Good Financial Reads: Ways People Pretend to Have Their Money Sh*t Together, Is Your Side Hustle a Business or Hobby, and More

Following along with the blogs of financial advisors is a great way to access valuable, educational information about finance — and it doesn’t cost you a thing! Our financial planners love to share their knowledge and help everyone regardless of age or assets.

Catch up on some of the latest posts with this week's roundup:

Ways People Pretend to Have Their Money Sh*t Together

by Sophia Bera, Gen Y Planning

When you’ve got friends who live like the Rich Kids of Instagram, life can feel distorted. Especially if you’ve talked about money with these friends and you know they don’t make more than you do.

How can they afford dinners out, travel, and designer clothes? Where did they get the money for that $500,000 condo? And why are you stuck being the broke-yet-responsible one who lives with three roommates and brown-bags your lunches each day?

You’re missing a piece of the puzzle.

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Is Your Side Hustle a Business or Hobby

by Cathy Derus, Brightwater Financial

These days, all sorts of people have side hustles in addition to their full-time job to bring in a little extra income for fun money, to pay off student loans, or to get out of consumer debt faster. Things like blogging, running an Etsy shop, freelance writing, driving for Uber, or owning a rental property. In the eyes of the IRS, a side hustle could be a business or just a hobby depending on how you treat it.

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How Refinancing Student Loans May Change Your Investment Strategy

by Ben Wacek, Wacek Financial Planning

Nearly 50 million Americans have student loan debt. Ask any one of them and they can tell you something far more enjoyable they’d rather do with that monthly payment. Dubbed a national crisis, student loan debt has created an opportunity for a new wave of social finance lenders to shine. Private lenders like SoFi, LendingClub, CommonBond, and Earnest are all over social media (and now TV) boasting five-figure savings and fairytale endings.

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Investing is Simple, but Not Easy - What's The Solution?

by Michael Miller, Miller Premier Investment Planning 

Warren Buffett said, “Investing is simple, but not easy.” You would think that if something were simple that it would be easy. However, in real life simplicity has little correlation with ease. Take losing weight. Very simple. Burn more calories than you take in. To be a successful investor all you have to do is buy low and sell at a higher price. Easy, right?

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