My two best friends and I have been going back and forth about dates for a possible trip with our families during the holidays. We’re thinking Puerto Rico — maybe one of these great resorts or an Airbnb in Culebra. Fingers crossed that this makes it out of the group chat — and soon. Experts say the optimal date to book holiday travel is coming up.
Speaking of travel plans, here are a few more ways to save:
Food and beverage spending out of control? Try “tempo drinking”
Head to these European summer hotspots in the off-peak winter season (#7 is high on my list)
Make sure your passport isn’t stained — and avoid these other common mistakes
Become a traveling pet sitter
— Marisa Iallonardo, writer, White Plains, NY
For The Group Chat
The money stories everyone’s talking about.
Be nice to your aunt who never married nor had kids. You could become her “laughing heir.”
A convoluted legal back-and-forth is causing student-loan whiplash. While the future of Biden’s debt relief plan hangs in the balance, here’s what to do if you can’t make payments.
There’s still time to save $1 million for retirement, even if you’re well into your thirties. Here’s your plan.
Prime Day starts tomorrow. Use this cheat sheet to know what to stock up on. Psst: You don’t have to wait to start saving. This Amazon hack works any time.
Saving for a house? Find the average down-payment amount needed for your area — then compare it to others. The numbers might surprise you.
Follow the Money
How the news affects your finances.
The Best Time to Start Investing Was Yesterday
Raise your hand if this sounds familiar: You watch as yet another friend buys a house or takes a baller trip to Europe and you tell yourself you should be doing more to grow your money, but you have no clue where to start. So, then you just…don’t.
You’re not alone: A mere 40% of women in the US have investments of any kind, according to a just-released survey from Janus Henderson Investors. (Another survey from 2022 estimated that 47% of women have a retirement account, but we’re still falling behind men with investing overall.) So, why are women not taking charge of their finances when we clearly want to get just as rich as (ha! or richer than) the boys? Aside from the gender pay gap, nearly a quarter of respondents in the Janus Henderson survey cited a “lack of understanding” as the factor holding them back from investing.
“There’s clearly a critical need for targeted financial education and support for women,” says Marquette Payton, director of practice management at Janus Henderson. Plus, women who are investing say they’re overwhelmed by too much information and don’t know which sources to trust, says Payton. The good news is that it’s possible to narrow this gender investing gap, and getting started is easier than you think.
Your Move:
Set goals. What do you want to achieve with your investments? “Well-defined goals help to create tailored investment strategies and ensure your investment decisions align with your long-term objectives,” says Payton.
Talk to someone directly. If you find it impossible to parse through all the available avenues to invest, meet with someone for personalized advice. Along with financial planners, there are a variety of options, including several that are free or low-cost.
Try micro-investing. Investing small amounts (and we mean small, as in cents at a time), can be a low-stakes way to get started. There are many micro-investing apps that are easy to use.
Stay in-the-know. “Investment trends keep changing, and it can be a complex landscape to comprehend,” says Payton. Stay up to date on the latest news and tips weekly in your Skimm Money newsletter. (Psst, we’ve been working on something fresh that will help demystify this obscure finance stuff even more. Keep an eye on your inbox.)
Together with Ford
Thing to Know
$382
That’s the average cost of a domestic flight in the United States. Add in baggage fees, long TSA lines, and a scramble for overhead bin space, and suddenly that weekend getaway doesn’t sound so relaxing — or affordable. If you’re getting the itch to travel, consider taking a road trip instead of a flight. Control the pace, choose your route, and enjoy the journey — all while keeping your budget in check.
Something you won’t want to hit the road without? The new 2025 Ford Explorer®️SUV. With room for up to seven, tech that helps make every mile easier, and the ability to conquer (almost) any stretch of pavement, it’s the ultimate travel hack. See what we mean.
Ask An Expert
We asked you to vote on a question you’d like answered. The winner was:
Why should I choose ETFs over stocks or mutual funds?
FEATURED EXPERT:
Kristin Myers
Senior vice president of content and editor in chief of etf.com
ETFs — short for exchange-traded funds — have a few advantages that make them popular for investors, says Myers. The big ones:
Cost. ETFs tend to be cheaper than buying individual stocks, or many mutual funds, because they include every company within an exchange for one low price rather than require you to purchase a share or portion of a share for every one in that group. “Most people don’t have that kind of money — or time,” says Myers. “If you want to buy a bunch of tech stocks, but can’t afford to buy them all individually, you can buy tech ETFs that have invested in the tech companies you’re interested in,” she says.
Convenience and customization. Mutual funds can only be traded once a day, and tend to require active management. With ETFs, it’s more common to “set it and forget” (e.g., choosing one with a target date close to retirement that will automatically rebalance), but you can also trade daily on the market. There’s also a huge variety of ETFs, and you can choose based on your interests, values (for example, ESG ETFs), or goals.
Diversification. Since an ETF is a blend of funds, that means you’re not putting all your money in one basket, the way you would if you just chose one stock. ETFs invest in things like equities (a fancy word for stocks), but there are also ETFs for bonds, real estate, and other assets.
Action Items
How to win at work, according to successful women.
There’s a strong chance that you’ve RSVP’d to an experience through Eventbrite. The platform, which distributed roughly 300 million tickets last year, was cofounded in 2006 by Julia Hartz, the brand’s CEO. Here, the entrepreneur and executive shares the upside of embracing vulnerability at work and the influence of strong connections on your success. (Listen to Hartz share more wisdom in the latest 9 to 5ish podcast episode.)
Surround yourself with people whose insight you value.
“Build an inner circle of trusted friends and mentors who can provide honest feedback and help you refine your ideas. That kind of support is invaluable and can significantly boost your chances of success.”
Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable.
“Being open and authentic about your setbacks can be incredibly powerful as an entrepreneur and leader. It creates deeper connections and encourages others to feel safe and supported in sharing their experiences. There will always be messy realities in life and business, but I find that openly sharing allows me to build trust, gain perspective, and connect deeply with others.”
Be open to different ways of doing things.
“Seek out information that challenges your assumptions — it will help you think differently and train you to be actively open-minded.”
Quotes are edited and condensed for clarity.
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