ARIES (March 21-April 19): Loved ones may affect you by looking more attractive than usual. Decide if what’s being offered is authentic and don’t insist on follow-through if the situation is clearly not doable. Be patient and wait for clarity.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You might embrace a worthy cause and receive praise for your position. There will be so much you can do to make conditions better once you learn more. This will help you become a more effective agent of change.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Make sure you are prepared to follow up on promises and deliver the merchandise. Your demeanor may be relaxed and appealing, but your mind is quick, so you can calculate how to best navigate the situation.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): You can gain recognition for your sensible approach to life’s challenges and climb the ladder of success. Friends may come and go at times, but if you treat everyone fairly and with respect, they will be happy to know you.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You probably have great skills at balancing the checkbook and creating successful business and financial plans. You may not be enthusiastic about doing any kind of job or assignment unless you can take pride in the results.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You and a partner might enjoy jockeying for position while presenting a united front. You can be practical and smart about presenting your work for the best effect. A loved one may have the best ideas to help you achieve your goals.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Even the boss isn’t too high up on the food chain to get his or her hands dirty. Work hard to take care of responsibilities even if you think someone else should be taking over. Teamwork will help everyone get ahead.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Profit from teachable moments. Those in your immediate environment could be willing to share their expertise and experiences. Someone close might be more interested in pursuing romantic togetherness than money.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Jump on it if it gives you joy. You may prefer to fly by the seat of your pants while loved ones and partners want to nail down the details. Family members can handle details or otherwise assist you in implementing plans.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You can be full of positivity and optimism, which makes you more attractive to people who are looking for kindred spirits. However, some people might make demands on your time that interfere with what you want to accomplish.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): You may be fond of money-saving ideas and smart business moves. Joining a buying club or mailing list might be right up your alley. You might find imaginative ways to increase your buying power and savings.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): The best poker players know when to bluff and when to fold. Strategies can be essential to your success now, whether you’re marketing a creative project or vying for a position in an organization.

IF TODAY IS YOUR BIRTHDAY: There may be stars in your eyes during the upcoming three to four weeks, so while you may yearn for true love and commitment, you might not meet “The One” or deepen your relationship during this period. Don’t chase rainbows or you may become annoyed with yourself for wasting time. Focus on what is real and tangible. As July segues into August, you will become more grounded while your business acumen is at a peak, making this a good time to concentrate on money-making activities. Any romantic yearnings may be in full bloom in late October, when an amorous getaway with a special someone could meet your expectations. November and December can be highly productive, and your hard work could land you an offer or advancement in late January.

The coronavirus pandemic has affected us all in different ways, and lost income is one of the most difficult to deal with. Quarantine meant more ways to save money for many of us, too — whether from cutting down gas consumption while we worked from home, or just because we were less likely to eat out — but as some of us head back to work, saving money will continue to be important. A little careful planning could help you stretch that cash from the stimulus check a few weeks further. (And here’s what we know about a possible second stimulus check.)

We’ve already written about all the free stuff you can get while you’re at home, but here are 28 ways you can start cutting costs around the house right now.

In the kitchen

Grow herbs: A bundle of herbs costs three or four bucks. Keeping a little herb garden on your window sill will cost the same to get seeds, but can yield herbs for months.

Don’t buy bottled water: Bottled water seems cheap, but it gets expensive fast. Settle for a filter, and you can use tap water. It’s cheaper over time, and it’s better for the environment, too.

Make your own coffee: It seems obvious, but those daily Americanos can easily take a chunk out of your bank account. Use a coffee maker or French press for coffee instead. For ideas, here’s how to make better iced coffee, dalgona coffee and imitation Starbucks favorites.

Throw almost-spoiled veggies in the freezer: Buying veggies, then opting for the tastier freezer meals while the leafy greens spoil was a weekly ritual in our house. Then we started tossing nearly spoiled veggies in the freezer to use for smoothies. It cut our weekly waste way down. Here are more tips to keep your fridge food fresher for longer.

Keep your freezer full: Speaking of freezers, when you keep your freezer full, it works more efficiently, taking less energy to keep the contents cold.

Keep your dishwasher full, too: Running half-loads of dishes is a quick way to waste water and dish detergent. 

Break out that Dutch oven: It could be a Dutch oven or a slow cooker of any kind, but cooking in bulk really helps cut down the costs associated with more individual-size meals.

Eat leftovers: This isn’t a tip so much as a choice. Keep your leftovers and don’t give yourself the excuse not to eat them. It’ll stretch your dollar way further.

Be selective about organic foods: Organic food can be pricey, and ethically grown meat is even more expensive. So get the most problematic products organic to avoid pesticides and hormones, and get the standard fare for the rest of your grocery list.

In the laundry room

Hang-dry your clothes: My wife and I are trying to occupy our quarantine time with exercise as much as possible, and that means a lot more laundry than usual. Save energy by hang-drying it. (Besides, no one will notice your slightly wrinkled shirt.)

Wash with cold water: Another way to cut costs is washing with cold water. Unless you have serious stains or odors you’re trying to remove, most clothes can wash cold without an issue.

Lower the temp on water heater: While we’re talking water temperature, check your water heater. You generally don’t need the temperature to be above 120 degrees, and higher temps come with higher fees.

Change filters: It’s not just your water heater’s inefficiency costing you money; your HVAC system can burn a hole in your wallet if you haven’t changed its filter recently.

Run full loads of laundry: Really pack your washer to capacity, because you’re going to use the same water either way. May as well get as much use from it as you can.

24 tips to help you save on your electric bill

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Paying bills

Switch credit cards: If you spend a lot of money at Whole Foods or on travel, consider specific credit cards
that will offer the best rewards for your current spending habits.

Use a budgeting app: One of the hardest parts of budgeting is just developing awareness of our spending habits. Using a budgeting app like Mint is a great way to see exactly how your impulse buys really do shape your monthly budget.

Use coupons: Coupons are basically like cash. If you buy things online, doing a 30-second search for coupons will often save you 10% or more.

Pay bills online: There are few things I hate more than late fees on bills. Setting up autopay on your electricity and water bills will help avoid those unnecessary fees, and they’ll also remove the need for postage on paper bills.

Unsubscribe from services: While you’re thinking about bills, check which services you’re subscribed to — whether that’s streamers like Netflix or other services like fitness apps. If you haven’t used one in a month, cancel it. You can always restart it in a few minutes if you change your mind. Here are 10 great free movie streaming alternatives.

For entertainment

Use library online resources: If you have a library card, your public library likely offers a lot of free online services, such as ebooks or even streaming services. Give them a shot.

Check out Project Gutenberg: Project Gutenberg is a great online resource for ebooks, offering over 60,000. You can read more about it, and other ways to download and read books for free.

Watch free HBO shows: HBO and other streamers are offering free selections from their libraries for people stuck inside during the pandemic. Check out your options (and other free entertainment ideas) here.

Go outside: Not to sound like a dad from the ’90s, but go outside! It’s a free way to mix up the day, get some exercise and remind yourself that your bedroom is not the whole world. Here are tips to exercise safely outside during the pandemic.

Start a garden: While you’re outside, think about starting a garden. If you have a backyard, you can avoid many of the upfront costs of a raised bed and simply get seeds to plant in the ground. You can get plenty of seeds for less than $20, and that will translate into much more than $20 worth of food over the following months.

Build a compost bin: OK, this one is a longer-term investment, but building a garden can be hard and expensive if you’re starting from scratch. If you start tossing your food waste into a compost bin now, though, you won’t have to buy tons of fertilizer or expensive soil for your garden next year. Plus, composting is another good way to help the environment. Here’s how to get started.

Other tips around the house

Dress for the temperature: If you’re still working from home, that means adjusting the “office thermostat” now directly affects your monthly bills. So adjust it less and dress comfortably for the temperature. After all, no one’s around to judge you for wearing sweats.

Switch fan direction: Most ceiling fans have a small switch on them that changes the direction they spin. In the summer, run the fan counter-clockwise so it blows air down on you. This can help avoid the need for more air conditioning.

Use energy-efficient bulbs: LED bulbs cost more to buy, but in the long term, they do cut down on electricity costs. As bulbs burn out in your house, make the switch.

Take some play sand and mix it with mineral oil. I’m using baby oil, because it’s cheaper and it smells good! Mix it together well. Take a terra cotta pot, cover the drain hole with duct tape, and fill it with the sand and oil mixture and pack it down a bit. Then stick your garden tools right into the sand. It’s a good way to store your tools and keep them clean, and the tools stay sharpened when they go in and out of the sand. Plus, you’ll always know where your tools are.

If a torpedoed trip is among our biggest complaints during a pandemic, we are pretty darn lucky, but I still can’t accept a sojourn-less summer. My husband has been working more than ever, our kids are still in this weird place emotionally after months cooped up inside sans school and I could use a break from my role as a stay-at-home-working-mom-journalist-teacher-therapist-chef-concierge-cruise director.

Like us, many are still anxious to explore. The American Automobile Association (AAA) forecasts the majority of Americans are looking to escape and social distance elsewhere and will ramble by road, marking the return of what AAA says is the Great American Road Trip.

“Americans will get out and explore this summer though they’re taking a ‘wait and see approach’ when it comes to booking and are likely to book more long weekend getaways than extended vacations,” said Paula Twidale, AAA’s senior vice president of Travel, with the association saying people will take 700 million trips this summer. “When they do venture out, travelers will take to the road with 683 million car trips to satisfy their wanderlust.”

With travel restrictions lifting in some areas  but social distancing still recommended, AAA estimates 97% of summer trips will be road trips.

A family road trip can be a rite of passage and a great, inexpensive way to disconnect from routine trappings and connect with family, while staying safe. A foray on four wheels allows you to customize a schedule based on comfort and interest, but also lends itself to last-minute adjustments and impromptu pit stops.

Mapping a route in advance is recommended, which means destination is key. You could heave a dart at a map and venture where it lands or take a 21st-century approach and use a digital road trip planning program like Roadside America, Rand McNally or AAA’s TripTik. The free, automated trip-planning tools will help you to create a custom route replete with rest areas, restaurants and lodging options.

Since it’s 2020 and all, you’ll have to consider travel bans and quarantine requests. Most apps include COVID-19 Travel Restriction updates. Also, keep in mind that many parks and attractions have capacity limits so if there’s a must-do on the docket, make arrangements in advance.

“Beyond mapping your route in advance, it is important to book hotels and plan out gas and food stops,” adds Twidale.

You can’t hedge the cost of fuel but fortunately gas prices remain exceptionally low, roughly 58 cents per gallon less than last year. Still, filling the tank repeatedly can siphon off savings. Here are few ways to make sure your adventure by car is cost-effective and copacetic:

Get gas-savvy: Gas-finding apps like GasBuddy and Gas Guru will steer you toward nearest, cheapest gas station. There are a number of rewards programs and gas station perks that can reduce fuel costs. Cumberland Farms SmartPay allows travelers to save 10 cents off every gallon of gas, right at the pump. Join Speedway Rewards and earn 10 points per dollar when you pump gas or 20 points per dollar when you make an in-store purchase. You can accumulate points and exchange them for more gas, snacks and gift cards.

Prep your car: There are several things you can do to better your car’s fuel consumption and lessen the amount of money you will pour into your gas tank. Have your car serviced beforehand: Properly inflated tires will give you better gas consumption, and a fresh oil change and new air filter can also improve your car’s performance. It’s also a good idea to make sure the gas tank cap is tight, to prevent evaporation.

Be ready to entertain: Tablets, smartphones and portable DVD players can help make any road trip manageable. Borrow movies from friends or your local library. If you’re traveling with little kids, stock up on coloring books, crayons and portable crafts. Research fun road trip games before you speed off, and consider creating your own unique travel soundtrack.

Aim to save on lodging: Never spend extra for a hotel room with a view during a frugal road trip. How much will you be in your room, anyway? Research deals available on major hotel chain websites or aggregators like Expedia.com and Booking.com. You may find last-minute lodging offers through a rental service like Airbnb. Midweek prices will almost always be cheaper. Also, consider a AAA membership to get discounts on some of your rooms, as well as all the other benefits.

Consider camping: Tent camping — not “camping” in a luxury class A motorcoach — can save you a ton of money on lodging. You don’t necessarily have to spend a lot of gear. Check out eBay or the Facebook Marketplace for gently used equipment or borrow from a friend or family member.

Research park pass programs: Planning to meander the trails or plunge in the waterways of our state and national parks? Programs and promotions are available to help guests save on admission and amenities. Available for $80, the New York State Empire Pass is good for the calendar year. It provides unlimited day-use vehicle entry to most state parks and Department of Environmental Conservation facilities. With the America the Beautiful (ATB) annual pass you’ll pay $80 and have access to all 413 areas administered by the National Park Service. Special rates are also available to seniors, military members, veterans and those with disabilities.

Eat wisely: Restaurants can be expensive when you add up food, beverages and a tip. Ultimately, the most budget-friendly and safer way to eat on the road is to grocery shop along the way and prepare your own meals. Bring along a cooler for perishables. If you do dine out, check for coupons or visit sites like Groupon.com or LivingSocial.com for on-the-fly restaurant deals.

I’m always talking about Social Security and how it’s a life vest for tens of millions of Americans. But the average monthly benefit this year is just $1,503. And yet, notes the Washington Post, “forty percent of Americans over age 60 who are no longer working full time rely solely on Social Security for their income.”

If you’re that average retiree, I don’t have to tell you how difficult it is to live on $1,503 a month, or $18,036 a year. Every dollar counts. Every single one.

You’ve probably cut your expenses to the bone. Or have you? I’ve been gathering some ideas, that perhaps you haven’t thought of that could save a few bucks. In this column, I’ll focus on two areas: Your electric bill and your water bill.

Slash your electric bill

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) says the average monthly electric bill in the United States in 2018 was $117.65. That’s 8% of the average Social Security benefit!

You’ve got all sorts of things plugged in right now. You might think that because the TV or coffee maker are turned off, they’re not using any electricity. Actually they are. These devices are called “energy vampires” because they drain electricity around the clock, whether they’re being used or not.

“These phantom energy suckers can account for as much as 20% of your monthly electricity bill,” North Carolina-based Duke Energy, says. One-fifth of that average $117.65 electric bill is an extra $23.53 a month. Not huge, but again, if you’re on a fixed income, every dollar counts.

What can you do? Some tips:

Unplug things. I know you won’t do this for the clock radio you might have on your nightstand, but if you have devices that are used infrequently—maybe a TV in your bedroom that you watch only a little bit at night—yank the cord.

Use “smart power” strips. These automatically cut off power when devices aren’t in use.

Some devices, like computers, have built-in “sleep modes” that save energy when they’re idle.

Fluorescent lightbulbs cost more up front, but can save energy and money over the long run.

Cut your water bill

The average monthly water bill in the U.S. is $70.39 a month, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It says the typical family uses 300 gallons of water a day.

That 70 bucks is nearly 5% of your monthly Social Security check. The Volusia County, Fla., water conservation department offers some money-saving tips:

A typical shower uses up to 10 gallons of water a minute. Consider limiting your showers to the time it takes to soap up, wash down and rise off.

Your toilet could be wasting thousands of gallons of water a month. Find out by putting a few drops of food coloring in the tank. If, without flushing, the coloring begins to appear in the bowl, you have a leak—and are literally flushing money away (though you’d have to balance fixing this against the cost of a plumber).

Don’t run the water while shaving and brushing your teeth. Before brushing, fill a water glass to rinse. Before shaving, fill the sink with an inch or two of warm water in which to rinse your razor.

Use your dishwasher and washing machines only when there’s a full load. And setting your washing machine to cold wash and rinse saves energy and gets your clothes just as clean.

Plant trees and plants that thrive without water. And surround them with mulch, which slows evaporation.

There are many more good ideas here.

Exercise

But you know the single biggest thing—by far—you can do to save money? Stay healthy. Keeping fit—both mentally and physically—for as long as you can will not only add more enjoyment to your life, but save incalculable amounts of money.

Fidelity Investments estimated last year that a couple retiring at age 65 would have to spend—get this—$285,000 on health care over the rest of their lives. A single man can expect to spend $135,000, but a single woman, because of longer life expectancies—could spend $150,000. Fidelity has yet to offer a 2020 estimate, but you can be sure it’ll be higher.

Coming back to what I said up top—that the average Social Security recipient currently gets $18,036 a year—it’s easy to see how big of a burden this will be.

You don’t me to tell you that exercise is good for you. But I am here to tell you the cost of NOT exercising could be significant. Also: people think that doing the crossword puzzle is the way to keep your brain sharp. It helps, but you know what really helps? Exercise, because it increases the flow of oxygenated blood to your head. As usual, talk to a doctor about what’s best for you given your age and circumstances.

I’m obviously just scratching the surface on money-saving ideas. In future columns, I’ll offer more. Meantime, tell me how YOU save money during these tough times; I may share your tips with fellow readers. Please write me at: RetireBetterMarketWatch@gmail.com.

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Personal Finance Insider writes about products, strategies, and tips to help you make smart decisions with your money. We may receive a small commission from our partners, like American Express, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.

• At the beginning of the year, I had over $35,000 of debt and $749.99 in my savings account. Six months later, I have $20,000 in savings — and not because I was frugal or found a great savings strategy.
• The reason I have that money is luck: I got a new job with a higher salary and then the coronavirus pandemic provided an opportunity to save thousands by moving back in with my family.
• Hard work should be enough to yield rewards, but it’s not — building wealth in this country requires luck, privilege, and generational wealth, and it’s time for that to change.
• Use Blooom to analyze your 401(k) today and see how you can grow your retirement savings »

On January 1, 2020, I had $749.99 in my savings account while carrying over $11,000 in credit card debt and nearly $25,000 in student loan debt. Five months later, I’ve saved $20,000 on a $55,000 salary.

I would like to say I have some money-saving secret to share, or that there’s some universal insight I discovered about how to generate wealth. But the truth is, I don’t. The reason why I have $20,000 today is because the system is rigged.

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I was in debt before I got lucky

My savings story is really more of a debt story and a luck story. It began a couple years ago, when I finished my bachelor’s degree and went straight to graduate school for a PhD.

Doctoral students have their tuition paid for and receive a graduate stipend, which seems like a good deal until you realize that graduate student labor is exploited so that large universities can function.

At many big, state schools, the actual work of educating undergraduate students is farmed out to graduate students, not full-time professors. I received an annual stipend of $17,000 for my labor, and I hovered just above the poverty line. Whenever I had to move for a new job, requiring first and last months’ rent and a security deposit, I accrued more and more credit card debt.

In 2016, I started working at a job that paid $34,000. This was a massive improvement since I was making twice as much as I did before, and I was comfortable, but I still lived paycheck to paycheck. That job required all employees to have a retirement account, so by the time I left my position, I had $8,000 that I didn’t pay attention to. I stopped contributing to the retirement account when it was no longer mandatory and let it collect dust.

I accepted my current position as a visiting professor in 2018 for my highest salary yet of $55,000. But my credit card debt was at its highest levels as well, reaching over $11,000. I felt under water. I was embarrassed and tried to triage, but it felt like no matter how much I paid each month, I still couldn’t make a dent in my total debt. I was torn between trying to save money and trying to pay down my credit cards. I couldn’t successfully do both at the same time.

Over a few months, I managed to save $3,000, so I bought $2,000 in stocks hoping that it would grow. It didn’t. I ended up losing $500 on my first attempt at investing. Then, in 2019, I had a major injury that resulted in me using my credit cards to pay for doctors’ appointments, physical therapy, Lyfts to and from work, and takeout to be delivered because I physically couldn’t stand up to cook for myself. Like many other Americans, even with health insurance, this injury simultaneously depleted my savings and caused my credit card debt to skyrocket.

That’s when I decided that something had to change: 2020 had to be different.

So, in December of 2019, I made up my mind to empty my retirement account once January began. That way I could delay paying the retirement withdrawal tax penalty until Tax Day in 2021. I put around $7,000 towards my debt and $1,000 towards savings. I sold my stocks at a loss and withdrew $1,500. I stopped using my credit cards, started putting $500 into my savings each month, and saved my $1,200 tax refund.

And then I started entertaining the idea of buying a house.

Buying a home was a way to build wealth

Homeownership is one of the bedrocks of building wealth in the US — and like so many other avenues to financial security in the United States, this path was long explicitly foreclosed to Black people. As a young Black woman, the idea of owning a house meant something to me.

As I longingly browsed Zillow in preparation for an upcoming move, I found brand-new, three-bedroom, two-bathroom houses that started at $189,000 in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia. Many of the existing homes within my budget were either in need of renovations or older, Victorian models that weren’t appealing to me. I wouldn’t necessarily say I have expensive taste, but many of the newer houses that I liked were well above my means.

When I found out that I could build and customize a house without breaking the bank, it seemed like a steal. I decided to talk to a realtor to learn more so I could set a savings goal for the future. To my surprise, I learned that I wouldn’t actually need a 20% down payment of $37,800. This was a welcome relief to my wallet as that down payment would have been most of my current salary, over half of the median household income in the United States, and entirely out of the question.

Instead, I was told I would “only” need a $5,000 deposit, which was significant, but no longer impossible. With that in mind, I took the plunge and I’m currently in the process of building a new house priced under $210,000. I knew that I would need to save up for closing costs, furniture, and moving expenses, but I was still far away from reaching my target. And then I got lucky.

How luck handed me $20,000 in savings

A year ago, I accepted a position as a tenure-track assistant professor that I’m scheduled to begin on July 1. Jobs in academia are a crapshoot, and I am under no illusions that I got my job offer on my own merits: it was, in part, because I was lucky. No amount of education, experience, charm, or talent can get you a job that, statistically, is nearly impossible to get because there are simply more PhD-holders than available professorships.

Nevertheless, I was offered a salary of $77,000, and during negotiations, I pressed my luck further and asked for $90,000 knowing that they wouldn’t go that high. They countered with an $82,000 salary plus a signing bonus of $8,000, which I didn’t even know was an option on the table. Again: luck. My bonus was supposed to be included in my first paycheck once I officially start next month, but I asked if they could give it to me ahead of schedule, and once more, luckily, they said yes. By early April, I had saved $13,000. And then I got lucky again.

My savings push coincided with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. My classes suddenly switched to an online format and I no longer needed to be physically present on campus, so in April I broke my lease and moved back in with my family out of state.

Thousands of dollars in expenses — rent, groceries, internet, electricity, gas — evaporated or steeply diminished overnight. The CARES Act put my monthly student loan payments into forbearance, so now I don’t have to pay until the fall. It also provided me with a one-time economic stimulus check of $1,200.

I started putting $1,000 from each paycheck into my savings account. Where I was previously struggling to save $2,000 a year, I was now saving $2,000 a month through no actions of my own. The coronavirus has devastated people all over the world; this is a painful time and in no way am I suggesting that it was “lucky” for millions of people to die and lose their jobs. Rather, I’m pointing out that unpredictable events completely out of my control, as well as the unearned privilege of being able to live with my family, allowed me to save an additional $7,000 in the span of three months.

Hard work should merit rewards, but that’s not our reality

Here’s the thing — the conditions that made it possible for me to save so quickly and to start building a house were a series of unforeseeable events that had nothing to do with me. Many of us are shut out of homeownership without our family’s generational wealth or some six-figure job. I have neither. What I had was luck.

You shouldn’t have to be lucky to become financially stable. Hard work should be enough, but it’s not. The fact that that’s the case is a damning reflection of the myth of American meritocracy, and underscores that we need to change how we value, pay, and support workers in all professions.

From January to June, my savings went from $749.99 to $20,000 through pure, unadulterated luck. Any narrative that suggests that folks can save tens of thousands of dollars if they’re savvy enough, or frugal enough, or responsible enough is a lie. It is impossible to build wealth without family support, luck, or some combination of the two. This tells us that the solution to wealth inequality is not simply for the poor to work harder; you cannot budget your way out of poverty. To say otherwise is irresponsible, dangerous, and cruel.

The system is rigged to make the rich richer and the poor poorer. The majority of American workers are employed by companies that use a traditional capitalist model of labor, under which CEOs and executives make millions, if not billions, while paying warehouse stockers, grocery store clerks, and waiters less than $15 an hour.

The middle- and upper-middle classes, too, are victimized under this model. Many of those who comfortably earn $60,000 a year justify enormous income inequality because they’ve been seduced by the impossible possibility of also becoming millionaires or billionaires one day, if they only work hard enough. No executive works thousands of times harder than their employees; no executive can reasonably justify making absurd amounts of money while their lowest-paid workers struggle to feed their families. Popular cultural attitudes have allowed this pervasive trend to go unchecked, all while emphasizing that there’s a special “secret” to upward mobility.

There is no cheat code.

You can’t pull yourself up by the bootstraps if you don’t have boots in the first place. In my case, I stumbled into some boots and they happened to fit. Any economic system that relies on luck, privilege, and generational wealth is deeply flawed. There has to be a better way, and it’s up to us to find it. 

Dr. Nneka D. Dennie is an assistant professor of history. When she’s not in the classroom, you can find her writing about Black feminism, trying new recipes, or watching the latest Netflix craze.

Tech gadgets

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“You can sometimes save hundreds of dollars buying used tech items,” says Skirboll. For televisions, she suggests buying an “open-box tv” when you buy from a store like Best Buy or Target. “This would get you a discount on a television that was returned or simply just used as a store model, however, make sure you are getting a full warranty as you would on a brand new model. At Best Buy, you can save as much as 25 percent if you buy the floor model product.”

Skirboll also recommends checking out Amazon Warehouse for used tech. There, you can find open-box items like tablets and laptops that have been returned, used, damaged in a warehouse, or refurbished. Under “Buying Options,” Amazon sorts by conditions, so you can tell if the item is in good condition or not. We found this Xbox wireless controller on Amazon. These are the tech items you can buy used—and the ones you shouldn’t.

Q: WHAT’S the best way to teach my eight-year-old about the value of money? She gets pocket money but doesn’t usually save any of it.

A: Clare Francis, director of savings and investments at Barclays, says: “As a parent, trying to teach your child the value of money can be tough.

“You’re already giving your daughter pocket money, which is a great way to start helping her to understand money and its value. And the fact she’s not been able to spend it recently means she can also hopefully start to grasp the concept of saving.

“You can bring to life some of the different things money could now buy her, and even suggest some ‘stretch’ ideas she could afford if she built up a little bit more. You can then help her celebrate her progress with a weekly money counting session and a chart helping her see her progress towards her goal.

“Then let her go out and buy what it is she wants – it’ll probably feel really rewarding for her to know she’s been able to buy that item because she’s saved for it.

“It can also be good to give children the opportunity to boost their pocket money savings by doing extra jobs to earn money, such as washing the car or cleaning the windows.

“As well as learning how to save, the other angle of understanding the value of money is the budgeting side of things and the fact your money will only go so far.

“Talk to your daughter about your finances and the fact that every month there are certain things you have to pay for such as the mortgage or rent, gas, electricity and food, so you need to make sure you have enough money to pay for those, then any extra can be put towards the nice things such as days out, holidays and Christmas.

“It’s important not to shy away from conversations about financial matters so you can try and give your child a good grounding and basic understanding as it will make it easier when it comes to them having to do it themselves.

“With most children not at school at the moment, one idea to help teach them about budgeting is to give them some money every day for their snacks and then price up some of the options in the cupboard: maybe 20p for a bag of crisps, 10p for a biscuit.

“It’s then up to them to decide whether to blow it all in one go, or spend carefully so they can have a few snacks throughout the day. Not only does it help them understand there’s a cost to everything, it might also stop them eating you out of house and home!”

Welcome to NerdWallet’s SmartMoney podcast, where we answer your real-world money questions. This week’s episode starts with a discussion about ‘big birthdays.’ A milestone birthday can start you thinking about

Check out this episode on any of these platforms:

Apple PodcastsSpotifySoundCloud

Welcome to NerdWallet’s SmartMoney podcast, where we answer your real-world money questions.

This week’s episode starts with a discussion about ‘big birthdays.’ A milestone birthday can start you thinking about what you’ve done with your life and where you want to go in the future. Setting new money goals may help you achieve some of those dreams.

Then we pivot to this week’s question from Austin, who says: ‘I keep seeing advertisements for sign-up bonuses when you join a new bank. And I’m wondering if they’re actually legit. Can I really get a couple hundred bucks for ‘free’ by making a new bank account?’

Our take

Some banks will give you money ” often $200 or even more ” to entice you to open a bank account. You will have to jump through some hoops, though. For checking accounts, you’ll typically need to set up direct deposit of a certain amount, such as $500 each month for the first two months after you set up an account. The direct deposit needs to be from a paycheck or government benefits rather than just a transfer from one of your other accounts. With savings accounts, you typically need to deposit a lot more: $10,000 is the usual minimum.

Should you switch banks to get a bonus? You’ll need to compare interest rates, balance requirements and fees. The new account may require higher minimums to avoid monthly fees, charge fees your current bank doesn’t or pay less interest. You may wind up worse off, even with the bonus. But if the new account makes financial sense, and you’re ready to change banks or start a new savings account, bonuses can be a nice incentive to change.

If you’re moving a checking account, move all of your automated payments over to the new one and leave the old account open for at least another month or two to make sure all transactions have cleared.

Our tips

Balance the bonus. Consider interest rates and fees to make sure the whole deal works before you commit.

Read the fine print. Getting the bonus usually requires depositing a certain amount and leaving the money there for a certain length of time.

Focus your bonus. If you’re planning to open a new account anyway, look for one with a good sign-up bonus.

Have a money question? Text or call us at 901-730-6373. Or you can email us at podcast@nerdwallet.com. To hear previous episodes, visit the podcast homepage.

Episode transcript

Liz Weston: Welcome to the NerdWallet SmartMoney Podcast, where we answer your personal finance questions and help you feel a little smarter about what you do with your money. I’m your host, Liz Weston.

Sean Pyles: And I’m your other host, Sean Pyles. As always, be sure to send us your money questions. You can call or text us on the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373. That’s 901-730-NERD. Or you can email us at podcast@nerdwallet.com.

Liz: And while you’re at it, please rate, review and subscribe wherever you’re getting this podcast. This episode, we’re talking with one of our banking nerds about how you can get bank sign-up bonuses. Free money!

Sean: Yes. Love free money. But first, in our This Week In Your Money segment, Liz and I are going to have a little bit of a self-reflective conversation about what it means to set financial goals as you age. This is a somewhat self-indulgent topic that was inspired by my birthday the other week. I’m officially 29, which means that I’m on the cusp of a new decade.

Liz: Woo-hoo!

Sean: Thank you, thank you. And I’ve been thinking about what my goals were in my 20s and what I want them to be in my 30s, and what changes from one year or one decade to the next.

Liz: OK, first of all, happy birthday. That is so cool.

Sean: Thank you.

Liz: And you are a twin, right? So there were two of you.

Sean: I did want to say, shout out to my fellow Geminis, especially my literal twin sister. I couldn’t see her due to COVID. But I did get to take a week off of work, and I mostly just sat around in my garden and read books and avoided the internet. And so I had that time to sit and think about what my goals are and what I want to do in the next decade.

Liz: Yeah, I think at this point in your life you’re starting to see that time is accelerating.

Sean: Yes.

Liz: And you know that you don’t have an infinite amount of it, so you want to achieve those goals. I think when a big birthday is coming up, you look back over the past decade or even more and see, have you been achieving your goals? Have you been setting goals that now are important to you? The really interesting chunk of all this is that there’s something called the ‘end of history” illusion, which is that we can look back on the past decade, on our whole lives, and see how much we’ve changed, but we think we’ve stopped. We think we’ve basically hit the pinnacle of what we’re going to be, and we’re basically going to be the same going forward. And the reality is, no.

Sean: Everything is always changing, and that’s just the reality.

Liz: Yes. And you’re going to change so much in your 30s.

Sean: Right.

Liz: Your goals, what you want, what you do with your time, all of that changes.

Sean: Right. I want to put in a plug here for one of my favorite science fiction books, ‘Parable of the Sower’ by Octavia E. Butler. The whole premise is that God is change, change is constant, everything is always changing, and when you touch something, it changes you, and vice versa. And I think about that a lot. And thinking back on my 20s, I mean, my 20s were really about setting a foundation, and my goal was just to have a goal, or to have any finances to make a goal with. And I’ve come pretty far. And now I’m trying to think about how I can keep up with my good habits, like adding to my savings, whether I want to buy a house, those really big lofty goals. And then, on a day-to-day basis, getting better at curbing stupid impulse shopping online, which is an ongoing dialogue I’m having with myself. But, Liz, I’d love to hear about how your money goals have changed over time.

Liz: Yeah, because they really have. I mean, some of the basics are the same. Starting when I was 26 and started contributing to a 401(k), I knew that saving for retirement was important, basically, because all the money experts around me told me that.

Sean: Mmm hmm.

Liz: Conceiving of actual retirement, it was so far off in the future, it just seemed like this hazy thing. But OK, I was getting there. And I want to put in a pitch for leaving your future self options. One guy I was talking to was in his 20s. He absolutely loved his job. He said, ‘Why do I have to plan for retirement? I’m never going to want to retire.” I was like, ‘Ha ha, you have no idea.” I mean, really, you are going to change so much, so give yourself some flexibility. Do save for retirement so that if you want to retire early or take some time off or whatever, you have that flexibility. That’s super important. I will also say one of my big mistakes in my life was buying retirement property in my 20s.

Sean: Wow. That’s very ambitious of you.

Liz: Well, it’s weird when I think back on it. I was living in Alaska and had the opportunity to buy some raw land, 80 miles from the nearest road. It was near a fly-in cabin that my boyfriend at the time had.

Sean: That sounds very romantic, the entire pastoral premise of that.

Liz: Doesn’t it?

Sean: I’d get it, yeah.

Liz: It sounds amazing. And it’s also insane. I mean, you don’t want to be little old people 80 miles from the nearest road.

Sean: We’ll have drones by then, Liz. Don’t worry about it. They’ll deliver everything.

Liz: Yeah, yeah. Man, I am counting on self-driving cars. Drones would be great. But I want a road to drive on.

Sean: Yeah, fair.

Liz: Yeah, it’s really, you can’t make definite decisions, I don’t think, for your future, but you can leave yourself options. I think that’s what’s important.

Sean: Yeah. Another thing I was thinking about with this is there can be a strong push to think that you have to have certain things accomplished by a certain period of time.

Liz: Yes.

Sean: And yeah, it’s good to start saving for retirement as early as you can, and maybe your 30s are a good time to buy a house. But I think that it can be a bit of a dangerous trap to compare yourself to what other people are doing.

Liz: Mmm hmm.

Sean: And I want to just tell people to work with what they have and where they are right now and work to improve their financial picture from there, and maybe not think, ‘OK, now that I’m turning 30, I need to have X, Y and Z done.’ Make sure that you have a plan, but don’t think that you have to accomplish it tomorrow.

Liz: Yeah, absolutely. And your life is going to look different from other people’s lives. I mean, I married in my early 30s, had a kid in my late 30s, and that didn’t look like the folks that I graduated high school with at all. In fact, I went to one of my high school reunions when my daughter was a toddler and some of my peers had grandchildren.

Sean: Wow.

Liz: It was really weird.

Sean: Yeah.

Liz: So your life is not going to look like others’. So what do you think you’re going to want? I mean, what do you think is going to be important in your 30s?

Sean: Well, I do want to buy a house, and what house that is I’m not sure about, because my partner, he’s technically on the paperwork for where we live now, and we have this big idea of, ‘OK, we’ll live in this house for a few years, break even, and then we’ll rent it out, and then I’ll get a place.” And now that the world seems uncertain, I’m not really sure that’s what I want to do. I just want to have enough savings right now so that I can live pretty comfortably if, I don’t know, the whole world turns upside down yet again and I need to live off of that for a few months. That’s my most immediate goal, but long-term is home ownership. It’s making sure that I can buy a house and still be financially secure. I really don’t want to be house poor.

And also, I’ve been getting into cars, so I want to have a fun car. I know that there’s always the advice of buying the cheapest, most reliable thing, but I also want to live for today and plan for tomorrow. So maybe that means getting a fun, zippy little car when I can afford it. I just want to enjoy what I’m spending my money on and not have something that feels like a cardboard box that’s safe. I don’t know.

Liz: Yes, absolutely. I have the problem of being too much in that cardboard box, and my husband knows much more about living his life today. So we’re a nice balance that way. By the way, he loves his Mustang convertible and he enjoys it every time he gets behind the wheel.

Sean: Yeah.

Liz: So having that daily enjoyment of something, that’s really important too.

Sean: So that’s what I’m thinking about as well. I think a lot about in my life how the things I’m doing on a really daily basis add up over time, whether it’s trying to do stretches after I go on a walk or drinking enough water. It’s these things that seem really small that are cumulative and can help you over time. I’m wearing some SPF 50 on my face every day to keep my youthful looks.

Liz: Attaboy.

Sean: So that also applies for what my money goals are. And so, yeah, putting a bunch of my money into savings every time I get a paycheck through direct deposit, having that good hygiene that I know is going to pay off down the road, that’s what I try to focus on.

Liz: Excellent. Yeah, you move from the teenager’s point of view of, ‘You can’t make me do anything,” and then realize, ‘Oh, some of these little things really are important for the future.” And I love that you took a week off and thought about this stuff.

Sean: Oh, yeah.

Liz: Because it takes getting away from the tumult and pressures and deadlines of daily life to really reflect on what you want going forward. I take a little mini-sabbatical, a little retreat, just about once a year and take a day or two to do exactly that. I can’t right now get away for a whole week to do it. But I think that’s a really, really good idea.

Sean: Yeah. There’s something so soothing about just walking around without shoes on in my yard that I find so calming and meditative and it helped me put everything into perspective. And I think it’s important to find a time and a place, whatever that may be, even if you don’t have a yard. Maybe go out to a park in your area and sit there and do some breathing exercises and just focus on what you want to do. And that’s why I like doing this on my birthday. It’s having that moment of thinking, ‘OK, I’m turning the calendar year, what does it mean for what I want to accomplish now? And how can I build on what I did in the past year, and what do I want to change? What do I want to keep working on?” And it’s a good moment to do that.

Liz: Yes, absolutely.

Sean: All right. Well, I think that about covers it for now. And let’s get to this episode’s money question, which comes from Austin. He says, ‘I keep seeing advertisements for sign-up bonuses when you join a new bank. And I’m wondering if they’re actually legit. Can I really get a couple hundred bucks for ‘free’ by making a new bank account?

Liz: Yeah, I see these offers all the time, and I’m really curious about this.

Sean: Yeah, and I totally share your skepticism, Austin. I see these things all around town. They’re often right next to a sign for a pawn shop. So it seems really sketchy. So I am looking forward to getting the answer as well. And, fortunately, on this episode of the NerdWallet SmartMoney Podcast, we’re going to be talking with Alice Holbrook, a Nerd with a ton of experience helping folks understand the ins and outs of banking. So let’s get to it.

Liz: All right. Sounds good.

Sean: Hey, Alice. Welcome on the show. Yeah, we are super happy to have you on. Our listener, Austin, has a question about bank sign-up bonuses. He keeps seeing all these advertisements for them, and he’s not really sure if they’re legitimate or not, which I totally get. So, first, right off the bat, I’m wondering, are these sign-up bonuses legitimate? And if so, how much can someone really expect to get?

Alice Holbrook: It is true that sign-up bonuses will let you get some money for opening an account, just following a few requirements. It really is that easy. And you can typically expect to get around $200. We do see some that are less, and we do see some that pay more, especially for savings accounts. But overall about $200 is what you’re going to expect.

Sean: I’m wondering what those requirements might be, because that’s where I think the devil may be in the details.

Alice: When it comes to a checking account, typically, you’re going to have to set up direct deposit and then have a certain amount in direct deposits within a certain time period. So say you would want to get $500 in direct deposits each month for the first two months after you set up an account, and when they say direct deposit, they want it to be from your job or from government benefits. They don’t want you to just transfer money to yourself from another account, for example.

Sean: OK.

Alice: And then when it comes to savings accounts, you would want to typically deposit a certain amount of money and leave it there for a certain amount of time.

Liz: How much money do you need to deposit to get one of these bonuses?

Alice: That really varies, but when you have a savings bonus, it’s typically going to be a lot more money that you’ll have to put down. So $10,000 is a minimum that we often see. It could be more than that, depending on how much money you’re trying to get. And for checking accounts, it’s really across the board. So it might be that you have to have a couple of direct deposits of maybe $500 each, but we’ve seen it go up to multiple thousands of dollars per month that you’re going to have to have deposited. Checking bonuses are usually a little bit more flexible though.

Liz: OK, great. Now, most people open a bank account and then they just stick with it because it’s such a hassle to change. So how do you decide if the bonus is worth the hassle of changing banks?

Alice: So I think it really depends on how happy you are with the account you have now and the account that you’d be switching to. So if you have a savings account that pays more than 1%, which nowadays is pretty good, and you’d be switching to an account that doesn’t pay very much interest, you’d probably want to rethink that because the amount that you’re getting in interest now is going to overtake the bonus value over time.

And when it comes to checking accounts, I think you want to look at whether you’re being charged a monthly fee. If you’re not being charged one, and you’re looking at an account that would charge you one, that’s going to eat up your bonus really quickly. But if you’re not happy with your account right now, and you are being charged a monthly fee or you’re not getting much interest, and then the bonus is enticing you to switch to an account that would fit you better, then yeah, that’s a win-win.

Sean: OK, so you can get some decent money if this is a good fit and you don’t mind jumping through some hoops to sign up for a new account. But one thing I’m wondering about is if there’s any churning that people can do. Like, with credit cards, people will sign up for one credit card to the next to get the best bonuses across all of the options they have open to them. Is that something that people can do for these sign-up bonuses?

Alice: At NerdWallet, we generally recommend against it, just because you’re going to have to have a pretty robust spreadsheet with a lot of columns for how much money you have in various places and what your due dates are and things like that. So, for most people, we say it’s more trouble than it’s worth, but it is totally possible to do. Some banks have rules that would make it more difficult. For example, some banks will say you can only have one bonus from that bank in your life as an individual. Others will say that if you close your account within six months of signing up then they’ll take the bonus back. But most banks still don’t have those rules. So if that is something you want to do, and having a really, really intense spreadsheet sounds fun to you and sounds worth it, then yeah, this is something that people do.

Liz: And that’s something that’s right up my alley. I love spreadsheets. I love keeping track of these different things. Let me ask you a maximizer question, which is, can my husband and I both sign up for the same bonus? Can the same household have more than one account?

Alice: Generally, yes.

Liz: Ooh.

Alice: Yes. I don’t see a lot of bonuses that place restrictions on how many you can get by household. It’s usually by individual. But I don’t want to make a comment about every bonus. It’s not unheard of, so definitely check the fine print if that’s something you’re planning to do.

Liz: OK, cool.

Alice: But one caveat I would add is that, that only applies if you haven’t previously or don’t currently have a joint account at the same bank. So, typically, banks determine eligibility based on whether you’ve either been the primary owner of an account or if you’ve co-signed on the account. So if your name is on it at all, that’s going to mess with your eligibility when it comes to a bonus.

Liz: So if I open a joint account at the new bank and then my husband tries to go in and open an account, that could be a problem?

Alice: Exactly. But if you and your spouse are both just looking at opening individual accounts at a bank that you’ve never had a relationship with, then that shouldn’t be an issue.

Liz: Oh, OK. Good to know.

Sean: One thing that I want to ask you about, Alice, is any potential locality to these offers. For example, I saw a sign for a sign-up bonus. It was a billboard next to a pawn shop in my area and it seemed sketchy. It was offering $500 to open a certain account. And then weirdly, that same bank sent me a promotion in the mail that seemed like the same bank account that you would open, but the sign-up bonus was for less, actually.

Liz: Oh, interesting.

Sean: So what’s the discrepancy there?

Alice: Yeah. So a lot of bank bonuses actually are targeted, which is to say that they’re only available to people in certain ZIP codes or who receive a mailer like you got. I’m not really sure what to say about your particular situation. But what I can say is that targeted bonuses are usually a little bit better than bonuses that are nationally available. So if you do get a mailer or if you do see a billboard in your neighborhood and an offer sounds really tempting, and you look at the account and it looks like it would be a good fit, I would definitely say that’s something worth looking into.

Sean: OK. And would it be worth maybe mentioning that I saw a certain sign? Because otherwise to me it seemed a bit like bait and switch, which makes me skeptical of these things.

Alice: Yeah. I mean, I think it’s definitely worth mentioning where you saw the information. A lot of times when you sign up for a bank account and you’re expecting to get a bonus, there’s a specific code you have to mention. Or when you go on a website, there’s a code you have to enter or something like that. So, yeah, I think the more information you can provide when you sign up, usually the better

Sean: I’m wondering if online banks tend to offer better bonuses. They tend to have higher APYs for their savings accounts. Do they have any differentiating features when it comes to bonuses as well?

Alice: I would actually say that traditional brick-and-mortar banks are a little bit better when it comes to bonuses. However, a lot of online bank accounts offer a better value over time, in our experience at NerdWallet. So it really depends. You will find some occasionally, and on really good accounts.

Liz: And I just wanted to say that you don’t necessarily need to settle for one bank. I mean, we have our brick-and-mortar bank where our checking and savings accounts are and my daughter’s savings account is, and that’s where our business accounts are as well. But we also have online savings accounts for longer-term savings. And I do the savings bucket thing, which is I label each of these sub-accounts with its goal. So vacation has one pot of money and clothes has another and Christmas and all these other things. They each have their own label. And I found it works pretty well moving the money back and forth; it’s not that hard. And I like being able to take advantage of the higher interest rates on the online banks while having a bank I can walk into if I ever need to. Although, I haven’t needed to in a very long time.

Sean: Yeah. Haven’t wanted to for a very long time either.

Liz: No.

Sean: But that actually raises a really interesting idea to me, where if you are looking to make a new account for a specific goal, whether it be a Christmas fund, a vacation fund, whatever, it might be a good opportunity to take advantage of a sign-up bonus because you know you’re going to have some money sitting in an account. You might as well get a little bit extra, and then you know, ‘OK, my account at this bank is only for a certain purpose,’ and then you don’t touch it. And you can meet your savings goal while also getting a little bit of extra cash in the process.

Alice: I think that makes a lot of sense. And I have to also confess that I’m a split traditional and online bank customer for similar reasons that you discussed, Liz. But yeah, I think that’s totally a good option and similar to a tax refund or something. It can just be a little amount of money that’s a little extra boost if there’s something you’re saving for.

Sean: But it’s money you wouldn’t have received otherwise.

Alice: Exactly.

Liz: And it’s a little bit distant from your regular checking account so you’re a little bit less prone to spend it, I think. At least that’s the way my mentality works. If I don’t see it every day, I’m much less likely to think, ‘Oh, I’m going to grab that.’

Sean: OK. Well, I have one final question for you, Alice, which is, I’m always skeptical of promises of free money because nothing is ever really free. I’m wondering what catches there might be to these bonuses, or if there’s anything you think people should be on the lookout for overall?

Alice: Typically, if you follow the requirements for the bonus, you will get the bonus and there aren’t really a lot of catches. However, there is always, always fine print, and you want to make sure that you’re really reading that so that you don’t end up not getting what you signed up for. So, for example, with savings bonuses, they often require you to put in a fair amount of money and maintain that for a while. So if you find out that you’re in a situation where, ‘Oh, I put a bunch of money in that I actually really need,’ during that time, you take that out, you’re probably not going to get the bonus. So you don’t want to do these bonuses with money that you need on your day-to-day or that you might need for an emergency.

Sean: So it’s really about just knowing what you’re getting into?

Alice: It’s the same thing we always say with emergency funds, you don’t want to invest your emergency fund. You don’t want to do anything with your emergency fund where it wouldn’t be accessible or where you wouldn’t be able to use it if you needed to.

Liz: We should also talk about the hygiene of shutting down your old account, if you decide to do that. So, Alice, what do you need to think about when you’re shutting down your old account?

Alice: You want to make sure that your direct deposit and all of your regular bills are being redirected into your new account before you shut down your old account. So the new account opening is going to come first. And you’ll want to probably give yourself a few billing cycles to make sure that everything is moved over because sometimes it’s direct deposit, it takes a little bit for those changes to take place, and same with electricity bills and things like that. But once you’ve moved all that over, yeah, just give it a few months and you should be good to go.

Liz: Thanks so much, Alice. Now let’s get to our takeaway tips. Takeaway tip number one, balance the bonus with other factors. The new bank may pay less interest or charge higher fees. Make sure the whole deal works for you before you commit.

Sean: Next up, read the fine print. Getting the bonus usually requires depositing a certain amount and leaving the money there for a certain length of time.

Liz: Finally, focus your bonus. If you’re looking to open a new account for a specific savings goal, look for one with a good sign-up.

Sean: And that is all we have for this episode. Do you have a money question of your own? Turn to the Nerds and call or text us your question at 901-730-6373. That’s 901-730-NERD. You can also email us at podcast@nerdwallet.com. And visit nerdwallet.com/podcast for more info on this episode. And remember to subscribe, rate and review us wherever you’re getting this podcast.

Liz: Here’s our brief disclaimer, thoughtfully crafted by NerdWallet’s legal team. Your questions are answered by knowledgeable and talented finance writers, but we are not financial or investment advisors. This nerdy info is provided for general educational and entertainment purposes and may not apply to your specific circumstance.

Sean: And with that said, until next time, turn to the Nerds.

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Liz Weston is a writer at NerdWallet. Email: lweston@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @lizweston.

Sean Pyles is a writer at NerdWallet. Email: spyles@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @SeanPyles.

The article SmartMoney Podcast: Setting Money Goals at Milestone Birthdays, and Bagging Big Bucks with Bank Bonuses originally appeared on NerdWallet.