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Things a Financial Advisor Says to Do with Your Money Before 30 Even if your retirement is decades away, you’ll want to start financing it now if you expect to enjoy it. It’s easy to put off things like funding a 401(k) account when you’ve got bills, student loans, and other daily expenses to fund first. No matter your situation, there are steps you can start taking to set yourself up for a financially sound future. Here are seven things financial advisors recommend doing with your money before you turn 30. Set clear goals for your money. Goal setting is important in all areas of life where you’re looking to succeed or improve, and it’s especially helpful where money is concerned. Sherri Anderson, a director and region executive director at Bank of America, says your 20s should be a time of reflecting on both short- and long-term financial goals. Do you want to own a home by your 30s, for example? Now’s the time to “build out an actionable plan to begin achieving these goals, including

This Is How Many Credit Cards You Should Have, According to Finance Experts You’re reading through yet another story on credit card point hacking, wondering how you can book your first-class tickets to Japan. Or you’re listening to a TikToker explain how they’ve leveraged one credit card for groceries, one for restaurants, and they’re raking in the cash-back points and bonuses. Before you know it, you’ve got one tab open with a credit card application and another with a search for whether it’s good to have multiple credit cards.  “Multiple credit cards can offer the flexibility of various spending options, rewards, and the opportunity to build a credit history,” says Shonnita Leslie, personal finance content creator and side hustler at Noir in Color. But multiple credit cards also come with a crash course in money management while you’re keeping track of statement balances, minimum payments, and due dates. Wondering if it’s worth it? Here’s what the finance experts have to say. Is it g

Big Reasons Renters Aren’t Buying Homes Despite steadily rising home prices and brutal seller’s markets in some areas, America’s homeownership rate has been inching back up from its 2015 lows, reaching 64.2% in January. That leaves more than a third of American households renting their homes — thought not all of them want to be. Many renters are quite content living lease to lease — especially after the foreclosure crisis laid bare the fact that owning a home isn’t for everyone and can sometimes cause more financial problems than it solves. But according to NerdWallet’s 2018 Home Buyer Report, they’re in the minority: Only 17% of Americans surveyed prefer renting to homeownership. And their top reasons for renting suggest that the choice is sometimes rooted more in financial reality than lifestyle preferences. Reason No. 1: Don’t Have the Money to Buy More than half (56%) of those who said they prefer renting to buying said they lack the funds to buy a home. Whether this means they hav

The Most Clever Tips Real Estate Agents Have Shared With Us When I was buying my first home, my mom nudged me to put in a significantly lower bid on a townhome I really wanted. “Do that, and you’ll lose out on this home,” rebuffed my tenacious real estate agent, who was intimately familiar with the comparable properties in my neighborhood. Mom, as it turned out, didn’t know best in this instance. But my real estate agent did, and my offer was accepted.  Great real estate agents are like the captains of your home-buying team. If I had lowballed the offer, I would have probably lost the house — and done so in an attempt to save about $10 to $20 a month over the life of a 30-year loan.  At Apartment Therapy, we interview a lot of real estate agents on topics that range from TV placement to tips for first-time buyers. Here’s some of the best advice they’ve shared with us over the years. On Home Finance and Budgeting Your home loan could fall through if you open additional credit accounts w

Why we love Forever Aloe Vera Gel? We are delighted that our flagship product, Forever Aloe Vera Gel, has won Silver for Best Aloe Vera Product in the 2023 Global Green Beauty Awards.  We are dedicated to seeking out nature's best sources for health and beauty and sharing them with you, so Forever Aloe Vera Gel has been a much-loved product of ours for many years. Top benefits Contains 99.7% inner leaf aloe vera gel Supports gastrointestinal health and digestion Contains vitamin C, which contributes to the normal function of the immune system Great for the skin Contributes to the normal energy-yielding metabolism About the Global Green Beauty Awards The 2023 Global Green Beauty Awards celebrates the best of green and clean beauty brands. With over 650 entries for 2023, it has become their biggest beauty awards of the year.  The awards also focus on sustainable ingredients and reducing the impact on the environment: both things that Forever is proud of when it comes to our Forever A

30-Minute Beach Workout Time on the beach is as synonymous with summer as watermelon and barbecues. If you’re lucky enough to vacation (or even live) near a beach, the sand is a perfect spot for a fun, functional and, if you are up for it, intense beach workout. The benefits of beach workouts are plentiful, but the real magic lies in the sand. The constant shifting of grains creates an unstable environment, so your nervous system recruits more muscles in your legs, ankles, hips and core to keep you stable. The sand also provides a soft landing surface, which reduces wear and tear on your joints during higher-impact activities. Lastly, the forgiving grainy surface absorbs more energy, so sand workouts can burn up to 50% more calories than their hard-surface counterparts. The best part? Once the workout is finished, you can run right into the water to splash around and cool off. The beach workout below takes just 30 minutes, requires zero equipment, and works your entire body. 30-MINUTE

  Does the 5:2 Diet Work For Quick Fat Loss? If you follow any health or wellness gurus on social media, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of intermittent fasting. Commonly referred to as “IF” in the fit-fluencer world, it’s a diet in which you restrict your calories—aka, fast—during a window of time ranging anywhere from 12 to 40 hours. It’s become such a hot topic that it replaced the keto diet as the most popular diet in the United States in 2022. There are a lot of different methods of intermittent fasting, whether you skip breakfast to do 16:8 or just eat one massive dinner for OMAD (one meal a day). Or, if you’ve watched any of the thousands of #fastingtiktok videos, you might follow the current intermittent fasting craze: the 5:2 diet. What is the 5:2 diet? The 5:2 diet approach consists of eating your regular calorie intake for five days and then a restrictive calorie intake for two days (which are considered your “fasting” days). While the exact calorie requirements vary pers

  The 8 Best At-Home Workout Routines: The Ultimate Guide for Training Without a Gym At Home Warm-ups and stretching routines Beginner Bodyweight This at-home routine, as we lay out in our Beginner Bodyweight Workout article, is as follows: Bodyweight squats: 20 reps Push-ups: 10 reps Walking lunges: 10 each leg Dumbbell rows (using a gallon milk jug or another weight): 10 each arm. Plank: 15 seconds Jumping Jacks: 30 reps Advanced Bodyweight If the beginner at-home workout above is too easy for you, move on to our Advanced Bodyweight Workout. The Advanced Bodyweight Workout: One-legged squats – 10 each side [warning: super-difficult, only attempt if you’re in good enough shape] Bodyweight squats: 20 reps Walking lunges: 20 reps (10 each leg) Jump step-ups: 20 reps (10 each leg) Pull-ups: 10 reps [or inverted bodyweight rows] Dips (between bar stools): 10 reps Chin-ups: 10 reps [or inverted bodyweight rows with underhand grip] Push-ups: 10 reps Plank: 30 seconds The 20-Min Hotel Routin

Improve Your Sleep Hygiene with MyFitnessPal According to a recent MyFitnessPal survey, 60% of people don’t believe they get good sleep quality. Which, let’s just say it like it is, isn’t great. But there’s more. In the last year: 34% of individuals say their sleep quality worsened 84% claim they have difficulty falling asleep 87% say they struggle to stay asleep Sleep deprivation is a widespread concern, with the majority of people admitting they don’t get enough sleep. So, what’s causing too many to get poor sleep? Stress, anxiety, electronics, and inconsistent sleep schedules are often blamed for poor sleep quality, and they do play a role. But many overlook a crucial element in this equation: food. Dietary choices have a direct impact on your sleep. In fact, 47% of people agree that they tend to consume unhealthy snacks late at night when they have trouble sleeping, and 33% indulge in sugary or high-fat snacks during late-night hours, at least 1-3 times a week. But fear not! M

Fall Walking Goals to Stay Motivated TRY ONE NEW ROUTE EACH WEEK To ensure you can keep up your new walking routine through the winter and beyond, use this time of year to experiment and find alternative options to your usual route. This can include a different park or hiking trail, a track at a local high school or college, or even reversing your route around the neighborhood. Varying your terrain can challenge different muscles and it also keeps things interesting and helps you stay excited to go for a daily walk — regardless of the weather. SIGN UP FOR ONE WALKING EVENT Some of the best walking events are held at the end of the year (Think: Thanksgiving Turkey Trots and Jingle Bell 5Ks), and many are virtual this year, so you can do them anywhere. Find a race that suits your fitness level and focus on having fun instead of taking things too seriously with lofty time goals. Reaching the finish line of your first 5K or 10K is a motivating experience that propels you toward your next w