snacks, sauces, and recipes that represent the authentic flavors of various cultures. Give their kitchen a passport to explore new tastes from the comfort of home.

Universal Yums

For a more budget-friendly tastebud tour around the globe — boxes start at just $16 — try Universal Yums, which offers its own version of snacking for anyone at almost any age, country by country. Have they ever tried chocolate-covered waffles from The Netherlands? Maybe. But what about egg yolk popcorn from Taiwan?

Each box not only includes a boundless bevy of bites, but also a booklet of trivia and games, making it a fun and educational experience. Tickle your taste buds while you explore the world, one bite at a time.

For the lover of lavish living

You’ll have their finest tastes in mind with these self-indulgent picks, sent straight to their door.

FabFitFun

For the luxury legends in your life, FabFitFun delivers a delightful seasonal treat, packed with an array of beauty, wellness, and lifestyle products that transform the unboxing experience into a mini shopping and spa day.

Think skincare from Sunday Riley, Sunnies from Kate Spade, and the snug throw from Sunday Citizen — all at up to 70% off retail pricing. And these are full-size, not samples. You may be thinking: “But I’ve never heard of these brands.” Well, they will have. And that’s the point. 

Bespoke Post

Introduce the person who appreciates the finer things in life to Bespoke Post, a subscription service designed specifically for those with discerning tastes. Each month, they’ll receive some truly artisanal products, ranging from stylish home finds that elevate their living space to gourmet goods that tantalize the tastebuds. 

These exclusive picks, sourced from passionate makers and artisans, ensure that your subscription gift recipient will always be prepared to host the ultimate dinner party, jet set to St. Tropez, or just step out in style on Saturday night.

For the wellness enthusiast

Because who doesn’t deserve a little extra TLC in their everyday routine?

Therabox

Encouraging a self-care revolution, Therabox offers a monthly assortment of wellness products aimed at igniting mindfulness and happiness. Each therapy-in-a-box is designed to help you prioritize your well-being with things like soothing teas, calming essential oils, and inspirational journals. 

But what therapy isn’t complete without action? For that, they always include a self-care activity that encourages you to engage in practices such as meditation, journaling, or creative expression. And who knows? Maybe they’ll be teaching you their zen ways a year down the road.

For the tech guru

If you’re looking for something to satisfy the interests of your tech-wiz friends, you’re in luck!

Breo Box

That friend that always seems to be one gadget ahead of the trend?  The Breo Box is for them. This subscription service offers a quarterly treasure trove of cool, vetted tech and lifestyle finds. 

Each box includes innovative gadgets, stylish accessories, and practical items that will have strangers stopping them and asking “whoa, where’d you get that?” 

Temperature-controlled smart coffee mug? Check. A clothing iron the size of a computer mouse? They’ve got that too. It’s as if you could open your monthly issue of Wired and grab items right off the page. 

For the creative spirit

Channel your inner Monét (or Bob Ross!).

Adults & Crafts

Unleash their creativity with Adults & Crafts. Each monthly package is filled with high-quality materials and detailed instructions for a variety of hands-on projects, ranging from painting to woodworking to textile arts. 

Maybe they’re a seasoned DIY enthusiast, or maybe they’re just starting out. Either way, art is limitless. There’s always an an opportunity to explore different techniques or express another artistic side. 

Who knows? They might just uncover a hidden talent for macramé or discover a love for pottery they never knew they had!

For the floral fanatic

Remember how to make flower crowns? Okay, neither do we. But these services are ready to share the flower power.

Farmgirl Flowers

You know that feeling you get when you open the door and there’s a person standing there with a gorgeous bouquet of flowers because someone thought of you? Make that happen for them every single month with Farmgirl Flowers! 

Each arrangement is thoughtfully designed using seasonal blooms that would make even the gloomiest of days feel like a breath of fresh spring air. 

With a starting price of $59 per delivery, it’s not the cheapest gift on the list, but just picture that joy on their face. Every month, you’ll think to yourself, “Yeah, I did that. Totally worth it.” 

For the plant lover

If flowers feel a little too fussy, try out a subscription that puts the “green” in green thumb!

Horti

Here’s a little secret plant lovers know: talking to your plants is way cheaper than therapy. Horti curates a delightful selection of easy-to-care-for plants, each accompanied by detailed care instructions and a clay pot with saucer. 

Subscriptions are nicely customizable too, with options for newbies, rare plant enthusiasts, and pet parents — for pet safety in their subscription-box plants. 

You can even choose the design of the pot! Now all you need to do is teach those plants to propagate so your loved ones can give you plant baby gifts in return. 

For the bibliophile

For those of you still waiting to stumble upon a secret, private library, you might not have to look very far.

Book of the Month

If BookTok has taken over their entire TikTok feed, they’ll be giddy when they get a subscription to Book of the Month. Each month, your reader gets to choose from a selection of five exciting new titles, carefully chosen to feed their love for literature. 

There’s a diverse range of genres, ensuring there’s something for everyone, and they’ll get to discover new authors they can follow going forward. 

The downside? There really isn’t one, unless this means they’ll be too busy reading to discuss the latest season of Emily in Paris with you.

For pet parents

Our gift guide wouldn’t be complete without a special option for treats, toys, and so much more for your furry friends.

BarkBox

Because our furry friends truly deserve the best in life, BarkBox is there every month with toys and tasty treats that promise to make your pup’s tail wag with pure excitement. 

Each box features two toys and two snacks, customized to suit your buddy’s needs so that allergies aren’t a worry and toy terrorizers won’t leave stuffing all over the floor too quickly. 

There’s a fun added bonus, too. They’ll start to realize the package is for them, so even the delivery itself becomes a moment of joy. Just remember to break that phone out and record it. Do you know what Instagram and TikTok are paying out for viral pet videos these days?! 

KitNipBox

Don’t let the dogs have all the fun! There’s a reason cat videos are the most watched genre on social media. So why not get their party started with a KitNipBox monthly subscription?

The Happy Cat box ($19.99/mo) comes with five toys and treats that let them know they’re the king of the jungle around your place. Have two cats? The Multi-Cat box has seven items for $10 more. Purrfection.

For fragrance aficionados

If scents are more their thing, these subscription boxes deliver fragrant gifts all year long.

Scentbird

If the top of their dresser looks like a department store makeup counter and smells like you just walked past one, get them a Scentbird subscription, which delivers a new designer fragrance every month. 

And we’re not talking Britney Spears Fantasy or CK Be here. No, these are designer brands like Gucci, Prada, and Chloe. 

There are over 700 fragrances to choose from, and with guided help to find ones that match their style. It’s a fun, budget-friendly way for them to express their inner perfumer and find their perfect match. 

Vellabox Candles

Because loving good scents isn’t restricted to the skin. Let them light up their room, their life, and their olfactory senses with Vellabox. 

These gorgeous little gift boxes arrive each month with a 4-, 8-, or 16-oz artisanal, hand-poured candle, a custom Spotify playlist to listen to while you burn it, and a fun bonus gift (think matches, coasters, snuffers, and tote bags).

The subscriptions start at $12, and they’ll get to unwind after a long day or throw a small dinner party with a candle made by a small-batch US artisan. Wicked cool. 

For the caffeine critic

These gifts have perks only a coffee lover would appreciate.

Mistobox

Mistobox promises expertly curated coffee selections tailored to individual taste preferences for people who know their stuff when it comes to coffee. Need we say more? 

Each month, subscribers receive a variety of freshly roasted beans sourced from around the world, along with detailed tasting notes and brewing tips. With every cup, even the most casual coffee drinker could be transformed into a true connoisseur. 

Bean Box

The Bean Box Coffee + Chocolate tasting box is Mistobox with a twist — a twist that anyone who loves pairings can appreciate. Unite coffee’s bold, aromatic charm with chocolate’s indulgent allure? Yes, please. It’s a love story for the ages. 

While this technically isn’t a subscription (though they do have coffee-only subscriptions), the box features four “artisan coffees” and four “culinary-inspired” chocolate bars, so there’s enough there for someone with a lot of willpower to enjoy for a long time. 

For kids and kids-at-heart

Yes, this gift is for kids. But making science fun can really be for all of us.

Kiwi Crate

Keep curious minds engaged (and not drawing on the walls) with Kiwi Crate, which offers a variety of hands-on STEM projects designed specifically for kids. These fun and interactive activities stimulate creativity while making learning enjoyable and accessible. 

Each project lets the little ones explore scientific concepts through experimentation and play, encouraging them to ask questions and think critically. With a little help from this box, science can be exciting without ruining the sofa.

For mystery enthusiasts

Why get them a mystery box when you can get them a literal mystery to solve?

Dear Holmes

I have a friend who thinks Clue is the best movie ever made. If you do too, give them something that lets them embrace their inner sleuth with Dear Holmes, a subscription service that delivers interactive Victorian-era mysteries right to their doorstep. 

Each box is perfectly designed to challenge them to crack intriguing cases, complete with immersive storylines and clues to make them feel like the star of their very own detective novel.

Move over, Hercule Poirot. Your friend is on the case!

For artisan supporters

For some of us, the real gift lies in supporting independent crafters and creatives however we can.

Undiscovered Artisan Box

Support small businesses and discover unique handmade products from talented independent creators around the world each month with the Undiscovered Artisan Box. 

This subscription box not only showcases the creativity and craftsmanship of local artisans but also tells the stories behind each product, connecting you to the passion and dedication that goes into their work. 

Really. These items are stunning and truly inspirational. If only every gift could come with an amazing ‘local’ story, support communities, and encourage sustainable practices.

Conclusion

These gifts might be called “boxes,” but they’re certainly not inside-the-box thinking. These are thoughtful, personal gifts that keep on giving. 

The right subscription box shows that you’ve thought about who they are, rather than struggling to choose what they want. Plus, many of them come with a variety of price tags to choose from, so your budget gets a gift as well.

One of the first choices you’ll need to make is which business structure to use for your new organization.

• Sole proprietorship
• Partnership
• Limited Liability Company (LLC)
• S Corporation
• Corporation

Each option has its own set of pros and cons. Let’s walk through them.

What is a business structure?

A business structure defines how your business is legally organized and operated, as well as its ownership, liability, governance (how it’s run), and taxation. 

Will the business be owned by one person, or will it be a partnership? Will the owner(s) pay taxes on the company’s profits, or will the company have to pay its own taxes?

The answers to these questions and more are determined by the business structure you pick.

Why does your business structure matter?

Most of the reasons why business structures matter come down to legal factors and tax implications.

1. Some business structures are only available to individual owners, not partners
2. Some structures make it easier to sell shares, offering more ways to get outside funding
3. Some offer you more personal protection for the company’s debts or potential mistakes
4. Some are taxed as businesses, while others pass the income to their owners, who are taxed personally  

Seeking advice from an expert can help you choose the right structure based on your personal situation and business objectives. This post walks you through the essentials, so when you do talk to a professional, you’ll be more prepared — and you’ll know what questions to ask.

Can you change business structures later?

Yes, but some changes are easier than others. It’s relatively easy to go from a less complicated structure to a more complicated structure. It’s harder to go backward. 

Many people start a business as a sole proprietorship or LLC and later incorporate, but changing from a corporation to a simpler structure is much more complicated, especially if you’ve sold shares of stock.

The common types of business structures

There are several business structures available in the US. Here’s a simple guide to help you understand the differences between them.

Sole proprietorships

Ownership: One owner

Sell shares: No

Personal protection: No

Taxation: You’re taxed personally; the company does not pay its own taxes

A sole proprietorship is an unincorporated business that you own and run by yourself.

That word “unincorporated” is important. Since the business is unincorporated, it’s not a separate legal entity from you. If someone sues the business, they’re suing you. And you’ll be personally responsible for the business’s debts too.

This is one of the simplest business “structures” because in many ways, it isn’t a business structure at all. It’s just you, doing business under a business name.

Pros:

Easy. A simple option with minimal formalities. 

If you’re going to run the business by yourself and you aren’t concerned about debt or liability, this could be a good way to get started.

Cons:

Provides no personal protection. You’ll be personally liable for business debts as well as any actions your business takes. Not recommended for high-liability industries.

You can’t sell shares to raise money, and banks are often reluctant to lend money to sole prorprietorships.

Partnerships

Ownership: Two or more owners

Sell shares: No

Personal protection: Yes, although it varies between LPs and LLPs

Taxation: Partners are taxed personally; the company does not pay its own taxes

Partnerships let two or more people own a business together. There are two common kinds: limited partnerships (LP) and limited liability partnerships (LLP).

In limited partnerships, one “general partner” has unlimited liability while all the other partners enjoy limited liability, but they also have limited control of the company. These limits are usually laid out in a partnership agreement. 

In limited liability partnerships, all partners are treated equally, with limited liability.

In both cases, profits are passed through to personal tax returns, meaning the partnership itself does not pay taxes. Instead, the taxes are paid by the partners as part of their personal taxes. In limited partnerships, the general partner also has to pay self-employment tax.

Pros:

Partnerships allow you to own a business together. They’re popular among groups of professionals like lawyers, accountants, or consultants who want to pool their resources, sharing the risks and responsibilities of owning a business. 

Cons:

May be limited to certain types of professionals, depending on your state. May be required to file annual reports. Often have more formal obligations for filings and paperwork than LLCs.

Limited liability company (LLC) 

Ownership: One or more members

Sell shares: No

Personal protection: Yes, your personal assets are generally protected from business debts and legal liabilities

Taxation: LLC members are taxed personally; the company does not pay its own taxes

A limited liability company (LLC) can be owned by one person (a sole-member LLC) or by two or more people together (a partnership LLC). It provides protection for your personal assets against business lawsuits and creditors.

Like sole proprietorships and partnerships, LLCs don’t pay taxes as corporate entities. Their profits pass through to the individual members, who pay taxes as part of their personal income taxes. That’s why sole proprietorships, partnerships, and LLCs are sometimes called “pass-through entities.” 

Pros:

LLCs offer significant benefits for those who want to enjoy pass-through tax advantages and protection from personal liabilities without the full regulatory burden of corporations. They’re a popular choice among entrepreneurs, freelancers, small business owners, and real estate investors. 

Cons:

One of the biggest trade-offs of choosing an LLC is that you generally can’t sell shares. If you want to raise funds through equity financing or pursuing an IPO, the LLC structure usually won’t let you do that.

LLC rules, like other business entity rules, also vary by state. Depending on where you live, LLCs may only be allowed for more than one member, may have a limited lifespan, or may be required to dissolve and reform if there’s a change in ownership. 

S Corporation

Ownership: 1-100 shareholders

Sell shares: Yes

Personal protection: Yes, your personal assets are generally protected from business debts and legal liabilities

Taxation: Shareholders are taxed personally; the company does not pay its own taxes

An S Corporation (S Corp) allows for shareholders while still passing income, losses, deductions, and credits through to those shareholders for federal tax purposes. This helps the shareholders avoid double taxation in the same way an LLC does. 

This structure is a good option for small to medium-sized businesses looking to limit their liability and benefit from pass-through taxation while still allowing for the possibility of shareholders. To qualify, a business must have a limited number of shareholders, all of whom must be U.S. citizens or residents.

Pros:

S corporations offer liability protection as well as the tax advantages of a pass-through entity, while also allowing for shares that can be transferred. The S corp structure may also enhance credibility with customers and investors due to its formalized structure.

Cons: 

On the downside, S corps face limitations on the number and type of shareholders, which can restrict fundraising efforts and the potential for growth. There are also stricter operational processes and compliance requirements, such as holding regular meetings and maintaining detailed records. 

Corporation

Ownership: Ownership in a corporation is divided into shares held by shareholders

Sell shares: Yes

Personal protection: Provides the strongest shield in protecting personal assets from business liabilities

Taxation: Taxed as separate entities, paying corporate income tax

A corporation is a legal entity that exists independently of its owners. It provides the strongest liability protection for its shareholders, meaning their personal assets are typically protected from the corporation’s debts and liabilities. However, corporations are taxed separately from their owners, leading to the potential for double taxation on income—the corporation pays income tax, and shareholders may also pay personal income tax on their net gains.

This business structure is suitable for larger businesses or those seeking to raise funds through the sale of stock, as it allows for an unlimited number of shareholders and greater access to investment capital.

Pros:

This structure offers the strongest liability protection to shareholders, which can encourage investment and limit personal financial risk. Corporations can also raise capital more easily through the sale of stock, they may benefit from a wider range of tax deductions and incentives, and they have perpetual existence, meaning they can continue operating independently of changes in ownership or management.

Cons: 

Small businesses or individual entrepreneurs might face challenges due to complicated regulations, high administrative costs, and the risk of double taxation on earnings when choosing this business structure.

How to pick a business structure for your business

Following these steps can help you navigate the issues and choose the best fit for your business.

Step 1 – Review your needs

Decide how many owners your business will have, whether you want to sell shares, how much you care about personal protection against business debts & liabilities, and how much formality you’re prepared to manage (including the possibility of corporate taxes.)

Step 2 – Weigh each structure against those needs

With those factors in mind, consider the legal and tax implications of each structure. As a business owner, you’ll need to weigh the liability protection of each entity, the administrative requirements that will have to be met, and the potential tax advantages.

Step 3 – Seek professional advice

Consult with a lawyer and/or tax advisor, especially regarding the specific rules for each structure in your state. Make sure you understand the local nuances of each business structure before you make a final decision. 

Step 4 – Revisit your options as your business grows

Regularly review and reevaluate your business structure as your company grows and evolves. You’ll want to make sure your business structure still meets your objectives and that you stay compliant with regulatory agencies and tax authorities.

Buying a home will also, in most cases, be the most expensive purchase you’ll ever make. With the average home value sitting just under $410,700—plus inspections, closing costs, agent commissions, mortgage loans, and interest rates—buying a home can feel a bit overwhelming, especially for first-time homebuyers.

While homeownership takes some serious planning, it’s definitely doable. Use these tips and strategies to save up enough money for a new place of your own.

So, how much will you need?

The short answer is that it depends on a few factors. Do you want to build your own place? Will the property you’re looking at need repairs or renovations? What does your credit look like? 

Here’s the bottom line: you’ll need enough money to cover the costs of buying the home, plus any renovations needed and the additional costs that come with moving. Plus, you’ll need to handle the ongoing costs of your mortgage, property taxes, and insurance. Let’s take a look.

Your down payment

Your biggest upfront expense when buying a home will usually be the down payment — you’ll pay a percentage of the home’s purchase price before moving in, and you’ll borrow the rest. This is often required by the mortgage lender to lower their risk.  

How much can you plan on paying? Well, that depends on a variety of factors (including your credit score), but plan on a minimum of 10% of the purchase price. 

If your credit score isn’t in the upper echelon (hey, no judgment), expect to put down close to 20% for your best chance of consideration. This can also help you sidestep private mortgage insurance (PMI), which would make you responsible for a lender-protection premium.

Remember, buying a home isn’t like clothes shopping — there’s often some wiggle room in the price. Negotiating can make a real difference in your down payment savings as well as your mortgage.

Closing costs 

Along with your down payment, you’ll be responsible for taking care of closing costs — separate fees for the legal process of transferring home ownership. 

If this is your first time buying a home, make sure you factor in those closing costs when you’re starting to crunch the numbers. They’ll usually be around 3-6% of your mortgage amount. 

Mortgage 

Whatever you don’t have in cash, you’ll need to borrow. That total amount can be eye-popping, especially for a first-time buyer. Just remember you’ll have a long time to pay it back — often 30 years. 

The other piece of good news is that interest rates tend to be lower for homes than other loans. That’s because the house itself acts as collateral. Any good real estate agent can help you run the numbers to see what your monthly payments will be at different loan amounts and rates.

Taxes and insurance

Your new home will come with annual property taxes, and your mortgage lender will require you to keep a homeowner’s insurance policy on the property. In some mortgages, taxes and insurance will be covered by your monthly payments. In others, they won’t be. 

Be sure you understand whether these are separate costs you’ll need to cover.

Home repairs and renovations

It’s easy to focus on saving money for your new home, but don’t forget any additional expenses you may need to put into your existing residence to sell it. A lived-in home can definitely need a little TLC when it comes time to change ownership. 

A walk-through with a realtor or home inspector (or both) will give you an idea of what you may need to put into your home before you sell it.

On the other side of the deal, be aware of repairs and renovations when buying your new home too — especially if you’re moving into a fixer-upper or a home in need of upgrades. Stay mindful of what’s realistic given your budget. 

It can be tempting to spend every penny you save up on the purchase price of the home itself, but it’s a good idea to hold some of those funds back for unexpected expenses. You don’t want to find yourself in a tough situation if you need to repair a deck, for example, or if your air conditioner gives up the ghost. 

Moving costs

No matter how excited you are about your new place, moving can be stressful. To mitigate that headache as much as possible, consider hiring a professional moving company. 

While it may be alluring to round up a few pals and rent a U-Haul, that runs the risk of damaging your possessions, not to mention the risk of personal injury. 

When hiring movers, take a look at online reviews and make sure the company operates across the entire geographical region of the move. Budget for the move itself plus a tip for your movers.

Consider compensating them based on the size of the move, their efficiency, and the weather — $50 per mover will show them they did a great job. 

How can you save to buy a home?

Ready to start saving for the home of your dreams? These 9 tips can help you afford a wonderful property you can live and thrive in for years to come. 

1. Set your savings goals

The best way to get started is by deciding exactly what you can spend. 

For your target mortgage payments, start with your gross monthly income — your monthly pay before things like taxes get taken out. Multiply that number by 0.28 to figure out 28% of it. Ideally, you want to keep your mortgage payments at or below that amount.

For your down payment, shoot for 20% of the price if you can. The more money you can put down, the more you can reduce your lender’s risk, so the better the rate you’re likely to get. 

Once you have your targets, set a date for when you want to purchase the home, save up for that down payment, and start looking! Consider stashing your nest egg in a high-yield savings account to make your money go that much further. 

2. Budget, budget, budget (but make it easy)

Okay, this might seem sort of obvious, but it’s important to stay on track with your savings goal. While you may have the discipline to keep setting money aside when you first formulate your savings plan, staying disciplined and seeing it through can be tough. 

A personal finance app can help immensely. 

An app can automatically track your spending and help you stick with your goals. It can also help you discover easy places where you can save — every little bit helps!

Need some help figuring out a budget that fits your needs? We’ve got you covered.

3. Save windfalls of cash

Tax refund bigger than you expected? Throw it into your savings. Did your Great-Aunt Rita leave you a few bucks in her will? Savings account, for sure. Even if you’ve sold your old cache of Pokemon cards for a small fortune, you can pad your savings with that extra money. 

The more you save, the closer you’ll be to buying a home. When your funds find a home in your bank account, you can watch the money accrue interest and grow your savings.

4. Take on a side hustle

There’s a thriving gig economy in the United States and the opportunity to make extra cash has never been more prevalent. If you want to supplement your income, there are plenty of ways to make it happen. 

Own a car? Give people rides via Uber or Lyft, or even deliver groceries with InstaCart. If you’re an artist, Etsy provides a great platform to sell your work. Or you can even rub elbows with artists and actors working as a production assistant for shows in your hometown! 

Ready to get your side hustle started? Take a look at these 25+ ways to make extra income. 

5. Cut down on costs

Living frugally is especially helpful when saving for a large purchase, and it’s a good idea to cut down on costs wherever possible. 

This might look like skipping your daily latte and treating yourself on the weekend, or getting your inner Wolfgang Puck on and cooking at home instead of grabbing takeout. If you live in a neighborhood where walking or biking is an option, skip the car and save on gas (or ditch those Uber fees). 

Sift through your bank statements (or just look at your app) and see where your money is going — taking stock of superfluous purchases can make a huge difference in saving to buy a home.

Saving money is a surefire way to move toward your goals — we’ve got 14 tips for stacking extra cash. 

6. Go easy on the credit card

Racking up credit card debt is a surefire way to delay your financial independence and keep you indebted — especially if you’re tallying up big balances with higher interest rates. If you’re carrying a lot of credit card debt, it’s a good idea to pay it off before you start saving. 

Otherwise, your credit score could identify you as a risky investment to lenders, and you’re going to battle high interest rates on a mortgage.

Need to a plan to pay off your debt? You guessed it — we can help with that too.

7. Save money with a home inspector

When you find a home you love, be sure to hire an independent home inspector. A home inspection can minimize the risk of purchasing a defective property. 

Make sure the house is to your satisfaction before signing the agreement — you don’t want to purchase a new home and then find out a few weeks later that you’ll need to replace the roof!

Ask around among your family and friends to find the right inspector for you — it could end up saving you tens of thousands of dollars down the road. 

8. Down payment assistance

If you’re a first-time homebuyer, you may qualify for down payment assistance from grants, loans, or other assistance programs. Look into programs in your area to see what might be available, from grants to forgivable or deferred loans with no interest. You can also consider an FHA loan if you qualify.

9. Crowdsource your down payment fund

People set up crowdfunding for plenty of things these days — consider tapping your friends and family via GoFundMe to make a down payment on the home of your dreams. 

The inflation rates of the past few years have strapped many potential homebuyers for cash. A GoFundMe could be a great avenue to jump-start your savings.

Closing costs and closing thoughts

For most first-time buyers, a home will be the most expensive purchase you’ve ever made. But don’t worry, you’ve got this!

By calculating a figure that’s within your means and staying disciplined with your budget, you can make the down payment and closing costs, cover your mortgage payments, and enjoy the perks of homeownership.

Ready to start saving for your dream home? Download Quicken Simplifi today to automate your savings goals, monitor your spending, and buy a home you’ll love.

PIEs (portfolio investment entities), make up the core of many wealth-building strategies. Read on to discover how PIEs diversify risk, tap new markets — and more importantly, grow your money. 

What is a portfolio investment entity (PIE)?

Portfolio investment entities are vehicles (usually funds or trusts) that pool money from many investors to buy a “basket” of assets. These may include stocks, bonds, real estate, or alternative assets. Investing in a PIE means you own some of every asset in the basket. In other words: you own a slice of the PIE. 

Benefits: Why invest in a portfolio investment entity?

PIEs offer unique benefits like automatic diversification and expert guidance, which can make investing easier in today’s fast-paced financial world. 

Built-in diversification

Because PIEs invest in many assets, buying in can diversify your portfolio. Spreading money around this way can increase your financial resilience. If one asset or industry tanks, your overall portfolio may not suffer as much. 

Some of this increased diversification comes from their sheer size. Because they pool money from many investors, PIEs can make bigger investments than most individuals. 

You can also mix and match PIEs that focus on specific assets, industries, or strategies for even more diversification. These benefits are especially helpful for investors who lack the money or expertise to diversify on their own. 

Potential economies of scale 

Some PIEs also achieve economies of scale, which can benefit investors. Because PIEs pool investor funds, they can “buy in bulk,” potentially lowering individual investors’ costs and fees. 

Enjoy tax efficiency

Some PIEs offer tax advantages, though some are better deals than others. For instance, ETFs may be more tax-efficient than mutual funds due to differences in how they handle capital gains. Depending on their exact structure and jurisdiction, you may enjoy:

• Lower taxes on dividends, interest, or capital gains
• Deductions on investment-related expenses
• Tax-deferred growth (particularly for PIEs held in retirement accounts)
• Taxation using “prescribed investor rates” on New Zealand PIEs, instead of a personal income tax rate

Anywhere you catch a break puts more money in your pocket — or your investment account. 

Professional management at your service

Most PIEs hire professional fund managers to research, buy, and sell assets. Relying on their expertise means you don’t have to tackle these tasks yourself. 

Of course, it’s important to ensure that each PIE fits your needs. Still, that’s easier than researching hundreds of assets on your own!

Regulatory oversight for your protection

In the U.S., most PIEs — including mutual funds, ETFs, and investment trusts — follow SEC regulations. Depending on a PIE’s exact structure and jurisdiction, regulators may:

• Determine when and what information a PIE must report to investors and regulators
• Establish “fair practice” safeguards
• Set rules and enforce punishments for fraud or mismanagement

These rules help establish standards of transparency, protect investors’ interests, and keep regulators compliant to safeguard investors’ capital. 

However, not all PIEs have to follow the same regulations. For instance, hedge funds may be exempt from certain protections, increasing their investment risks. 

Types of portfolio investment entities

Mutual funds: The original PIE

Mutual funds are a type of PIE that pool investor funds to buy stocks, bonds, real estate, or other assets according to a stated strategy or set of goals. 

Historically, mutual funds hired active management teams, though modern funds may take a passive approach. 

(Passive investment funds typically buy assets that follow an index, such as the S&P 500 index. An index is basically a list of stocks that meet specific criteria. E.g., the S&P 500 follows about 500 of the largest U.S.-listed stocks. A passive S&P 500 fund would buy most or all of the stocks in the S&P 500 index.) 

However, many still charge higher investment minimums and fees than their ETF counterparts. Additionally, investors can only buy and sell shares once daily at a set price.  

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs): flexibility and cost efficiency

ETFs resemble mutual funds in that they pool money to buy a basket of securities. They also come in a variety of flavors and goals, such as income-focused or environmentally friendly. 

But unlike mutual funds, ETFs trade like stocks. You can buy them anytime the markets are open, and their prices fluctuate throughout the day. Many (but not all) also charge lower fees and have a more tax-efficient structure. 

Hedge funds: for the sophisticated investor

Hedge funds are private investment funds (they don’t trade on exchanges) that use higher-risk strategies to chase higher rewards. A hedge fund might:

• Invest in advanced assets like derivatives, currencies, or interest rates
• Pour money into risky markets or industries
• Use leverage (debt) to amplify their returns — and risk

Due to their strategies and decreased regulations, hedge funds tend to be riskier than other PIEs. They also charge higher fees and set higher investment minimums, often starting around $1 million. As a result, you probably can’t invest unless you’re an accredited (high-earning or high-net-worth) investor.  

Unit trusts: simplify investing

Unit trusts are unique assets established by a trust deed that identifies investors as beneficiaries. They invest pooled funds into a professionally managed portfolio based on the trust’s strategy. (Income generation, tax efficiency, etc.) Each investor receives a stake represented by “units.” These units fluctuate in value based on the underlying portfolio’s performance. 

In the U.S., unit trusts expire at a set date, at which point they pay any profits to their beneficiaries. This setup has some downsides, like limited control over investment decisions and inflexible timelines. However, they’re relatively liquid, as investors can sell their stake on secondary markets. They also present a viable opportunity to generate wealth or income.  

Investment trusts: leveraged risk and reward

Another unique type of asset, investment trusts are structured as publicly traded incorporated companies. 

Unlike unit trusts, which issue more units as needed, investment trusts issue a set number of shares. Their goal: to make money by investing in other companies. To achieve their goal, each trust establishes a board of directors to make decisions. 

Their unusual setup allows investment trusts to operate flexibly, investing in niche or less liquid assets and over longer timelines. They can use leverage (debt) to buy more assets, potentially increasing both profits and risk. 

Unlike ETFs, the value of the trust’s shares can differ from the value of the underlying assets, allowing investors to buy “discounted” shares. 

Steps to choose the right PIE for your portfolio

Most investors buy PIEs at some point in their journey — but not all PIEs are baked equal. 

Define your investment goals and risk tolerance

Understanding your goals can help you choose the most suitable PIE(s). 

Do you want to invest in a diversified portfolio for retirement? Engage in thematic investing like environmentally friendly or socially responsible investing? Generate short-term income? Improve your portfolio’s tax efficiency? How much can you afford to lose financially AND emotionally along the way?

Knowing what you hope to achieve — and how much risk you can tolerate — will guide you toward the right PIEs. 

Research and compare options

After identifying your needs, it’s time to find PIEs that your (financial) tastebuds will love. Most investors go for a mix of stock- and bond-based ETFs and mutual funds. You may also decide that hedge funds or trusts fit your needs and financial situation. 

Be sure to compare each PIE’s strategies, holdings, risks, and long-term outcomes.  

Select the right platform

Depending on the PIE, you may need to open an investment account with a specific brokerage to get started. (You might also be able to buy some assets through your regular broker.) Spend some time finding a platform that allows you to bake your perfect PIE without draining your wallet. 

Ask important questions

At every stage of PIE and platform selection, stay curious! Ask essential questions like:

• What kind of fees can I expect? Does the PIE charge an expense ratio, management fees, load fees, or performance fees? How much? When do I have to pay?
• What will this broker or platform charge me to trade assets? Will I have access to a financial advisor for that price?
• How quickly can I buy or sell this investment?
• How will this asset impact my tax situation? Will that change if I invest in a retirement account versus an individual brokerage account?

Remember: Knowledge is power — especially when it comes to your money.  

Know your PIE’s metrics

Aside from these questions, you’ll want to get familiar with each PIE’s metrics. Look at its historical performance — what kind of returns has it generated in the past? Has the expense ratio changed over time? How often does the fund rebalance its holdings? Having these answers at hand will help you make a well-informed decision. 

Start small if you’re unsure 

You don’t have to invest your life savings immediately just because you find a delicious PIE. It’s okay to start small and build your portfolio over time! (Perhaps with dollar-cost averaging or other regular investment strategies.) 

Tracking your PIE investments

Monitoring your investments is one of the most important steps of buying a PIE. But it can be time-consuming and frustrating to add *one more thing* to your plate. 

That’s why Quicken makes it easier. 

PIE FAQs

Are PIEs suitable for beginner investors?

PIEs offer a great entry point for beginner investors! Their instant diversification and professional management can help newbies feel more confident.  

What are the risks associated with PIEs?

Like all investments, PIEs can’t guarantee you’ll get your money back, let alone make a profit. You’ll also want to watch for high fees, past regulatory actions, and potential tax implications. 

How do I start investing in PIEs?

First, define your goals and risk tolerance, then find a fund — or fund manager — to help meet those goals. From there, you’ll need to open an account, make your first purchase, and prepare to track your investment.

Ready? Let’s go!

15 tips to help you organize your pantry

These 15 tips can help you simplify your pantry, and your life.

1. Start with a blank slate

If you’re organizing your pantry because of a diet or change in lifestyle, now would be a great time to donate all the food and grocery items you’ll no longer use. Also, check all the expiration dates and throw away anything that’s gone south.

Take everything out of the pantry until you’re left with a clean slate. Consider yourself an artist about to create a masterpiece of cleanliness and organization.

Scrub everything thoroughly, using your favorite cleaning products to make sure everything is germ-free. 

2. Consider shelf paper or liners

Shelf paper or liners can help with cleanliness and organization. If your shelves have seen better days, shelf paper can brighten them up without a costly renovation. Liners can also prevent loose food from falling between wire shelves, and catch any runoff from wet or leaky items. 

The best choice is often a neutral color so your labels can be the focus — you don’t want the inside of your pantry to be too busy or chaotic.

While your first thought may be to go for the cheaper liners, you may end up spending more in the long run if you don’t pick quality. Get some that are heavy-duty and won’t easily come apart if they get wet or oily. Some even come with their own fasteners to ensure they’ll stay in place.

3. Add some color 

With a clean, empty pantry, start thinking about color. Do you want to paint the walls wile you have the opportunity? Storing your dry goods against a colorful background will make everything seem just a bit more orderly. If you do decide to change the walls, make sure the finish you choose is a bit glossy and easy to keep clean.

Choose something you’ll enjoy looking at. You may also want to consider the lighting. Under-shelf lights provide a bright, colorful canvas and can make all your food look more inviting — and easier to see! With a little bit of creativity, that old pantry can become a work of art.

4. Take inventory

The canvas has been prepared — it’s time to turn to what will be filling the space. Take inventory of everything you have left. What’s still good after donating or throwing away the expired stuff? If you need to replenish your provisions for your new, improved pantry, do that now.

5. Categorize everything

Next, put everything into categories and decide where in the pantry you want to keep specific items. What’s the perfect place for all your baking needs, snacks, or spices? You don’t want any bulky or heavy items up high, and you’ll want the things you use the most at eye level. Put some time into the composition so you don’t run into issues later.

6. Think about what you use most

If you only bake cookies once a month, would it make sense to give the flour and chocolate chips more priority? Would the wicker basket that holds the microwave popcorn, chocolate bars, and candy that you eat when streaming a movie go better closer to the door? Taking a bit of time to answer these kinds of questions will make your pantry an easier space to navigate.

7. Store bulk and loose items in containers

For your bulk items like pasta, flours, and cereals, clear containers with lids might be the way to go. There are a number of different styles and materials, from glass jars with wooden lids to plastic jars with air-tight locking latches. Measure your shelves and pick out your containers all at once for a more uniform look.

For loose items like protein bars and snacks, wicker baskets look wonderful against any color background. From a tight weave to a knotted look, wicker adds warmth and comfort to your shelves and keeps your bigger loose items from falling to the floor.

Consider installing metal mesh shelves underneath the existing shelves to house your heavier canned goods. Larger mesh drawers can be a great option for breads too, as they won’t crush your precious pumpernickel.

8. Keep spices in a rack

What will you do with your spices? You probably use some of them often — others, not so much. So it can be tough to decide where to put them. Plus, storing them all together on one shelf can make them hard to look through.

Consider a separate spice rack (or more than one) to free up more pantry space. These specialized racks are easy to install on any wall in the kitchen, so you can keep your favorites right where you use them. For the rest, consider a spot that’s a bit more out of the way.

Depending on your pantry, you might even be able to hang a spice rack on the back of the door, so you can keep your spices in the pantry without taking up precious shelf space. 

9. Keep track of expiration dates

If you’ve ever worked in a commercial kitchen or fast food restaurant, you’ve likely heard the term FIFO — First In, First Out. As you add new products to your pantry, make sure you add the new items behind the old ones so nothing expires before you can use it all. 

Moving canned goods to the front and stocking new cans toward the back is a good habit to get into, and you won’t ruin your monthly budget by having to throw food away.

10. Label, label, label

If you opted for new containers, it might be time to go buy a label printer (but painter’s tape and a Sharpie work just as well). You can be expensive and fancy, cheap and streamlined, or old school as long as you remember to label new products as they go into your pantry. 

Labels are a great way to add a finishing touch to your containers with your own personal style. 

11. Make a spot for the kids and fur babies

Before you finalize your pantry, pick out a special spot for your kids or pets. If you have kids, could you put a bin at their eye level for them to see when they get home from school? Imagine a bin full of healthy snacks and protein bars.

For pets, consider adding a bin or wicker basket with all the treats, food, litter, flea collars, and special shampoo you need — so it will always be in reach when you need it.

12. Use door space and empty walls

If you’ve made a budget and shop often, there’s a real chance you’ve filled every square inch of shelf and drawer space. What about your small appliances? Look for places to hang them on walls or on the back of the pantry door (if your spice rack isn’t already there). Get creative — the more space you free up for these appliances, the more organized your kitchen and pantry will be!

13. Pay special attention to baking supplies

If you love to bake, it might be a good idea to keep all your baking needs in one accessible place as you walk in the pantry. There’s nothing worse than having to hunt for measuring cups, baking powder, or butterscotch chips.

You can even add some mugs and a bin of flavored coffee to make this your special place with all the little unique items that make baking so enjoyable. From baking sheets to baking soda, you’ll always know where everything is stored.

14. Don’t neglect your budget

Using Quicken Simplifi to create and maintain your budget can help you make sure that you always have enough money at the end of the month to fill those empty spaces.

To make a food budget, start by planning a menu for the week, considering your work and entertainment schedule and what kinds of food you prefer. Look at local grocery store weekly ads to plan meals around sale items, and stock up on essentials. See what you have left over from last week, andmake a grocery list based on your menu. Plan for leftovers and use them in future meals to save even more.

A good budget goes a long way toward making sure you always have plenty of food on hand when you need it.

15. Keep it up!

Once you have everything how you like it, take a picture! You can always refer back to it to help keep this space uncluttered and organized. All it takes is a bit of focus. Spend some time each week putting everything where it should be, and always put everything back in its place. 

You’ve created a Picasso in your pantry. Now sit back and enjoy!

A business plan is a detailed document that outlines your business idea, its market potential, and the strategy for execution. I learned that every entrepreneur and business owner needs a business plan to attract potential investors, secure lenders, and ensure the successful growth of their new business.

With tools like ChatGPT, making a business plan has never been easier, but I’ll outline every step of the process so that you understand the why and how of a business plan.

Let’s get started!

Why do you need a business plan?

A complete business plan is a guide for business owners, detailing plans and outlining the milestones for reaching business goals. It allows you to share your findings with lenders and investors, as well as the all-important stakeholders who are helping to create this new business. It contains detailed market research and analysis, two of the most important tasks you must explore before you start any business. These help to identify target customers or ideal users for your product, service, app, or software. They also expose any competitive advantages you may have over other businesses. 

The business plan is the who, what, when, why, and how of your business.

It provides well-thought-out financial projections and demonstrates the business’s vitality and potential to generate profit to your stakeholders, future lenders, and investors.

9 steps to create a business plan

Creating a business plan is a critical step for entrepreneurs aiming to establish a successful business. Each section of your business plan should be thoroughly researched beforehand and documented in a clear, concise manner. While this is a high-level document, you should avoid heavy-handed business jargon, unless it’s technically appropriate. Be mindful of the varying audiences that will go through your business plan. 

Here’s a friendly and straightforward guide to help you craft a comprehensive business plan. Let’s go into each part of a business plan and its specific purpose.

Step 1. Write the executive summary

Let’s do the fun part! Summarize the key points of your business plan in the executive summary. This is the hook for your document. Doing this part right will ensure the whole document is read completely by potential investors and stakeholders until the end. Because this will be at the beginning of your business document, it sets the stage for your entire plan.

The summary provides a brief overview of your business, including both the mission statement and value proposition, and states the clearest benefit that customers receive in return for giving you their business. 

Craft the company description

Include the company description in the executive summary.

Use as many details as you can to explain your business idea, the type of business, and its legal structure (e.g., S-Corp, LLC). Here you will also want to speak to the company history (or origin story), and the products or services offered. Include information about your management team and their qualifications and credentials. If this is a single member-managed LLC, this is a good place to talk about yourself and what you bring to the company.

The stakeholders and investors want to know that those running the company are stable and trustworthy, have no conflicts of interest, and will be looking out for the welfare of the company and its shareholders.

Step 2. Analyze the market and create a plan

Thoroughly conduct market research on your consumer base and customer segments. This helps you decide who to market to and how to pursue them. To do this correctly, you must conduct a competitive analysis to understand your rivals and gather demographic details to find out who your customers are. 

You also must identify market trends that impact your industry. For example, imagine building a new search engine and knowing nothing about Google. Ignorance about your society’s business trends or innovations can hurt your reputation and impede your growth. That’s why it’s so important to stay up to date on global happenings.

If you present this information clearly in your business plan, it’ll create a picture of the current market landscape and show opportunities as well as potential roadblocks. This will demonstrate to stakeholders and investors how your business will meet the needs of the target audience you’ve introduced them to.

This is one of the more difficult parts of your business plan. If you’ve never used artificial intelligence (AI), now might be the time to open ChatGPT or Google Gemini and start plugging in questions about your target market, or use other software tools like Semrush to research your competitors.

Market research and the marketing plan

Conduct market research. If you can’t afford to have someone do it for you, try doing it yourself on a budget. From the data you receive, analyze your target market and customer segments. Gather intel about your competitors. Use this data to decide on your business strategy.

Now you’ll choose the methods for your marketing, like social media or direct mail, and develop a marketing strategy to reach the target market you identified based on your market research. If you’re using social media, identify which platforms you’ll focus your attention on. Learn how to fully capitalize on your platform of choice and decide whether you’ll only try to reach your customers organically, or targeted means such as paid ads.

Include in the documentation your pricing strategy and other marketing activities like direct mail or email marketing. 

Step 3. Define your business idea and vision

With the market research done, you’ll next want to document your business idea, putting down every detail of the processes and procedures involved in selling your product or service. Then, create a mission statement and reveal your vision for your business. Identify the type of business. Lastly, create your unique value proposition (UVP) to prove how you stand out from your competitors.

Business goals and a strategic plan

Ambition is the lifeblood of any business. To boost your momentum as you work out the kinks of the business, outline your short-term and long-term goals. Look at successful business models and chart their progress and breakthroughs, so that you can gain a sense of how to reach your business ideals accordingly. Include specific milestones — maybe ones that you look forward to for the joy of the reward, or perhaps for the challenge in achieving it — and let your plan lay down the roadwork to your goals.

Brainstorm what you want for your business and outline your goals. Next, set up milestones to use as a roadmap. Finally, include a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats). This document is invaluable. The main objective of a SWOT analysis is to help you gain a complete understanding of all the factors involved in making business decisions. By completely assessing your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, you can make confident and informed choices.

Step 4. Detail your product or service offering

Now let’s dive into your product or service.

Describe what you’re selling and document it in detail, highlighting any unique features, patents, or intellectual property. If you’ve done a market analysis, explain how your products or services will meet the needs of your target customers.

Knowing your product or service is key and solid research will help define the strength of the product. Imagine you’re going on Shark Tank and you need to be prepared to answer any question asked by the Sharks. Your investors will be looking at your business in much the same way, so be prepared.

Step 5. Design a sales plan

Develop a comprehensive sales strategy. Explain the data behind your pricing, the channels in your marketing plan, and how you’ll reach your target customers — all these pieces work together to really get the ball rolling, and there are so many ways to get people’s attention on your business if your plan has a savvy sales plan. 

Because it’s so easy to organically market to your audience through mediums such as social media, your initial efforts should either involve creating a presence on one or more social media platforms or using alternative marketing solutions. I’d suggest you pick the platform that best represents your market and focus on that. From there, you can gauge interest and engagement and look to diversify your social media or marketing avenues further!

Step 6. Prepare financial projections

Projections help you see where you’ll be financially at points in the future and provide needed information for your and your investors’ future funding endeavors. Depending on how aggressive your funding goals are, you may want to get the stakeholders to sign off sooner than later. 

It’s been said before that if it’s not written down, it means nothing, so provide an income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement to demonstrate the financial stability and profitability of your business.

Step 7. Plan your operations

When you create the operational plan, you’ll detail your supply chain, production processes, and the daily operations of a smooth-running business. Make sure you identify key players and the supply or production partners involved in your business.

Operating plan

No doubt by now you’ve thought about countless details when it comes to running your business. Document every process and explain the day-to-day operations of your business in your operating plan. This document should include specific information on your supply chain, production processes, and operational workflows.

Step 8. Create a funding proposal

Now’s the time to detail your funding requirements and how the funds will be used. This is how investors and funding agencies recognize your needs and what you’re asking for to ensure future growth. In your proposal, you will need to talk about methods and strategies, a budget, and a statement of need. 

If you plan on applying for grants in the future you may want to do some deep research into how to write a grant proposal.

Step 9. Compile and review your plan

Gather all the needed sections of your business plan into one master document. Spend some time rereading, reviewing, and revising the plan to ensure clarity and accuracy. Make sure everything you’ve written is in alignment with your business goals. 

Additional business tips

Seek feedback from stakeholders

Revise your business plan accordingly. Before you finalize anything, everyone who matters to your business should weigh in and give advice and guidance, which you can use to revise your business plan accordingly. revise and document.

Regularly update your business plan 

Reflect changes in the market or in your business structure. Throughout its life, your business will change and pivot based on its progress and your response to the ups and downs. The business plan document should change with it, serving as an up-to-date guide.

Use artificial intelligence

Don’t be afraid to use AI to help you gather and create the documentation for your business. While you do need to ensure that the output from the AI is accurate with thorough fact-checking, chatbots like ChatGPT are invaluable for gathering research, creating outlines, and checking and revising your finalized documents. It’s also good for creating example documents so you don’t have to work from a blank page. 

Twenty years ago, I was looking for answers, and they were a lot harder to find than they are these days. Now, you can ask Google or Siri anything and have ChatGPT help you create a business plan from scratch that can, after a little tweaking, be used as the document that drives your business.

This simple guide to changing your personal budget over time can help you navigate those financial changes and reach your goals with confidence.

Every budget changes over time

For dedicated budgeters, changing your personal budget can feel like a real challenge. For one thing, you work hard to stay within your budget every month. Changing it can feel like cheating—even if you have good reason to switch things up.

But the longer you put off changing your budget, the harder it is to do. Small changes in your finances stack up over time. Eventually, instead of changing one or two things, it feels like you’re starting over from scratch.

Instead of letting those fluctuations build, create a plan to re-evaluate your budget over time, at regular intervals, and expect your personal budget template to change, whether you’re keeping that budget in a modern app or on paper.

By keeping your personal budget categories up to date, you’ll keep your financial goals on track, which is the primary purpose of any complete budget.

Here are four tips for keeping your budget up to date as your financial needs change.

Tip 1. Create a proactive schedule

Creating a schedule to evaluate your budget on a regular basis is a great way to stop reacting to change and start planning for it instead. Your budget won’t always need to change, but you’ll be prepared when it does.

It’s also a great way to take control of your financial goals. Checking in regularly helps you adapt to budgeting changes while keeping your eyes on the big picture and keeping those goals on track.

Finally, if you’ve combined your finances with a spouse, partner, or other family member, regular check-ins provide the perfect structure for keeping those channels of communication open.

Monthly check-ins

Check in at the end of each month to review how you did on your budget last month and evaluate the month ahead.

If your spending went over budget, a monthly check-in gives you a chance to find out why. Is there a new bill you need to account for as you move forward? Or was it a one-time expense you can easily make up for later?

If your spending came in under budget, you can decide how to use that windfall: let it roll over to the next month as a cushion, use it to pay down debt, add it to your savings, or do some of each.

Your monthly check-in is also a good time to make sure your personal budget data is up to date. Have you entered every transaction? Do your balances match what you’re seeing online?

In a budgeting app, this might only take a few clicks. If you’re keeping your budget on paper or in a spreadsheet, take the time to make sure everything adds up. You can’t check in with your budget if your records are out of date.

Once your data is caught up, make sure your spending looks right in each category. If a category seems much higher or lower than you expected, your monthly budget review is the perfect time to look into it.

Quarterly check-ins

At the end of each quarter, take these 4 extra steps to evaluate how your finances might be changing over time.

1. Review spending trends. Review your spending over the last 3 months, taking special note of any developing trends. Are any of your categories consistently rising or falling? If so, this is a good time to figure out why and adjust your budget for the next quarter.
2. Review your balances. Is the average balance of your primary bank account rising? Consider putting more money toward your savings next quarter. Is the average balance of your credit card rising? Find a way to start paying that debt back down.
3. Review your subscriptions. This is also a good time to review your transactions for subscriptions you might have stopped using. The average household spends a lot more on subscriptions than most people realize. Checking your list each quarter can put a lot of money back in your pocket.
4. Review your savings & investments. Pay special attention at the end of each quarter to your emergency fund, your retirement plan, and any other investments and savings goals you’re building over time. If you had to draw on your savings for unexpected expenses, that’s okay. Build a plan into your budget to rebuild so you’ll be ready if and when you need them again.

Annual check-ins

At the end of the year, add these final 5 steps to make sure you’re making the most of your personal budget for the coming year.

1. Review your net worth. Tracking your net worth helps you take control of your finances by understanding your trends and evaluating the overall health of your spending and saving patterns.
2. Review your taxes. Nobody likes paying taxes, but your tax return is an important tool in planning for the coming year. Use your return to evaluate any changes you want to make to enhance your savings.
3. Review your insurance coverage. Did you sell a car during the year? Or buy a rental property? Have your family’s financial needs increased enough to warrant a larger insurance policy? Or have they decreased enough for a smaller one? Review your insurance policies at year-end to see if anything needs to be updated.
4. Review your beneficiaries and estate plan. As you review your insurance coverage, remember to consider your beneficiaries to see if you need to make any changes. This is also a good time to review your will, medical directives, and the rest of your estate plan.
5. Set your financial goals for the coming year. This process should include upcoming events like vacations, weddings, and graduations as well as long-term financial planning. For larger goals, consider setting target milestones as benchmarks for your progress through the year.

Tip 2. Account for both temporary and permanent changes

Throughout all your budget check-ins, pay attention to whether changes are temporary or permanent and how well things are balancing out.

If you often have a small cushion at the end of the month, and then you go over one month because you bought a new set of tires, that’s not the kind of fluctuation that requires a major budget overhaul.

On the other hand, a new job, or even starting to work remotely, will probably warrant some adjustments to your personal monthly budget as you move forward.

Most importantly, by keeping up with your budget every month, quarter, and year, you’ll identify new trends quickly, letting you react with small adjustments throughout the year instead of getting too far off track and having to start from scratch.

Tip 3. Use calculators

As you evaluate your budget for potential changes, it can be a challenge to figure out how to make it all work. When you increase one budget category, you’ll need to decrease your budget somewhere else.

Reviewing your budget regularly makes this easier, but even two or three important changes can feel overwhelming as you try to redistribute the rest. And significant life events like a move or a new job can add up to a lot of changes at once.

Modern personal finance software and apps make the process easier with tools that can crunch the numbers for you, letting you raise and lower different amounts easily while you experiment.

If you aren’t using an app, consider using a budget calculator when you want to make changes to your budget. These online tools help you structure your budget by providing places to enter the most common personal budget categories, such as housing, transportation, education, personal items, and savings.

A good budget calculator will break these down for you into subcategories, with places to enter your own unique needs.

Although a budget calculator can’t fully replace a personal budgeting app, it’s still a useful way to experiment with redistributing your funds and determine which changes to your budget make the most sense.

Tip 4. Be sure to choose a budgeting system that can meet your needs

When you first get started with budgeting, you might keep your budget on paper or in a personal budget spreadsheet. That isn’t a bad way to start, but as your finances grow, they tend to become more sophisticated.

In fact, they should get more sophisticated.

As your finances grow and become more complex—adding things like retirement accounts, investments, or a mortgage—it becomes more important to track key performance indicators and think about your long-term income opportunities.

A budgeting app like Quicken Simplifi can help you track your finances in just a few minutes a week. If you’re used to a relatively uncomplicated budgeting system, an app that’s easy to use can help you feel more comfortable as you transition to a more flexible, comprehensive system.

On the other hand, if you’re used to a line-by-line budgeting system with different amounts for each category, our Quicken Classic desktop software lets you work the same way, changing your budget easily whenever you want to.

The important thing is to choose an app or software that can grow with you, letting you change your budget easily as your financial needs progress throughout your life.

Whether your own closet feels like a disaster or it just needs a little glowup, these 9 simple steps can turn any storage space into a breath of fresh air. 

Ready to tame your closet once and for all? Let’s get started!

1. Set aside time and gather your supplies

A full closet glowup is a real project. Make sure you set aside enough time to get everything done. 

A day, or a whole weekend? How messy is your closet? If it’s in fairly good shape, a day may be enough. But if you have a big closet and it looks like World War III happened in there, a weekend may be more your speed. You’ll want uninterrupted time, so don’t do it on the same weekend as the big game.

Write up a list of supplies that can help you clean and organize — bins, totes, hangers, labels, cleaning products — and have everything ready before you start. Make it exciting by getting as fancy as you want with some extra touches, like cedar hangers and designer labels, or stick with good ol’ plastic hangers and tape. Go all out or make it as simple as possible, whatever will help you get started.

2. Empty the closet and clean the closet space

Take everything out of the closet. Start with a clean slate before you begin building your masterpiece. Lay out your items in a designated space for sorting — another room or your bed.

Dust shelves, wipe down walls, and vacuum the floor. Try to clear out all the dust, and avoid reintroducing dust by giving your clothes a good clean before you finally put them back into the closet. 

Now would also be a good time to deodorize and maybe add a bag of cedar chips or a floral packet to keep the moisture out and have the space beautifully scented. 

3. Sort everything into categories

Now for some organization! Section off all your clothing, shoes, goods, etc. For each category, you want four piles: keep, donate, sell, and recycle. 

Be honest and practical about what you truly need and use. We all have that sweater that, no matter what season it is, always makes it back in the closet, never to be worn.

Clear out what you no longer need and give it to someone else who will use it. Don’t keep storing the same clothes you’re hesitant to part with. Instead of holding onto clothes you’re unsure about, find a better way to let them go.

4. Declutter your keep pile and organize by type

Focus on the keep pile and remove any duplicates or items you rarely use. Try to reduce that pile by 20% at least! Ask yourself how often you wear each piece of clothing and whether it’s worth storing unused items endlessly, hoping one day you’ll wear them.

Separate clothes by type: shirts, pants, shoes, jackets, sweaters, etc. Then organize by season — items that are out of season should go into storage. They can go in an attic, in bins under the bed, or even into a storage unit.

5. Choose your storage solutions

Take some time to evaluate what you have to ensure that your storage solutions, like bins, racks, and shelves, are adequate for the job ahead. Consider adding wicker baskets, racks for shoes and hats, and organizers for anything that can’t fit on a hanger.

If you spend some time in any of the home furnishing stores, you’ll find the perfect storage solutions for your needs. There are even services that will take the measurements of your closet and design a unique closet-organization setup just for you.

6. Return items to the closet, organize, and label

Start putting items back in the closet, starting with the items you use the most. Everything should have a place. Hopefully, you bought some decent hangers that will keep your clothes wrinkle-free. Uniform hangers will also save space and improve aesthetics.

Group together similar items for easy access. Fold or roll clothes that don’t need a hanger, like sweaters and jeans. Keep your shoes in a tidy array by using organizers or clear boxes. Arrange everything by type and frequency of use.

Get the most utility out of your space with the use of hooks, trays, boxes, or baskets for accessories like belts, scarves, and jewelry.

Clearly label bins and boxes for easy identification. There’s nothing worse than not knowing where your lime-green jeans are stored. You can use a fancy label maker or hand-write them for a personal touch.

7. Make a maintenance plan

Set up a schedule for routine maintenance of your closet — we suggest by season, as you’ll be moving different items in and out of storage like coats and boots. For example, if you experience deep winters, you’ll definitely need a prepared space to store all bulky items like jackets and ski wear.

Don’t let messes get away from you. Address any problems right away and get the closet back in ship-shape condition. When you leave them for more than a day or two, organization fails soon after. Item after item will start piling up, and your closet will be back to a sad state.

8. Donate or sell unwanted items

Many people have started businesses by starting to sell unwanted items from their closet. Take inventory and consider listing items that are in good condition on sites like eBay or Poshmark. After selling your items, help friends and family organize and sell their items too. 

If you don’t want to bother with that, wrap everything up in plastic bags and drop them off at local thrift stores or donation sites. Thrift stores will take almost everything in any shape. Just avoid sending intimate items like underwear or items that are in absolute disrepair.

9. Enjoy your organized closet

You’ve finished! Take some time to enjoy your handiwork and take pictures so you can remember where everything goes. Or, show off your new closet on social media and tag it #closetmakeover!

People all over the world are becoming small business owners. If you have the motivation, entrepreneurship is one of the best ways to build new income streams and turn them into full-time opportunities.

Another benefit? Many ideas that work in a small town also have the potential to help the community as a whole. Here are 21 business ideas to get you started.

1. Car wash

Either build a self-service car wash or advertise your mobile car washing and detailing services locally. After a while, most of your clientele will be repeat customers or referrals from word of mouth. 

If you opt for the mobile car wash route, all you need to get started is a hose, some microfiber cloths, soap, wax, and a buffer. 

There are even franchises that will provide you with everything you need for the right price. Try Mr. Clean Car Wash, or Fleet Clean USA.

2. Strength coach or personal trainer

If fitness is your thing, find a few local clients and offer to train them. Sometimes it helps to specialize, but in a small town — where you’re likely to get clients from various backgrounds and fitness levels — it’s best to take anyone you can and create a custom training plan for them.

You’ll end up with more business, and your clients will appreciate the personalized service.

3. E-Commerce store

Pick a niche, maybe something that interests you or a hobby, like gaming, that you want to expand upon. Use free (or nearly free) online resources to set up a Shopify or Etsy store where you can choose from at least 3 business models:

• Sell your own creations
• Buy inventory from wholesalers to sell and ship to your customers
• Dropship directly from wholesalers or from retailers like Amazon — so you only handle sales, not delivery

With a reliable internet connection, you can oversee your supply, marketing, and customer service from anywhere, even in a small town.

4. Tutoring services

Provide tutoring in subjects like math or world languages, or consider test preparation. Use video conferencing tools like Zoom or Skype to connect with students worldwide.

5. Resell used clothing

Source used clothing from thrift stores and yard sales and then sell those pieces online. 

Thrifting locally in small towns makes it easier to find vintage pieces that sell for a premium on places like eBay and Poshmark.

6. Coffee shop and bar

Combine a cozy coffee shop with evening wine and beer service to cater to both daytime and post-work crowds. You can even incorporate breakfast service and cater to the morning commuters heading into the city for work.

7. Pet grooming and boarding

Tap into the $303 billion pet industry by offering grooming and boarding services. Pet hotels are a great source of income for people who love pets. 

For a luxury twist, turn your pet hotel into a boutique and offer 24/7 webcam security, special diets, pet massages, walks, and visits to dog parks.

8. Consulting or freelancing

If you have Wi-fi, you can use your skills to consult for large companies that hire people to work from home. Web design, content creation, marketing, coding, or app development — you can do it all right from the comfort of your home and get paid well to do it.

9. Bakery

Freshly baked goods are always a hit in small communities. And you can expand your market to hotels and resorts in larger communities too. Sweet confections are a favorite, and you can make a niche for yourself by capitalizing on a small-town vibe.

10. Farmers’ market 

Organize a local market for fresh produce and artisanal products. You can source from local farms or use your own green thumb and sell your produce alongside the farmers in your area.

11. Bookstore

Create a cozy space for book lovers to explore — just remember to include plenty of specialty items like games and journals for a uniquely curated collection. 

Once you’ve hit a popular vibe, don’t be afraid to advertise in bigger cities. Avid readers will gladly travel for hard-to-find books, custom collections, and special experiences.

12. Ice cream shop

Ice cream is a great seller, especially in summer. Try to be unique in your branding or your product to make your shop memorable. A lot of shops lean into being Instagrammable, creating their own hashtags and building up their social media accounts.

13. Home improvement services

Offer handyman or renovation services. Ask local contractors if they need someone to clean up after jobs and use leftover materials to create furniture, gifts, or items you can sell online for a profit.

14. Cleaning services and upkeep

Help residents maintain clean homes and offices, be it indoors or out. You can even look into specialization, like helping senior citizens or college students.

15. Microbrewery

Sell your own craft beer and create a local hangout. This could be a great choice iif you’re already interested in beer or brew your own at home. 

Focus your business on good customer service and set yourself apart even further by creating unique flavors with locally sourced ingredients.

16. Hair salon or barbershop

Keep the community looking sharp. You can either open a shop for that boutique hair experience, or go straight to people’s homes and do everything at their location.

17. Bed-and-breakfast

Convert your home into a charming B&B for travelers. Be unique and make yourself memorable by focusing on quality, tasteful decor and paying attention to the little things, such as indulgent bed linens, for those special finishing touches.

18. Auto repair

Every small town needs a great mechanic. Whether you open a shop or work on cars in your customers’ driveways, you’re helping the community save money and extending the lives of their precious cars that much longer.

19. Computer services and consulting

How many high school students and senior citizens do you know who need help with their computers? You can have a thriving business helping people set up their TVs, Wi-Fi, smart devices, and more. Everything runs on some form of technology, and if you have a knack for it, it’ll be easy to make money while helping others.

20. Landscaping and gardening

Not everyone has a green thumb or the time to tend their lawns and gardens — make money by helping people keep their homes looking fresh. How many landscaping businesses were once just a kid with a lawnmower going around the neighborhood and making extra money? The summer job back then can easily become a full-fledged business that beautifies the community.

21. Daycare or babysitting

Are you good with children? The parents of your small town or city need you. There’s always a market for dependable, friendly childcare workers, and you can ease the schedules of busy parents. Just remember to check your local licensing requirements before you get started.

Small town business challenges — and how to overcome them

Still unsure about your small town business? Turn small town challenges into opportunities with these simple tips.

Market size

When you open a business in a small town, the market size can be a challenge. You’ll need to bring in as many people as you can — and keep them coming back. Consider a mash-up of 2 or more ideas from the list above, like a bookstore bakery or a gourmet ice cream coffee shop.

It also helps to make your business social media friendly and build strong relationships through community involvement. 

In fact, one of the great things about operating in a smaller market is word-of-mouth. In some cases, getting the word out about your business may be as easy as talking to your friends and neighbors at the local grocery store.

Not sure where to start? The Chamber of Commerce is usually helpful and welcoming in a small town, so get to know them first. They can connect you with opportunities to sponsor the local high school football team, network through the PTA, and more. 

Traffic

While you do get less foot and car traffic in a small town, the people who pass by are more likely to stop. People who live in smaller towns often love living there, preferring local businesses over driving to more populated areas.

Look for ways to include the community in your sales and special events, and you’ll be more likely to get repeat business from your neighbors. Building a loyal customer base and becoming an integral part of the community can provide a sense of fulfillment that goes beyond financial success.

Plus, the internet has made it a lot easier to connect to customers. Wherever you can, find ways to include a broader audience for your products or services and extend your reach beyond those small town borders.

Employees

Attracting and keeping employees can be challenging in a small town due to slower lifestyles, limited populations, and scaled-down infrastructure. Use your connections here too by participating in high school job fairs—and don’t forget to advertise in the local newspaper.

The good news is that small towns also offer special benefits, such as lower operating costs, reduced competition, and a strong sense of community. 

If you manage your finances carefully, that lower cost of living can make all the difference in your bottom line.

If you’re set on making the most of the season, take a look at the list we’ve compiled below for fun spring activities — consider it your key to enjoying all that springtime has to offer without breaking the bank.

45 spring activities on a budget

Plus, here’s a quick video tip to make your spring activities list even more fun!

1. Enjoy the flowers.

Springtime is when flowers begin to bloom — take this time to enjoy the daffodils, poppies, and cherry blossoms!

2. Relish a rainy day. 

April showers bring May flowers, right? This season is the perfect time to enjoy a lazy day at home relaxing as the rain falls. Crack a book open or listen to relaxing music to increase the ambience. 

3. Go for a hike. 

If you live in a hotter climate, the mild temperatures of the spring season can offer perfect hiking conditions. Get out there and explore!

4. Run in the rain. 

Going for a run in the rain is a great way to embrace the spring weather and enjoy a refreshing cleanse while exercising — just be careful on slippery asphalt!

5. Catch a baseball game. 

This time of the year also marks the beginning of baseball season! Whether your city has an MLB team or a single-A squad, go catch a game!

6. Start a garden. 

Whether you plan on planting flowers or veggies, starting a garden can provide a wonderful hobby during the spring months — and on into summer!

7. Take a road trip. 

Enjoy the open road during the springtime by taking a road trip — who knows where the road will take you!

8. Visit your local farmer’s market. 

Buying your produce from the farmer’s market helps growers in your area — and provides you with amazing fruits and vegetables. Check it out!

9. Jump in a few puddles. 

Seriously! Channel your inner child and splash around in a few puddles this season — it might feel better than you’d think.

10. Have a scavenger hunt. 

Whether you celebrate Easter or not, a good old-fashioned scavenger hunt can provide a great opportunity to have fun in the nice weather.

11. Take a trip for spring break. 

Unless you’re a boisterous college student, you may want to look beyond Panama City Beach or Cancun for that ultimate spring getaway.

12. Visit your local zoo. 

Who doesn’t love baby animals? The zoo is a great place to see the newborns from the winter and observe the inherent beauty of wild animals.

13. Celebrate Earth Day. 

Earth Day falls every year on April 22nd. Want to celebrate and learn more? Here’s how.

14. Go for a bike ride. 

There’s nothing like feeling the breeze and the sunshine on your face while you ride a bike — it’s the perfect spring activity.

15. Get down with some spring cleaning. 

Wait, this is a list of fun activities, right? While it may not seem fun, the joy of a pristinely clean home is hard to top.

16. Wash your car. 

Break out the hose and suds and give your ride a bath. If you live in a traditional winter climate, salt from the road can wreak havoc on your finish!

17. Bathe the dog. 

While you’re at it, you can give your pup a bath, too. Dogs can carry pollen and other allergens on their coat, which can exacerbate spring allergies.

18. Go for a walk. 

There are few pleasures as simple and effectively relaxing as going for a nice stroll — there’s no time like the spring for a good walk.

19. Get into bird-watching. 

Local nature preserves can offer wonderful bird-watching opportunities, where you can observe local species in their natural habitats. 

20. Blow some bubbles. 

A classic, enjoyable activity, blowing bubbles provides springtime fun for the whole family.

21. Make a mural with sidewalk chalk. 

Channel your inner Michelangelo and create a masterpiece on your driveway or sidewalk with colorful sidewalk chalk!

22. Enjoy a cup of coffee outside. 

Spring mornings are serene, tranquil, and chill — the perfect place to enjoy your morning coffee. Sit outside and enjoy it.

23. Meditate under a blooming tree. 

Whether it’s a cherry blossom, dogwood, or magnolia tree, sitting under one while meditating can provide you with a daily sense of zen.

24. Watch the Masters’ Championship. 

The iconic golf tournament is a hallmark of springtime — you can watch the best in the world compete for the prestigious green jacket!

25. Go kayaking. 

Get out on the water and enjoy the view of the land from your local lake or river on a kayak. It’s great exercise and calming on the water.

26. Go DIY on your outdoor space. 

Spring, summer, and fall give us tons of opportunities to be outside — use this season to spruce up your outdoor living space and make it a space you love!

27. Take a nature walk. 

Hit a park or natural area close to home and just walk! If you have children, this could be a great way to collect pinecones or look for bird’s nests, and teach your child about nature.

28. Celebrate Mom. 

Mother’s Day falls on May 12th this year — take your mom (or any mom) out for dinner or give her a card! Also, don’t forget to let your friends who are mothers know what they mean to you.

29. Have a spring-themed party. 

Invite your friends, decorate your space with flowers and greenery, and celebrate the season with music and dancing!

30. Watch a lacrosse game. 

Lacrosse is one of the fastest-growing sports in North America — catch a college or high school game and see what the hype is all about.

31. Invite friends over for a barbecue. 

Gas or charcoal; beef ribs or vegan seitan — having a barbecue is a rite of passage in the spring and summer months. There’s no better way to gather with friends and enjoy the weather.

32. Go for a swim. 

There are plenty of health benefits associated with taking a dip in cold water. Jump in at your local watering hole — but never go alone!

33. Pick wildflowers. 

Whether you’re picking bluebonnets in Texas or crocuses in New York, picking spring flowers is a fun spring activity and can make your house smell wonderful!

34. Kick a soccer ball around. 

With the English Premier League entering its final stretch and the MLS just kicking off, spring is a great time to get in the spirit and kick a soccer ball with a friend.

35. Go fishing. 

Whether you go first thing in the morning or at dusk when the walleye are biting, casting a few lines out and catching fish is a fun way to enjoy the beauty of spring.

36. See a live band outdoors. 

As winter winds down and the weather warms up, we can anticipate catching bands we love at outdoor venues. See who’s playing and get out there!

37. Work outside. 

The spring weather makes it easy to get outside — if you work with a laptop and have a stable internet connection, bring your work outdoors!

38. Get to the park. 

Find a local park and make it your spot! You can throw a frisbee with your pup, play on the playground, or simply go for a stroll to clear your mind.

39. Eat some ice cream. 

Like we need an excuse, right? While we often think of eating ice cream as a summer activity, it’s pretty darn tasty year-round.

40. Visit a local arboretum. 

If your city has an arboretum, spring is a wonderful time to visit. The collection of trees is always unique and fun to see, and they can flower in the spring!

41. Have a picnic with your pals. 

Enjoying a picnic at the park is another fun thing you can do in the spring. Pack some sandwiches, dips, and drinks, and bring a Bluetooth speaker for some music!

42. Go skateboarding. 

The snow and salt make skateboarding in the winter impossible. When spring comes and the good weather sticks around, push your board around town and enjoy the freedom and rush that comes with it!

43. Exercise outdoors. 

Take advantage of the lovely spring weather and workout outdoors. You can go for a run, do push-ups and dips, or practice yoga outside.

44. Skip rocks on the river. 

Find a flat stone, throw it sidearm, and see how many times you can get it to skip across the water!

45. Get a game of Wiffle ball going. 

Grab a few Wiffle balls, a bat, and a group of friends and get a game going. This baseball alternative is easy and ensures no broken windows!

Bonus: Spring clean your finances.

You can do things the tedious way and enter all your income, bills, and savings goals in a spreadsheet, or just pick up Quicken Simplifi and let the app do it for you.

Most investments have some degree of risk — it’s up to you to choose what type of risk you’re okay with.

1. High-yield savings accounts

High-yield savings accounts (HYSAs) provide a relatively safe haven for your hard-earned cash. You can open an account online through traditional banks, credit unions, and even some brokerages. 

While HYSA interest rates vary between financial institutions, they typically outshine traditional savings rates. They may even beat inflation. Plus, you can take out the money whenever you need it. Another benefit is that FDIC insurance protects the cash in case of bank failure — up to $250,000 per account type. 

In other words: HYSAs limit the risk you’ll lose money, making them useful for:

• Cash for near-term purchases 
• Emergency funds
• “General” savings you don’t want to expose to higher risk 

However, you’ll want to check for account fees, as these can eat into your earnings. 

2. Certificates of deposit (CDs)

Certificates of deposit (CDs) let your money grow for a set time, from a few months to several years. With returns that can match or beat HYSAs, CDs offer another way to save. Many banks and credit unions offer CDs, complete with FDIC insurance. 

However, unlike some savings accounts,  CDs may require a minimum deposit. Many also “lock up” your money for a period of time. Trying to access your cash early may trigger fees — typically a portion of your earned interest. Or, you can opt for a no-penalty CD that lets you access your money when you need it. (Usually in exchange for lower returns.) 

3. Money market accounts and funds

Money market assets mix safety and yield, making them attractive if you want liquidity and returns. They’re often used to stash cash you may want to access in the near future, such as for a large purchase or investment. 

Money market accounts

Money market accounts, found at many banks and credit unions, combine some features of savings and checking accounts. Like most deposit accounts, they protect your dollars with FDIC insurance. They may offer debit and ATM privileges but limit how often you can access your money. Money market accounts also tend to pay higher interest rates than regular savings accounts. 

Money market funds

Money market mutual funds invest in shorter-term, lower-risk assets like Treasurys, CDs, short-term corporate debt, or municipal bonds. Since they tend to focus on high-quality assets, they can be less volatile than other types of funds. However, you may earn smaller returns than riskier investments. 

Money market funds offer diversification and liquidity. But they also have downsides, like fluctuating income and lack of FDIC insurance. 

4. Treasury securities

Treasury securities are issued and backed by the U.S. government. Technically, buying Treasurys means loaning money to the federal government, which agrees to pay you back with interest. Since the government guarantees repayment, they are considered lower-risk investments. 

Interest earned from Treasury securities is exempt from state and local taxes, though you still owe federal taxes. You can invest in several kinds of Treasurys depending on your needs. 

For instance, short-term investors may invest in Treasury bills, which mature in under 1 year, or notes, which mature in 2–10 years. 

Longer-term investors may choose Treasury bonds, which usually mature in 20–30 years. They also pay interest every 6 months, offering regular, long-term income. Series I bonds in particular adjust their rates to match inflation, making them helpful to combat rising costs. 

5. Municipal and corporate bonds

Like stocks, most bonds involve more risk than savings options, but they’re a great way to diversify your portfolio. Bonds are a method of loaning money to governments or companies in exchange for interest payments. They can offer reliable income with varying levels of risk. 

Municipal bonds

Municipal bonds, or “munis,” are issued by states, cities, and other government bodies. The issuers sell them to fund daily operations or building projects. Profits on these relatively low-risk assets are exempt from federal and sometimes local taxes. While you can usually buy them right from the issuing entity, they’re somewhat illiquid (hard to sell). 

Corporate bonds

Corporate bonds are fixed-income securities issued by public companies. Corporate bonds often pay more interest than government bonds, increasing your income potential.

Credit agencies rate the ability of companies to repay their bonds. Higher ratings suggest stronger financial health and the potential to make its payments over time. Companies with better credit ratings issue “investment-grade” bonds. However, corporate bonds may present more risk if the company struggles and can’t make payments. 

Bond funds

Another way to profit from bonds is through bond ETFs and bond mutual funds. 

These funds pool together bond investments and then sell shares in the fund, letting you instantly own parts of many bonds. Since the funds can regularly buy and sell assets, you don’t need to worry about managing your holdings. 

You can choose funds that meet your goals, like higher-yield or eco-friendly bonds that raise money for environmentally conscious projects. That said, you’ll want to watch for higher fund or management fees.  

6. Fixed annuities

Insurance companies sell annuities to investors seeking guaranteed returns, usually over 3–10 years. These investments require paying into the annuity, either over time or in a lump sum. They then earn tax-deferred interest, which delays taxes until it’s time to take your payment. (Again, either in a lump sum or over time.) 

Many also adjust with the cost of living to ensure your money keeps pace with rising prices. 

The downside: many annuities lock up your funds now in exchange for cash later, so you can’t easily touch your money. However, their tax-deferred growth and steady income potential can give you peace of mind in retirement.  

7. Preferred stocks

Stocks in general present more risk than many other assets on this list. However, owners of preferred stocks get a “preferred” claim on the company’s assets and earnings compared to common stockholders — people who own regular shares. 

As a result, if a company issues dividends, preferred stockholders get paid first. If the company goes bankrupt, preferred stockholders are also more likely to receive compensation before common stockholders. These investments may offer higher payouts with regular income and more predictability. 

Preferred stocks can blend certain features of bonds and common stocks, like:

• Fixed dividends
• Higher payouts than common stock
• Giving investors “dibs” on assets over common stockholders if the company goes bankrupt
• The possibility of lower taxes on dividends

Investors can use preferred stock to earn regular income with lower risk than buying common stock. Since preferred stocks trade on exchanges, they’re relatively liquid (easy to buy and sell) investments. However, they don’t usually come with voting rights. 

8. Real estate crowdfunding

Until recently, real estate investing required large sums of money to get started. Crowdfunding real estate platforms now gives everyone the chance to diversify and gain property exposure with smaller amounts. 

These platforms let you profit from real estate without dealing directly with a mortgage or property ownership. By pooling your money with others, you can invest in larger ventures than you could not afford alone. However, most crowdfunding sites require minimum investments, incomes, or net worths. As always, do your research!

By some estimates, annual returns can reach 8–14%, which can beat the S&P 500’s long-term 10% average. 

9. Farmland investments

Historically, profiting on farmland involved working the land or selling it after its value rose. But as global food demand continues to increase and investment options improve, everyday investors can profit from these stable, long-term assets.   

Instead of buying the land yourself, which could cost millions, you can:

• Buy farmland through farmland-focused crowdfunding platforms   
• Invest through specialized REITs (real estate investment trusts) that buy, maintain, and/or operate properties and pass the profits to investors
• Purchase farmland-related stocks, mutual funds, or ETFs

Each of these options has upsides and downsides, but most let you get in (and diversify) with smaller sums.  

Choose wisely to secure your financial future

Lower-risk investments don’t have to be boring, but they should be dependable. Generally, interest-paying deposit accounts offer the most safety. Or, you can branch into less commonly traded assets like real estate or farmland. Like much in investing, the secret is balancing risk and reward (and a bit of research).

If you own a small business, profit and loss statements can help you track business performance, identify areas where you can grow, predict upcoming expenses, and even help you get new financing to take your business to the next level. 

Not sure how to create a profit and loss statement? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered — let’s take a look at what you need to make it happen. 

So, what is a profit and loss statement?

A profit and loss statement is an evaluation of how much money your business is making — consider it a financial health checkup for the state of your business. An effective profit and loss statement will take into account your operating expenses, business incidentals, and revenue gained throughout the year (or even quarterly). 

If you’re new to small business ownership, creating a profit and loss statement can certainly seem daunting — but we promise you won’t need a TI-84 graphing calculator and a protractor. When tax season rolls around, you’ll want to know where you stand, how much money you’re bringing in, how much you’re spending running your business, and whether you’re covering your tax obligations. 

By tracking your income and expenses, your profit and loss statement can help you guide your small business toward a successful future. 

What a profit and loss statement can do for your small business

A profit and loss statement can be a huge help in growing your business. Here are just a few of the reasons you might want to put one together.

To track business performance

It may seem like a no-brainer, but the biggest impact a profit and loss statement can have for your business is simply showing you how things are going. You can use the information from a profit and loss statement to help you set your pricing strategy, to show you which of your various products or services are the most profitable, and to help you predict upcoming needs in your business forecasting. 

To secure further funding

Additionally, a profit and loss statement is important to have if you’re trying to secure funding for your small business. 

Whether you’re looking for investors or a small business loan, you’ll need solid financial statements to prove that your business is worth the risk. A clear outline of your business profits versus losses can highlight the strengths of your business operations and give lenders an accurate assessment of your finances.

To stay ahead of tax season

Staying ahead of your tax obligations is crucial for any successful business. Profit and loss statements can help you make sure your business is appropriately assessing your tax obligations. Even if your business is what’s known as a pass-through entity, meaning you’ll pay those taxes as part of your personal taxes, your profit and loss statement is an important part of that calculation.

How to create a profit and loss statement

Let’s take a look at how you can create your own profit and loss statement for your small business. Gather your financial documents and follow each step!

1. Calculate your total revenue

The first step in creating your profit and loss statement is to calculate your total revenue. Has it been a slow year? Maybe your seasonal sledding business is just waiting for the first snowfall. Even if you’re in the black and making money hand over fist, you’ll need to accurately gauge how much you’re bringing in on the goods or services you’ve sold.

Your total revenue includes all the money you’ve made by operating your business — it includes all your sales earnings before interest and taxes, but not loans. You can import those figures into an Excel spreadsheet to aggregate your data manually, or you can use software like Quicken Business & Personal to track your business finances and generate your profit and loss statements automatically.

2. Determine your cost of goods sold (COGS)

Your cost of goods sold (COGS) refers to the money your business spent to acquire, create, and sell your products or services. If you’re selling baked goods, for example, your COGS includes things like the ingredients you use and your means of delivering them. 

To calculate your COGS, there’s a basic formula. Start with your beginning inventory, add your purchases, and then subtract your ending inventory — this will equal the cost of goods sold. If the bakery started the month with 20 pounds of flour worth $10, and then bought another 10 pounds for $5, that’s a total of 30 pounds of flour worth $15. If it finishes the month with 15 pounds of flour left, that means it used the other 15 pounds, or half of the total, which is worth $7.50.  

3. Add up your other expenses

The good news is that your business expenses are generally tax deductible — not just your cost of goods sold but other costs too.

Do you run marketing campaigns on social media? Business expenses. Hire a web designer to optimize your domain? That’s an operating cost, too. Paying your employees? Another cost of doing business. Depreciation of your assets? Yep, that too! These are all expenses business owners need to account for, and they all affect your bottom line. 

Expense tracking is crucial — are you accounting for expenditures as efficiently as possible?

4. Figure out your gross profit

To figure out your gross profit, subtract your total expenses (including any cost of goods sold) from your total revenue. Remember, if this all feels overwhelming, there are apps that can help you manage your business finances and do most of this for you, like Quicken Business & Personal.

5. Determine if you’re making a net profit or loss

Your net profit is what you get to keep after paying taxes on your gross profits. Remember, new businesses usually take around three years to start making money and operating in the black. In fact, many successful businesses start out as a side hustle until the business owner can earn enough to support themselves financially.

Want to learn more? These 5 money management skills lie at the heart of every successful business.

How to analyze your profit and loss statement

To learn about your business from your profit and loss statement, start with the income at the top. When you list out your income streams according to your different products and services, you can start to see how much money you’re making on each one. That gives you a feel for where you should spend your energy and where you might be leaving money on the table.

Then, look through your expenses. Is there anything you can cut back on? Is there room to start paying for that one app that would make your life easier? 

Some business owners jump the gun a bit, paying for big-business services they might not need yet. Others have trouble getting off the ground because they don’t want to pay for the things they really do need to grow. A profit and loss statement lists it all out for you, so it’s a great place to start when you’re trying to evaluate your business operations.

Another great way to see the value of profit and loss statements is to generate them over different time periods. What did the statement look like last month? How about the month before? The more profit and statements you look at, the more comfortable you’ll get reading them and the more you’ll learn about your business.

Over time, those P&L statements will be a huge help in watching your business grow. If you keep good records, you can compare your growth, sales, and profit from day one, monitoring pain points or bottlenecks and even forecasting future growth. 

Want to spend less time on your financials and more time running your business? Quicken Business & Personal offers built-in reports you can run automatically.

Making your business work for you

Owning a business isn’t just a hobby — you pour your heart and soul into it because it’s your passion. When looking at the finances of your company, consider how you value your own time as well. In many instances, small business owners don’t pay themselves — especially in the first year or two of operation. If you need to make ends meet in your personal life while operating your own organization, your profit and loss statement can help you determine a reasonable salary for your efforts.

Need some extra cash to launch your business? Check out these 25+ ways to make quick money.

Are there any other financial reports I might need?

Along with profit and loss statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements can also help you get a solid picture of your business’s finances. While these additional financial reports are ultimately necessary, they’re tougher to put together on your own.

If you want to take a deeper dive into your company’s financials, Quicken Business & Personal can track your business income and expenses automatically and generate the reports you need with just a few clicks. 

Passion over profit?

It’s no secret that people start their own businesses because they’re passionate about their craft. Record producers, artists, chefs — these industries can be lucrative for some and a pay cut for others. As long as you can keep operating your business and enjoying it, that’s real freedom in and of itself.

If your business hits a rough patch, remember that Apple was plummeting in the mid-80s and Steve Jobs was ousted, only to be rehired a decade later to dominate the market. Bankruptcy loomed for Adidas in the early 90s — now, you won’t find a soccer pitch without Adidas gear on it anywhere on the globe. 

By running your financial reports regularly and keeping a close eye on your operations, you’ll be in good shape to react quickly to market changes and take advantage of new opportunities as they come along.

If you want to expand your customer base and increase your revenue, here are 25 small business marketing ideas to try. Note that these strategies vary in price, but most can be achieved with a modest marketing budget.

1. Create a Google Business Profile

When you’re looking for a plumber, where do you search? Do you pull out a phone book and magnifying glass, combing through the white pages? Probably not. Chances are, you reach for your phone and take a look on Google. 

By creating a Google Business Profile, you can

• claim your business
• add photos, hours, and other info
• even gather reviews — all within Google

This will give you a direct line to people searching for your business — and even give you visibility within local search queries (i.e. “lobster rolls in Boston,” or “HVAC repair in Tucson”). Want to build your brand awareness? Start here.

2. Lean into social media

Having a good social media presence can help drive sales for your business, expand your visibility, and give you an additional avenue to connect with customers. Start by setting up accounts on social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, or LinkedIn, and post regularly.

This is a great place to let your creativity shine. If you’re a bar or restaurant, post your specials or events that are happening, like game watches or live music. If you’re a retailer, post flash sales or run contests and giveaways. Even if you’re in eCommerce, a social media account is a great way to alert customers of sales and improve your reach. 

The goal is to get engagement and drum up awareness for your brand. Consistency is key — stay on top of trends and use good hashtags!

3. Optimize your website for SEO

Search engine optimization, also known as SEO, is an invaluable digital marketing tool. In practice, high-quality SEO helps your business rank higher on Google’s search results — essentially putting you at the head of the line. 

One of the most important elements of SEO is having a good website that lets Google recognize your services — organize it in a way that Google values, and make sure it’s being indexed.

SEO can be pretty in-depth, but SEMRush offers tips on setting up Google Search Console and Google Analytics, conducting keyword research, adding Schema markup, creating landing pages, and more. 

4. Double down on local SEO

The other edge of the SEO sword, as it were, is engaging local SEO best practices. After optimizing your website, you’ll want to work toward building traffic to your domain. You can do this by 

• Updating your Google Business profile
• Getting links from other websites (known as referring domains)
• Working on your social media
• Authoring excellent local content on your site (known as content marketing)

Once Google recognizes you as an authority in the area, it will start to put you at the top of the search engine results page — one of the most valuable elements of online marketing!

5. Keep up with a blog

An excellent way to score points with Google and improve your rankings is by keeping up with a blog — it’s also a relatively low-cost marketing effort.

If you’re a donut shop, you could write posts about the best seasonal offerings or the history of donuts. If you’re a plumber, you could author the dos and don’ts of installing a water heater. If you’re a camera store, you could write deep-dive reviews on new products.

You can also author local content by creating a list of things to do in the city in which you’re located, even engaging with other local businesses or influencers to collaborate. Remember, your target audience is local people — author some quality content and bring them in.

6. Get involved with email marketing

One of the most effective ways of communicating directly with your customers (and potential customers) is by having a robust email marketing program. Encourage people to sign up for your email list and hit them with a monthly email newsletter, or let them know when a sale is happening. 

You can also use an email marketing campaign service like Mailchimp or SalesForce that will automate and send emails for you. Be sure to experiment with subject lines and have your content strategy ready to go!

7. Encourage user-generated content

User-generated content is a great tool to add to your marketing plan — and it’s also very cost-effective. 

Start by encouraging customers to create social media posts — this might include taking photos of your products and posting on Instagram, creating TikTok reels in front of the mural or ivy wall in your restaurant, or even posting reviews on Google or Facebook. 

Word of mouth always helps — happy customers interacting with your brand can attract a bigger audience, and it can simultaneously bolster your online presence!

8. Take advantage of free ads

Paid ads … for free? Take advantage of free pay-per-click (PPC) advertising credits — they’re well worth it. 

When you advertise on search engines like Google, or on social media networks like Facebook or Instagram, you’ll usually pay the platform a sum of money each time your ad is clicked. But platforms like Google and Facebook will sometimes offer free credits just to get you to try it. 

So keep an eye on your inbox and on promotion centers in the app. PPC can cast a wider net — don’t let those free advertising credits slip through your fingers.

9. Start a YouTube channel

Kickstart your on-screen career by starting a YouTube channel to help grow your business. How this looks is entirely up to you. If you’re a coffee shop owner, you could post tutorials on how to make cortados and pull ristretto shots. If you own a music shop, demo guitars and effects. 

The goal is to create quality, relevant content to give you a new way to connect with potential customers in your target market — and even offer your own expertise. You might even be able to make some extra money from advertising on your channel. 

10. Host events or webinars

Do you have a brick-and-mortar building with a space for hosting? Do you have a tripod and time to teach? Consider hosting events or webinars as a marketing tactic to increase your presence and build your brand!

This is another avenue where you can be creative. If you have enough space, you can host mixers, conferences, concerts — you name it. Webinars can consist of anything. If you own an Italian restaurant, teach attendees how to make linguine. If you’re an IT consultant, offer a webinar on cybersecurity. Whatever you do, just make sure it connects to your products or services.

11. Try out guerrilla marketing

Even if you can’t tell the difference between a Rembrandt and a Ross (happy little trees, right?), you’ve surely heard of Banksy, the anonymous graffiti artist and activist. While the notoriously anti-capitalist artist would surely be loathe to have been included in this post, their methods are genius for any small business owner who wants to dabble in guerrilla marketing.

Guerrilla marketing relies on the element of surprise, consistent branding, and sometimes, going against conventions. Creativity is the name of the game — but guerrilla marketing is a surefire way to get people talking about your brand. This could look like placing stickers around town with QR codes to your website, interviews with people on the street, random games, or flash mobs. 

12. Consider sponsorship marketing

If you’ve ever watched teams in the English Premier League play, you’ll notice one thing — the only surface not plastered in brand logos is the grass on which the game is contested. Turkish grocery stores, Malaysian insurance companies — the branding is a veritable smorgasbord of international companies vying for visibility.

So how can small businesses get in the game? Think local. Can you sponsor a youth soccer team around town? A local concert series? Sponsorship marketing is a direct way for you to get your name in front of people. 

13. Encourage testimonials

Customer reviews — and testimonials, in particular — are invaluable marketing tools. They offer an opportunity to get honest feedback on your products or services, and in many cases, positive reviews can increase sales.

Need more reviews for your business? Try offering your customers incentives (like a free product, coupons, or a discount on their next purchase) to leave honest reviews on Yelp, Trustpilot, or your Google Business Profile.

Experiment, learn, and grow

You’ll probably want to try more than one idea on this list — that way, you can see what works best. When something works, experiment with different budgets to see how far you can take it.

Remember though, that some ideas — like improving your search rankings on Google or starting a YouTube channel — take time to grow. In fact, Google and YouTube often take 3–6 months before you start seeing results.

The best combination is often a mix of short-term and long-term strategies. So play with your options, find out what works best over time, and remember to have some fun. The more creative you get, the more likely you are to get results!

But what if you didn’t have to dread managing your family finances?

Regardless of size or income, setting your family up for success starts with a foundation of trust, communication with family members, and prioritizing financial goals. (And, occasionally, using your handy conflict resolution skills.) 

Basics of family financial planning

Family financial planning contains many of the same principles as personal financial planning. Whether you’re juggling two expenses or five, you’ll still need to budget, track expenses, and set financial goals. 

But family financial planning also carries a few extra steps, like communicating with family members, estate planning, and staying organized. 

Below, we’ll explore these basic principles — and more. 

1. Tracking all your finances in one place

Let’s start with a basic truth — you can’t manage what you can’t see. If you’re not tracking your finances in one place, you’re doing yourself (and your family) a disservice. 

Automated trackers can consolidate your account balances and trends into one dashboard to give you a bird’s-eye view of your finances. Take advantage of these tools to:

• Stay up to date on your family’s account balances
• Monitor income and expense changes
• Track trends like increased spending by category before problems arise

In short, tracking your finances in one place means enjoying greater control — and finding fewer nasty surprises — long term. 

2. Seeing where your money is going

Budgeting is a fundamental cornerstone of effective financial management. Controlling a family budget starts with knowing where you are today, including how much you need to cover monthly expenses.

Track every dollar your family earns, saves, invests, and spends. If you can’t see your financial outflow, you can’t truly control your spending. That’s like trying to stop the bleeding when you don’t know where the wound is!

3. Knowing what you have left to spend

Money doesn’t spend itself  — you can be proactive and intentional about your purchases when you have up-to-date numbers.

Let’s say you make $1,500 this pay period and calculate that $1,000 will go to bills. By doing the math ahead of time, you know that you have $500 left to budget for spending and saving. 

Good financial management involves looking ahead to balance your expenses and wants against your income and goals. 

4. Setting your financial goals

Every goal needs a plan, right? You (usually) wouldn’t start a long road trip without deciding where you’re going first. You wouldn’t put together a bookshelf without a set of directions. So, why spend time getting your finances in order without a plan in place?

Ideally, you wouldn’t. 

When you have other people depending on you, discussing and planning for financial goals becomes a critical exercise. Core goals might include:

• Saving for future purchases like new appliances, vehicles, and vacations
• Buying a house
• Investing for your future retirement
• Managing and repaying your credit card or student loan debt
• Investing in your child’s education

Collaborate with family on which goals are most important to you and on what timeline. You may need to help your children set small goals while they’re young and bolder goals as they grow.

Make family financial planning a lifelong group effort for everyone to participate in and enjoy. 

5. Growing your income

Let’s be honest — life gets expensive, and every year, the price tag only seems to get bigger. To add more income streams, you might:

• Get a second or part-time job
• Start a side hustle, like monetizing a hobby or selling your knowledge as a consultant
• Investing in assets like bonds or real estate to generate passive income

Not only will growing your income help you maintain (or increase) your financial security, but it also means meeting your goals faster. Hello, early retirement! (Or buying a house, or padding your emergency fund, or other goals you’ve set.) 

6. Plan for the unexpected    

The best-laid plans take into account occasional detours. Water leaks, job losses, and medical emergencies all arrive unannounced. When you have a family, the impact multiplies, often affecting everyone in the household. 

When that happens, it’s best to be prepared with a hefty emergency fund that can cover your expenses (and keep you out of debt). 

Emergency fund needs vary, but as a general rule, you can aim to save 3–6 months’ worth of household expenses. So, if your family spends $2,000 a month on rent, groceries, and bills, aim to save at least $6,000 to $12,000. (Preferably in a high-yield savings account that grows your money in a safe environment.)

Saving this much doesn’t happen overnight, though! It’s okay to start with small, reasonable goals, such as saving $15 per week or $100 per month. Set up automatic contributions to keep you on track. 

7. Communicating with your family members

No financial situation is truly “set it and forget it,” especially when multiple people, desires, goals, and futures live under one roof. Instead, make a point to foster calm, honest conversations about your family finances with your family. 

Early on, share your income, expenses, and debts with your partner. Talk about your individual goals and collaborate on mutual priorities. Determine how to split your responsibilities, whether you’ll have separate or joint accounts, and how to prioritize tasks according to each other’s strengths. 

As time passes, monitor your financial tracker(s) together. Celebrate progress toward your goals and support each other through any setbacks. 

If kids enter your life, don’t leave them out! Bring them into your financial discussions, where appropriate, to teach them the importance of managing money.  

8. Teaching children financial literacy

As we’ve hinted already, instilling a strong sense of financial responsibility into your children early on will help set them up for life. Tackling this task is a tall order, but it can start by:

• Having frequent, age-appropriate conversations about budgeting, spending, and saving
• Presenting opportunities to earn, spend, save, and give responsibly
• Encouraging your children to set and meet their own financial goals
• Teaching the difference between “good” (useful) and “bad” (predatory) debts
• Helping your children cultivate a good credit score before leaving home

You can also give children the opportunity to contribute to the household by treating the whole family to ice cream or paying for a streaming service they want. The more that kids see their earnings contributing to their individual and family happiness, the more they’ll associate good financial sense with success later on. 

9. Organizing family information and documents

An organized, accessible system for financial information keeps you from getting frustrated and stuck looking for paperwork. It also helps you make decisions faster. Depending on your preferences for filing, securing, and sharing family documents, you may:

• Create digital documents or spreadsheets with information like accounts and contact information for your estate lawyer
• Share access to password managers
• File important financial statements into physical folders
• Stash passwords to your financial accounts in your bank’s safety deposit box

After you decide who needs access to what, you can share the physical location and/or digital file access. Family members can then check on financial information themselves.

How to talk to your family about money

Finances can be a sensitive topic, especially if you and other family members have different attitudes about handling money. Consider the following tips for smoother conversations:

• Lay all relevant facts on the table early on. Be upfront about income, expenses, debts, and dreams — otherwise, how can you get on the same page?
• Talk when the time is right. Don’t have financial conversations when you’re especially stressed or angry. Instead, wait until everyone involved is in a calm headspace and willing to talk and listen. Address potential problems with empathy, open curiosity, and a desire to fix the situation creatively, thinking outside the box.
• Validate each other’s goals. Although your ultimate goal should be furthering and protecting your family’s finances, you don’t have to let individual hopes and dreams die! Instead, acknowledge each person’s desires, and take steps where you can to make them happen. 
• Address estate planning. As uncomfortable as it feels, you need a plan for the family’s estate — each person’s physical and financial assets when they die. Designating beneficiaries early and drawing up your will prevents your loved ones from struggling with an extra burden if the worst comes to pass. 

Above all, remember that you’re a team working toward the same goal: A strong, financially secure family unit. Ultimately, your whole family will benefit if you and your partner can align your goals, communicate frequently, and solve your differences together. 

How to keep track of your family finances

Tracking one person’s financial situation can seem hectic enough. But add all your family’s income, expenses, accounts, and goals, and managing your finances can start feeling … unmanageable. 

With Quicken Simplifi, you can monitor your entire family’s financial situation from just one dashboard. Keep an eye on shared accounts and expenses, and take steps to keep your goals on track. Share your finances directly with the people you love, and use our powerful reporting tools as a gateway to smarter, real-life financial conversations with the entire family. 

In your relationship, is one person a saver and the other a spender? Is one of you more conservative and the other a risk-taker? 

Conversations about money can easily turn into arguments, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Together, you can create a system for handling finances that will make you both happy. Here’s how.

Five secrets of a financially happy relationship

1. Agree to disagree about some things

There’s room for more than one attitude about money in a relationship. Recognize that both of your viewpoints are valid. You don’t have to see eye-to-eye on everything, but it’s essential to respect your partner’s feelings about money. Otherwise, you won’t be able to come up with a plan you’re both comfortable with.

If the saver’s happiness depends on feeling financially secure and the spender’s happiness depends on feeling free to enjoy life, earmark some money every month for both savings and fun purchases. Establish common ground by identifying the important financial goals you can agree on: funding retirement, paying for college, taking an annual vacation, etc.

2. Keep multiple accounts

No matter how close you are, allow some space for individual independence. Have a little money you can spend or save — without consulting each other. It may be good for each of you to have one account in your own name, even if you maintain joint checking and savings accounts for household expenses, and for long-term goals like retirement and college.

It’s also prudent for each of you to establish your own credit record; otherwise, you may find it difficult to borrow independently. So keep one credit card that’s in your name only, even if you use a joint credit card for your household purchases.

3. Share the bills

Find a system for paying bills that feels fair to both of you. Some couples pay their household bills from a joint account to which both partners contribute. Others divide the bills, with each partner paying their share from their individual accounts.

It’s also important to make sure the division of bills is fair and equitable for both partners. For example, if one of you earns $75,000 a year and the other earns $25,000, consider dividing your shared expenses proportionately. The one who makes three-fourths of the household income can pay for three-fourths of the bills, and the one who makes one-fourth of the income can pay one-fourth of the bills.

If that feels like it’s getting too into the weeds, having a joint account might be a better bet for you. Once you decide how much you’ll each contribute to your joint account every month, you can put your bills on autopilot so it isn’t a constant source of friction.

4. Invest as a team

If you and your partner each have a workplace retirement savings plan, sit down together and decide on a portfolio mix that uses both plans’ investment options. Once you’ve agreed on an overall allocation — say, 30% U.S. stocks, 15% international stocks, 50% bonds, 5% real estate/alternatives — implement your strategy by picking the best-performing funds from each plan.

When it comes to tax-advantaged retirement accounts, like your 401(k)s, one of you might also have access to more employer matching funds than the other. Don’t let monthly bills keep you from maximizing your retirement plan. Work together to make sure you’re capturing that free cash as a couple and setting your retirement goals together.

5. Communicate (and keep communicating)

This sounds easier than it sometimes is. Most couples are so busy working, raising children, chasing short-term goals, and running a household that they hardly have time to talk to each other. You may have to go out of your way to schedule a conversation about your finances, even twice a year. Still, don’t put it off. Treat those conversations like important, work-related appointments you need to keep.

Discuss whatever is on your mind, including your household budget, retirement portfolio, vacation expenses, and college funding for children. Plan to have these conversations in as relaxed an atmosphere as possible — it’s important to do it in a calm, focused environment. 

At the end of the day, committed relationships are financial partnerships — and like any successful partnership of equals, they depend on compromise and mutual cooperation.

Answering these 10 essential questions can help protect your assets and your heirs.

1. What assets do I own and who are my beneficiaries?

Whether you draw up a will yourself or seek professional guidance, start by creating a fact sheet of relevant data. Identify anyone with a stake in your estate: spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, siblings, etc. 

Then list your real estate property, personal possessions, and financial assets along with their value and where to find them (or records of them). Once you gather your information, you can use Quicken LifeHub to keep it all in one place and up to date.

2. How should I legally express my intentions?

Different states have different rules about what’s required to make a will legal. If you don’t do things the right way, your will might not be valid, so make sure you understand the rules where you live. 

The best way to do that is either to hire an attorney or use a reputable template service. If your will is relatively simple, like leaving everything first to your spouse and then to your children equally, a template service might be all you need. For more complex planning, an attorney is usually best.

You can also add specific bequests, such as making sure a certain piece of jewelry or art goes to a specific child or leaving a certain amount of money to a local charity. Just be sure to list these out clearly to make things easier for your executor.

3. Who will execute my will and manage my estate?

Wills often specify three separate roles subject to state laws: 

• An executor administers the settlement of your estate. 
• A trustee manages any assets until they’re distributed to your beneficiaries. 
• A guardian raises minor children, if the situation warrants. 

In case you’re incapacitated for a time before your death, which is not uncommon, you should also give someone power of attorney to manage your financial affairs, subject to any provisions you’d like to stipulate.

At the same time, consider a living will to make your wishes clear when it comes to difficult healthcare decisions.

4. Have I appointed guardians for my minor children and dependents?

Depending on the complexity of your estate, it’s often a good idea to hire an attorney to help you plan for both the day-to-day and financial care of minor children and other dependents. 

For their day-to-day needs, you’ll need to select a guardian for your minor children and any dependents to ensure their care. Clearly state your choice in your will to avoid legal complications.

When planning for their needs financially, remember that minor children can’t manage property or inheritance. To protect their interests, an attorney can help you structure legal and financial vehicles to ensure that your estate is preserved for the benefit of your children and that they can take control of it when they’re ready.

5. Should I set up trusts or power of attorney arrangements?

A trust is an agreement under which money or other assets are held and managed by one person for the benefit of another. Trusts serve many purposes, including financial support for minor children as well as providing personal and financial safeguards for beneficiaries. 

Trusts are commonly used to conserve or transfer wealth and avoid unnecessary taxes. Because the process of probate can take months or even years to complete, trusts that legally avoid the probate process can also save your family a significant amount of financial hardship — especially if you have family members who depend on your wealth for their support.

6. Have I met all legal formalities to make my will valid?

Each state has its own rules regarding the requirements for a formal will to be valid, starting with a general rule that you must be of sound mind to make a will and that it will not be valid if it was forced or coerced (made under “duress”).

• Ensure you are of sound mind and have the mental capacity to create a valid will.
• Follow your state laws regarding witnesses, possibly involving a notary public, and include a self-proving affidavit.

Be especially careful when it comes to witnesses. In most states, a person who will benefit from your will can not be a witness to that will, so be sure your witnesses are not interested parties.

7. Have I considered tax implications for my beneficiaries?

Spouses can inherit assets without incurring federal tax, but assets and gifts transferred to other heirs may trigger taxes. The amount of that tax depends on current federal and state laws. 

In 2025, there is a federal estate tax, but the exemption amount is well into the millions. Unless your estate is worth more than $13.99 million, your heirs won’t pay tax on their inheritance.

Now, there’s also a gift tax that plays into it — if you’ve given your heirs more than the annual gifting limit in a given year, the additional amount reduces your estate tax exemption.

However, if you have enough personal wealth for that to be a concern, you’ll probably want to hire an estate planning attorney to help you navigate your best options when it comes to wealth distribution and tax planning.

8. What if I want to leave money to charity?

Many Americans leave some amount of money or property to their favorite causes. You can leave all or partial interest in most assets to a legitimate charity that’s eligible for tax-deductible contributions. The IRS makes this determination, so you can find out which charities qualify by looking on the IRS website. 

There may also be rules for determining the value of assets with no obvious market value, as well as limits on the amount of the tax deduction you’re allowed to take. Gifts left to a regulated public charity that seeks donations, for instance, receive different tax treatment than assets left to a private family foundation or trust that your heirs control.

Gifting stock to a charity may also avoid significant capital gains taxation — just another reason to consider an estate planning attorney if you have a variety of personal assets and holdings.

9. Do I need to update my will due to life changes?

While a well-drafted will takes potential future changes into account, it’s always a good idea to update your will in the event of a major life change, such as a marriage, divorce, birth of a child, a minor reaching the age of majority, or death of an heir.

Starting your own business can also have repercussions for your estate plan depending on the business structure you choose.

As a general rule, it’s a good idea to review your will every five years or so to see whether anything needs to be updated.

10. Where should I store my will and who should have copies?

Generally speaking, the will presented for probate needs to be the original paper copy that has your physical signature as well as the signature of the notary public and your witnesses. Decide on a secure location where you’ll keep it, but make sure someone you trust has access to it.

It’s also a good idea to provide your executor with a copy of your will, and make sure they know where they can find the original.

While there’s never anything easy about losing a loved one, you can lighten the load on your family by making sure your will is legally sound, clear about your intentions, and easy to access when the time comes.

Here’s an itemized overview to get you started.

What you need to know

1. Tracking income
2. Expense tracking
3. Understanding profitability
4. Cash flow
5. Financial statements
6. Tax planning
7. Hiring accounting professionals 

Tracking income: why?

You’ll want to know how much income your business is generating so you can track your profits and manage your money effectively. 

You’ll also want to track income to report your earnings correctly for taxes and avoid penalties. Keeping detailed records will help in claiming your deductions and credits — we all want to reduce our tax liability!

What about measuring the financial performance of your business? Income tracking provides clarity about  which of your products or services are most profitable, and also reveals trends in earnings over time. You’ll need this information later for planning and making adjustments to improve your profitability.

Income tracking can also help you manage your cash flow. It ensures that there’s enough cash on hand for business expenses, debts, and personal purchases. The goal is to maintain the availability of liquid assets and ensure the stability of your business.

What if you’re trying to attract investors or get a business loan? When you track your income through detailed and accurate records, your business is more attractive to potential investors and lenders. These records are crucial in showing your ability to generate revenue and manage your finances.

Methods for tracking income

While there are many effective methods for tracking income in a small business, there are two you should be most aware of:

By product or service

Tracking income by product or service helps you identify the most profitable aspects of the business and focus on expanding them. 

For example, you may be a building contractor who also offers landscaping and interior design services. Find out which service is more profitable and put more effort into expanding that area.

Some ways to do this:

• Use software like Quicken to generate reports on income by product/service category.
• Create spreadsheets with columns for product/service, revenue, and profit margin. Then assign each product/service a unique code for easy tracking.

By customer or job

Tracking income by customer or job provides a view into your most valuable client relationships or your most profitable kinds of jobs. 

Going back to our earlier example, if you were a building contractor, you could find out which customers or jobs generate the most income and understand where to target your efforts.

• Use software like Quicken to categorize your income by customer or job.
• Use spreadsheets with columns for customers, product/service, revenue, and profit. Then assign each customer a unique code for easy tracking.

Expense tracking — the why and how

It’s important for business owners to track expenses for several reasons. First, it makes financial management and planning easier. It shows where money is being spent, allowing for better budgeting and cost control.

Second, it aids you in tax compliance. Detailed receipts are necessary for claiming deductions and credits when filing taxes, minimizing tax liability.

Third is fraud detection. If you regularly review your expenses, it’s easier to spot signs of fraudulent activity, like duplicate or fake expenses from an unauthorized party.

The fourth and most important benefit of tracking expenses: it helps you save on costs, explore new growth opportunities, and earmark money for future opportunities because you’re armed with information about your business spending.

If you don’t know what’s coming into your business, planning for the future becomes a tough job.

Here are some effective methods for tracking expenses

• Open a dedicated business bank account and credit card to separate business and personal finances.
• Make digital copies of receipts to eliminate paper clutter. Regularly review expenses and put them into categories to get a better view of your outflows.
• Use Quicken to automate expense tracking and categorization.
• Integrate Quicken into your business bank accounts to automatically import transactions.

The importance of categorizing expenses

By consistently categorizing your expenses, you can gain valuable insights into your company’s spending and profitability. It also makes it much easier to generate the financial statements you’ll need to do your taxes.

What are the main expense categories?

Operating expenses — The costs created by a business in its day-to-day operations, like rent, insurance, and funds allocated for research and development.

Cost of goods sold (COGS) — The costs associated with manufacturing the goods sold by your business, like the cost of materials and labor directly related to the production process.

Marketing and advertising expenses — Ad costs, sponsorships, and anything else you do to help market your business.

Payroll expenses — Costs related to employees or contractors. Many small businesses use a payroll service due to the complexity of payroll taxes.

Understanding profitability — why track profit?

When you’re consistent about tracking profitability, you can understand your business better and make better decisions. It’s really that simple.

Is your new line of book-themed candles profitable? Great! Make more. Are your porch swings too labor-intensive to be worth it? Try simplifying the design.

Tracking and understanding profitability helps you make these kinds of decisions and more.

Net profit vs. gross profit

Gross profit is the revenue you have left after paying for the cost of the services or products you sell. 

Net profit, by contrast, is what’s left after paying all your expenses and taxes. 

Both are important for understanding your business’s profitability and helping you make informed decisions.

Cash flow management

Cash flow management is just what it sounds like — paying attention to cash payments as they flow in and out of your accounts.

Many small businesses feel the limitations of cash flow. Maybe they need to buy supplies for a job long before they’ll get paid for that job. Or maybe they need to wait on a customer’s 60-day payment cycle before they can pay their own bills.

Looking ahead at your upcoming cash flows helps you plan ahead so these kinds of situations don’t take you by surprise.

Forecasting cash flow can also help you plan the best way to expand your business, knowing how much cash you’ll have available and when.

Strategies for improving cash flow

Here are 10 simple strategies for improving cash flow in your business:

1. Offer discounts for early invoice payment or impose late fees for overdue invoices. This encourages customers to pay you sooner.
2. Make it easy for customers to pay by accepting credit cards, ACH, and online payments.
3. Provide discounts for customers who prepay for products or services.
4. Create subscription or membership programs where customers pay upfront.
5. Offer special promotions or limited-time offers to encourage prepayment.
6. Avoid tying up too much cash in inventory that sells slowly.
7. Sell off discontinued or excess inventory at a discount.
8. Ask for extended payment terms from suppliers.
9. Review your expenses and cut any costs that aren’t necessary.
10. Implement cost-saving measures like energy-efficient upgrades to your properties.

Financial statements — which ones are needed?

Let’s keep it simple — there are three main statements your business needs, and the first two are required for taxes. They are:

Income statement

An income statement focuses on the revenue, expenses, gains, and losses of your business during a particular time period, such as a day, week, month, quarter, or year.

Balance sheet

A balance sheet shows you what your company is worth based on the value of your company’s assets and debts at a given moment in time.

Cash flow statement

A cash flow statement shows you how cash has been flowing into and out of your business.

Most small businesses use accounting software to generate all 3 of these financial statements automatically. 

Tax planning and compliance

Tax planning can help lower your taxes while making sure you’re still complying with local and federal tax laws. A tax professional can help you find those savings.

Be proactive and tackle tax planning throughout the year instead of waiting until the end and scrambling around like a chicken in a barnyard. (Been there, done that. Trust me, it’s not great.) 

Besides, most of your tax savings will come from things you have to do all year long, like tackling your expenses and saving receipts.

Hiring accounting professionals

As your small business grows, hiring an accountant or bookkeeper becomes more important to make sure you’re keeping good financial records, complying with tax regulations, and making informed decisions. 

Look for a professional who understands your business, and communicate with them regularly about your goals and concerns. 

Working closely with someone you trust can help you focus on the things that make your business profitable — and maybe even fun.

Small business accounting — what you need to know

You made it! 

Accounting work can feel like a hassle, but it doesn’t have to consume you as a business owner.

Automate those boring accounting tasks with a faster, easier way to manage your finances.

When we created Quicken Simplifi, we set out to solve this fundamental problem. After decades of experience with Quicken Classic budgeting and listening carefully to what customers wanted to accomplish (and what prevented them from doing it), we developed a powerful alternative that takes significantly less time to maintain — the Simplifi Spending Plan.

Spending Plan vs. traditional budgeting: top-down vs. bottom-up

Traditional category-based budgeting follows a “bottom-up” model borrowed from business practices. You build a comprehensive budget by establishing spending limits for a variety of specific categories — groceries, entertainment, dining out, clothing, and so on. This approach requires you to predict your exact spending across dozens of categories before the month even starts.

It also focuses more on restrictions than goals. Traditional budgeting emphasizes what you can’t spend rather than what you’re working toward, creating a negative framework that feels punitive rather than empowering.

Simplifi takes a refreshingly different “top-down,” positive approach that starts with the most predictable elements of your financial life: your regular income and recurring expenses (bills and subscriptions). This creates the basic framework for your Spending Plan:

Monthly Income – Monthly Recurring Expenses = Available to Spend

This simple equation gives you an immediate sense of what you can afford to spend on “discretionary” items without requiring hours of detailed category planning. But that’s just the beginning — a truly effective financial management system needs to address your complete financial life.

Beyond the basics: Planned Spending for life’s necessities

Most households have important expenses that aren’t recurring bills but aren’t completely discretionary either. Groceries are a perfect example — you don’t have a fixed monthly grocery “bill,” but you certainly need to eat.

For these kinds of expenses, Simplifi offers Planned Spending. Like a traditional budget category, Planned Spending gives you the option of assigning one-time or monthly spending targets for other necessities: groceries, medical expenses, pet care, children’s activities, and similar costs that aren’t strictly discretionary.

Our advice? Be selective about what you classify as Planned Spending — focus on the expenses that really don’t give you much flexibility. This selective approach keeps your Spending Plan manageable while ensuring your true obligations are covered.

With Planned Spending incorporated, your monthly equation becomes: 

Income – Recurring Expenses – Planned Spending = Available to Spend

Prioritizing your future with Savings Goals

Even with bills and necessities covered, you probably don’t want to spend every dime you earn each month. That’s where Savings Goals come in.

Since your Available to Spend balance already accounts for your “must-have” spending, it also provides a realistic picture of what you can save. If you create at least one general Savings Goal, you can work on saving for the future (and building long-term security) while managing your day-to-day expenses.

Simplifi’s Savings Goals follow the same top-down philosophy — determine your savings targets first (setting your financial strategy) and then spend on discretionary items with whatever you have left.

Now, with your Savings Goals added, your complete equation covers everything: 

Income – Recurring Expenses – Planned Spending – Savings Goals = Available to Spend

The beauty of this system is that your Available to Spend amount becomes truly available — funds you can spend anywhere you wish while still maintaining your financial goals. 

No more agonizing over how much to allocate for entertainment versus restaurants versus ride-sharing services each month. Simplifi keeps up with it all as you spend and shows you what’s left.

Getting the details without the drudgery

Even without category-by-category budgeting, Simplifi still provides comprehensive spending reports to help you see where every dollar goes. (The app still categorizes your spending — you just don’t have to plan it all out line by line unless you want to.)

You can also use Watchlists to keep a close eye on anything you want to track as you go (like restaurants or holiday spending). You can set those up by category, tag, or payee, so you can focus on what you care about without having to nickel-and-dime every single thing.

The Rollover option: when you want more flexibility

Traditional budgeting typically includes a “rollover” feature that transfers remaining balances in budget categories from one month to the next. For example, if you budgeted $100 for entertainment but only spent $80 in January, you’d roll over the $20 surplus to February, making your February total $120. Conversely, if you overspent by $10, you’d have only $90 available in February.

Simplifi now offers Rollovers as an option for your Planned Spending, but our Spending Plan is designed to work beautifully without it. 

Here’s why you might or might not choose to use rollovers:

For discretionary spending: monthly vs. annual

Do you like to plan your “fun” budgets monthly or yearly? If you want to keep clothes shopping or vacations under a certain amount for the year, rollovers can help. Divide your annual target by 12 and give yourself that much each month in Planned Spending. Rollovers will show you how far you are over or under your target all year long.

If you’re more focused on your monthly budget, you won’t need rollovers — and you might not even need Planned Spending. Just spend your “fun” money on anything you want!

For future expenses: savings vs rollovers

Some people use Planned Spending rollovers to “build up” funds for a future expense — like setting aside $200 each month with no intention of spending it until a property tax payment comes due six months later.

While rollovers can work for that, we generally recommend using Savings Goals instead. For expenses like property taxes, a dedicated Savings Goal lets Simplifi calculate exactly how much you need to set aside every month based on your target date. The goal becomes actively managed (requiring you to save the funds) rather than passively tracked through unspent category balances.

Understanding transfers: The key to accurate tracking

One last concept that’s essential to getting the most from your Simplifi Spending Plan is understanding transfers — transactions that move money between different accounts you own, which are neither income nor expenses.

A straightforward example is transferring funds from checking to savings. This shouldn’t be categorized as an expense because you haven’t spent the money — you’ve simply moved it. In Simplifi, categorizing these transactions as transfers ensures they won’t get tracked as spending in your spending reports or your Spending Plan.

Credit card payments are another example. You might think of a credit card payment as a “bill,” but the payment itself isn’t the expense — all the individual card transactions are. The payment simply transfers funds from your checking account to your credit card account. Only interest charges (if you carry a balance) represent additional expenses.

If you always pay your credit cards in full, categorizing these payments as transfers avoids double-counting (counting both the original purchases and the payment for those purchases). However, if you’re paying down a credit card balance, you can include the transfer in your Spending Plan to account for it in your Available to Spend calculation.

The complete financial picture

If you’ve made it this far, you’ve seen how Simplifi evolves from basic guidance (Income – Bills) to a comprehensive financial management system that models the complexity of real-world finances while keeping things remarkably straightforward:

Income –

• Bills & Subscriptions
• Planned Spending (important stuff that’s not a “bill”)
• Savings Goals
• Recurring Transfers (like credit card paydown) 

= Available to Spend

Setting up your plan may require some initial work, but it takes a lot less effort than editing individual budget values for dozens of categories each month. 

More importantly, this top-down approach prioritizes your goals by giving you clear ways to define intentional planned spending, savings targets, or debt reduction strategies instead of constantly adjusting different categories.

Once your plan is established, your Available to Spend number becomes a genuine pool of available cash. You can spend it however you want to each month, knowing that even if you use it all, your long-term financial goals remain secure.

Getting started with your Simplifi Spending Plan

Ready to experience a more strategic approach to financial management? Here’s how to get started with your Simplifi Spending Plan:

1. Begin by connecting your accounts to Simplifi so it can automatically import your income and expenses. The system will identify patterns to help establish your baseline financial picture.

2. Next, decide which non-bill necessities you want to add as Planned Spending. Remember, be selective — focus on the money you know you have to spend rather than trying to plan every category.

3. Then, establish meaningful Savings Goals. Whether you’re building an emergency fund, saving for a vacation, or working toward a down payment, prioritizing these goals will help you build financial security.

4. Finally, review your Available to Spend amount — this represents what you can spend after accounting for all your goals and obligations.

The result? A comprehensive financial system that helps you stay on track without the tedious work of traditional budgeting. Financial management finally becomes what it should be: a tool for creating the life you want.