Basic Personal Finance

Most important rule of all: Spend money within your means. If you get anything from this post, I hope this is it.

Track and know what you spend money on. You can do this with Mint.com, Personal Capital, YNAB, or just a Excel/Google Spreadsheet. More than likely, you can have some of these services automatically download your financial data including your credit cards, bank accounts, and investment accounts.

How should you save? In the order precedence:
1. Emergency Fund: 3-6 months of spending saved up. Put in a high-interest savings account (Ally, Barclays)
2. Company Match: It's free money. Simple, just put in enough money to max out your employer's match.
3. Pay off debts. Highest interest rates first. Pay minimum payments on all loans.
4. Contribute to HSA (if you have a high deductible healthcare plan): Triple tax benefit. The contributes are pretax, grow tax-free (you can invest the money in funds), and tax-free withdrawals if spent on medical costs. You can save your medical receipts and let this account grow and reimburse those expenses to yourself in the future!
5. IRA/Roth IRA: Retirement investment account if you earn less than $127k (single)/191k (joint). IRA is tax-deferred meaning taxes are not taken from the amount you put in. Roth IRA is taxed but future growth on that account is not taxed. If you're young and expect to make more money in the future, you want to use the Roth IRA. Max $5500/year ($6500 if 50 or older) for those making less than $114k (single)/180k(joint).

The best part about the IRA is you choose the company you want to invest with and choose your investments. Don't be scared if you don't know how to invest though; you can invest in target dates funds (when you want to retire). Or you can learn!

6. 401k: Put any additional money you want to save for retirement in tax-benefit accounts.
7. Maxed out your 401k? Put money in retirement accounts that don't have tax benefits.

Compounding growth is a strong force; some say the strongest force in the universe. So start saving early and there's no better time to start than now.

So where do you save for things outside of retirement? Well, you must decide what you want to save for before you retire. Is it a new car? Clothes? House? You'll need to save for those before putting all your savings into retirement accounts. And please don't leave extreme amounts of liquid in your checking account with abysmal interest (~zero); at least put it high interest savings account (e.g. Barclays or Ally), if not a short term investment vehicles.

Things I Recommend:
Checking with no fees, free online bill pay, free ATMs.

Credit Cards: Pay these off monthly. Don't be afraid of credit cards. See it as cash that is easily track-able, builds important credit, may earn rewards, may have numerous benefits, and make easier to carry. Try to get the best credit card you can with your credit history. Some have sign-on bonuses if you spend a certain amount with the first few months. Based on your goals, there are certain cards that will be more beneficial for you.

Credit Score Checks: CreditKarma.com allows quick and easy scores. Some credit card providers are giving them with monthly statements (Discover IT, Citi). Check credit report annually. Make sure there are no mistakes or misinformation. Best way to build credit is to use it wisely; pay things on time. There is one loophole that may help though (add someone as an authorized user).

What do I have?
Accounts: Charles Schwab, Fidelity, Vanguard, Barclays
Management: Mint, Personal Capital, Credit Karma
Credit Cards: Citi Forward, AMEX Everyday, Citi Double Cash, Discover IT, Bank of America Travel Rewards, Citi AAdvantage Platinum, Citi Prestige, Chase Freedom
Loan: Honda (PAID OFF!)

Keep in mind, this is just an overview of personal finance. You probably want to read up on it or ask someone who may know more detail (potentially me, I'll try my best).