Latest news with #JackHoward
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ally Bank Says These 5 TikTok Money Trends Actually Work
TikTok is packed with personal finance advice, but not all of it holds up. However, according to Jack Howard, head of money wellness at Ally Bank, some of the platform's most viral money trends actually work and can help build better financial habits when used with intention. Discover More: For You: Here are five TikTok money trends worth considering. Loud budgeting, a trend introduced by Gen Z, encourages people to stop spending on things that don't matter and be upfront about what they can afford. Howard said the trend helps reduce stigma around money and creates accountability by making you stick to your values. For example, if you're asked to go on an expensive trip, Howard said to consider saying, 'Sorry, I would so love to join, but that's just not in my budget right now.' 'It might feel daunting to be so forthright about something as personal as your finances,' she added. 'But this trend can help reduce financial anxiety and introduce much-needed 'conscious spending' to younger generations.' Howard said once you get used to loud budgeting, it will be easy to cut back on things that aren't important and to spend without guilt on the ones that are. Consider This: If you tend to make quick purchases, the 48-Hour Rule can help you slow down. Howard said this trend has become part of broader conversations about financial mindfulness, especially for people who struggle with impulse buying. The idea is to wait two full days before making any non-essential purchase. She said she recommends the 48-hour rule and uses it herself because it forces you to slow down and calm your emotions, rather than give in to a perceived sense of urgency. And, yes, she also pointed out that you should use this rule even when an item is on sale. The screenshot wishlist is another trend that encourages mindful spending. Instead of buying something right away, Howard said to take a screenshot of the item and come back to it later. That short pause can help you decide if the purchase is really worth it. Ally's recent Minds on Money report, cited by Howard, found that nearly a third of Gen Z buys items seen on social media immediately or the same day, and about seven in 10 make a purchase within a week. 'Resisting the dopamine rush that is experienced when adding items to your cart can be difficult,' Howard said. 'But this trend offers a helpful guardrail so you can slow down or even avoid purchasing something you may not need.' She also recommends pairing it with the 48-Hour Rule to build better spending habits over time. 'Girl math' is a trend where people use creative reasoning to justify spending, like counting returns as money earned or dividing big purchases into cost-per-use, Howard explained. She said it can help reduce buyer's remorse in the moment, but warned that the logic can backfire if you're not intentional. 'I found the #girlmath skits, memes and TikTok stories to be entertaining and even relatable at times,' she said. 'But this is one of those trends that can start to spiral out of control if you're not careful.' She explained that it's still important to pause and think about whether the item will truly bring happiness or align with your values. To stay on track, she suggested putting a spending cap on girl math purchases — maybe $20 or $50 — so there's still room for small joys like a matcha latte or sweet treat without putting your budget at risk. Howard explained that no-buy/no-spend challenges ask you to stick to essentials for a set period, such as a week or a month, and skip everything else, which could mean no new clothes, no food delivery and no unnecessary purchases. The benefit of these challenges, she said, is like a financial reset, helping people break habits and boost savings. 'I am a big fan of this challenge, because it forces you to be very intentional and practice conscious spending on a daily basis,' she said. She added that making this challenge a group effort can increase motivation and make saving feel more like a game than a chore. More From GOBankingRates Surprising Items People Are Stocking Up On Before Tariff Pains Hit: Is It Smart? 6 Big Shakeups Coming to Social Security in 2025 This article originally appeared on Ally Bank Says These 5 TikTok Money Trends Actually Work
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
7 Dos and Don'ts for New Grads Getting Their First ‘Adult' Paycheck
Receiving your first adult paycheck as a new college graduate can be exciting, but the excitement could quickly turn to regret if you don't choose the right way to spend (and save) it. Jack Howard, head of money wellness at Ally, said that the new salary figure can tempt spending and new grads may have to acknowledge that their paycheck doesn't stretch as far as they thought due to taxes, benefits and new monthly student loan payments. Read Next: Check Out: Here are some do's and don'ts for graduates getting their first 'adult' paycheck. Net pay is different from gross pay. Gross pay is the amount you earned prior to any taxes or deductions being taken out. Net pay — aka 'take-home' pay — is the amount you receive after taxes and deductions are removed. Howard suggested that when building a monthly budget, new grads should work backward from their net pay, subtracting all fixed and variable expenses to arrive at a disposable income figure. However, she also said not to forget to factor in potential 'hidden costs,' such as afternoon coffee runs or a midday lunch. 'Before you arrive at your remaining disposable income figure to play with for the month, make sure all those sneaky, everyday expenses are already considered,' she recommended. Explore More: Howard said that new grads might miss out on the opportunity to maximize retirement contributions if they don't take advantage of what their employers offer, like a 401(k) match. 'If your company offers it, it's recommended to contribute up to their match and if not, opening a Roth IRA is a good option too,' she said. 'A lot of companies will offer additional benefits like a 529 match to help pay for grad school, tuition reimbursement, Health Savings Accounts which offer a triple tax advantage or access to a free certified financial planner who help create a plan for your financial future.' Howard explained that the amount you 'pay' yourself from each paycheck — money that goes toward savings or investments — will vary depending on salary, but allocating 10% to 20% of your paycheck is generally recommended. She also recommended establishing an emergency fund with three to six months' worth of living expenses. If that amount seems intimidating, Howard suggested focusing less on the total amount needed and more on creating the habit of setting aside the money. Then, she said, as your income increases, the amount of money you can save per month will also. For graduates who took out student loans, it's important to prioritize student loan payments as soon as the paychecks start rolling in. 'You may still be riding the high of graduation, but figuring out your total loan balance and monthly payments as soon as possible is important to set yourself up for financial success,' Howard explained. She also said paying more than the minimum can help you pay off loans faster and cut down on interest. Howard said that one common misconception about saving is that each deposit must be hundreds of dollars, but that's not the case. She explained that it's possible to make meaningful progress by 'microsaving,' which involves saving small amounts of money consistently. She also recommended saving extra income, such as a tax refund, birthday cash or money from a side hustle. Automating payments is a smart move, and one of the most foolproof ways to stay consistent with your financial goals, according to Howard. 'Scheduling payments and deposits not only saves time, but it also helps you avoid late fees or potential harm to your credit score,' she said. Lifestyle creep is when you spend more just because you're earning more. Howard said that it's a common mistake young people entering the workforce make, especially when factoring in FOMO (fear of missing out) or other pressures from social media. 'Ally's recent Minds on Money report found that nearly 40% of Gen Z have gone into debt to maintain appearances on social media, with nearly a third buying items they saw on social media either immediately or the same day,' she said. 'If you find yourself committing to group trips, fancy dinners or overspending on the latest fashion items just to 'keep up,' consider financial wellness resources like Money Roots, a free program based in money psychology that can curb bad money habits while still empowering you to enjoy your money — without outpacing your new salary.' Source Jack Howard, Ally More From GOBankingRates These 10 Used Cars Will Last Longer Than an Average New Vehicle This article originally appeared on 7 Dos and Don'ts for New Grads Getting Their First 'Adult' Paycheck Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
7 Do's and Don'ts for New Grads Getting Their First ‘Adult' Paycheck
Receiving your first adult paycheck as a new college graduate can be exciting, but the excitement could quickly turn to regret if you don't choose the right way to spend (and save) it. Jack Howard, head of money wellness at Ally, said that the new salary figure can tempt spending and new grads may have to acknowledge that their paycheck doesn't stretch as far as they thought due to taxes, benefits and new monthly student loan payments. Read Next: Check Out: Here are some do's and don'ts for graduates getting their first 'adult' paycheck. Net pay is different from gross pay. Gross pay is the amount you earned prior to any taxes or deductions being taken out. Net pay — aka 'take-home' pay — is the amount you receive after taxes and deductions are removed. Howard suggested that when building a monthly budget, new grads should work backward from their net pay, subtracting all fixed and variable expenses to arrive at a disposable income figure. However, she also said not to forget to factor in potential 'hidden costs,' such as afternoon coffee runs or a midday lunch. 'Before you arrive at your remaining disposable income figure to play with for the month, make sure all those sneaky, everyday expenses are already considered,' she recommended. Explore More: Howard said that new grads might miss out on the opportunity to maximize retirement contributions if they don't take advantage of what their employers offer, like a 401(k) match. 'If your company offers it, it's recommended to contribute up to their match and if not, opening a Roth IRA is a good option too,' she said. 'A lot of companies will offer additional benefits like a 529 match to help pay for grad school, tuition reimbursement, Health Savings Accounts which offer a triple tax advantage or access to a free certified financial planner who help create a plan for your financial future.' Howard explained that the amount you 'pay' yourself from each paycheck — money that goes toward savings or investments — will vary depending on salary, but allocating 10% to 20% of your paycheck is generally recommended. She also recommended establishing an emergency fund with three to six months' worth of living expenses. If that amount seems intimidating, Howard suggested focusing less on the total amount needed and more on creating the habit of setting aside the money. Then, she said, as your income increases, the amount of money you can save per month will also. For graduates who took out student loans, it's important to prioritize student loan payments as soon as the paychecks start rolling in. 'You may still be riding the high of graduation, but figuring out your total loan balance and monthly payments as soon as possible is important to set yourself up for financial success,' Howard explained. She also said paying more than the minimum can help you pay off loans faster and cut down on interest. Howard said that one common misconception about saving is that each deposit must be hundreds of dollars, but that's not the case. She explained that it's possible to make meaningful progress by 'microsaving,' which involves saving small amounts of money consistently. She also recommended saving extra income, such as a tax refund, birthday cash or money from a side hustle. Automating payments is a smart move, and one of the most foolproof ways to stay consistent with your financial goals, according to Howard. 'Scheduling payments and deposits not only saves time, but it also helps you avoid late fees or potential harm to your credit score,' she said. Lifestyle creep is when you spend more just because you're earning more. Howard said that it's a common mistake young people entering the workforce make, especially when factoring in FOMO (fear of missing out) or other pressures from social media. 'Ally's recent Minds on Money report found that nearly 40% of Gen Z have gone into debt to maintain appearances on social media, with nearly a third buying items they saw on social media either immediately or the same day,' she said. 'If you find yourself committing to group trips, fancy dinners or overspending on the latest fashion items just to 'keep up,' consider financial wellness resources like Money Roots, a free program based in money psychology that can curb bad money habits while still empowering you to enjoy your money — without outpacing your new salary.' More From GOBankingRates Surprising Items People Are Stocking Up On Before Tariff Pains Hit: Is It Smart? The Most Expensive Disney Merchandise Ever Sold -- and Who's Buying It 4 Affordable Car Brands You Won't Regret Buying in 2025 Source Jack Howard, Ally This article originally appeared on 7 Do's and Don'ts for New Grads Getting Their First 'Adult' Paycheck
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gen Z feels financially stressed: How to get out of a rut & save more
Over 80% of Americans feel that financial stress is having a negative impact on their mental health, according to an Ally survey. Additionally, nearly half of Gen Z Americans experience weekly stress attributed to money matters while feeling less in control of their finances. Ally Bank Head of Money Wellness Jack Howard comes on Wealth to have a conversation with Brad Smith on Gen Z's impulse buying habits, being more mindful about spending and saving, the extents of the strain from financial stress, and building up financial confidence while creating an emergency savings fund. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Wealth here. According to a new survey from Ally, 83% of Americans say financial worries are impacting their mental health. And the impacts are being felt particularly hard by Gen Z. Nearly half say they're stressed about money at least once a week and only a third feel like they're in control of their finances. Here to break down the survey and how Gen Z can start building a strong financial foundation, we've got Jack Howard, Ally Bank Head of Money Wellness. Jack, great to have you on with us. So what are some of Gen Z's financial priorities from what we're assessing and hearing? Yeah, we're finding that their financial priorities, they're not in alignment with what we want to see. There's a lot of impulse spending that's taking place, primarily stemming from social media. We're finding that nearly 50% of Gen Z are spending impulsively, really with the goal of buying things to post on social media, which is leading to not mindful spending, not really aligning with goals and values, and not really creating that experience that we want to have with money. So there's definitely an opportunity. Nearly half of Gen Z said that they've made those impulse purchases based on social media, as you were mentioning. Looking at some of the stats here. So what's the best way to kind of catch yourself, address it, and then perhaps kind of course correct or turn the ship around? Yeah, the opposite of being impulsive is mindfulness. So we want you to just pause when you see that item on social media, pause for 48 hours, give it some time to reflect. I want you to think about your goals and values. What are the things that you have planned for your life when you think of your finances? We want you to think about the why behind the purchase. Why are you buying it? And more importantly, a year from now, what will that purchase do for you? What is the return on joy? Because at the end of the day, we want money to be used as a tool to create experiences, and if we're spending impulsively, that can't happen. All right, return on joy. Forget and move over return on investment. Uh, well, maybe it's one and the same. Return on joy, I like that one. How is financial stress negatively impacting Americans' personal relationships and even mental health? Yes, so we're finding that, um, when we look at the idea of your emotions, there's a class that we teach called Money Plus You. And we're finding that people are saying they're stressed, they're anxious, and it's creating them to have this place of feeling paralyzed. When you feel stressed, you don't have action. So what we suggest in that class is to reset how you're thinking about money, shift your thoughts to get to better actions, so we're not paralyzed. Then you can actually move to saving, you can move to investing when you have a better relationship with money and your mindset shifts. How immediately after beginning to get into better saving and money management habits do you see that Gen Z and other generations as well are able to kind of build up their financial confidence? We found that there is a direct link to saving and your confidence. So we want you to think about automation when you think about your savings. Start with just a little bit. You can do $20, $100, start saving. That immediately will impact your confidence with money. But I realize that not everybody has that confidence and that muscle memory to save, which is why we created Money Groups. We want to also understand that some people have behaviors, they have past memories with money, uh, messages that they may have about money that stopped them from actually implementing those skills, which is why in some of our classes we help people to address that so that they can get to a place of actually having a savings account. Well, we understand that only a third of Gen Z may be able to handle an unexpected $1,000 expense. How can they start building their savings in the emergency fund just in case it needs to be tapped? Yeah, again, that automation, we have to make saving a priority. It really increases your confidence with money. And once we get past that automation, really looking at the why behind your savings, setting those long-term goals, looking at the future, understanding those values. So when you are faced with those decisions of, should I spend, or should I save, you are grounded in those values, and it helps you to make the right decision. Jack, great to catch some time with you here. Thanks so much for joining us here. Thank you. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gen Z feels financially stressed: How to get out of a rut & save more
Over 80% of Americans feel that financial stress is having a negative impact on their mental health, according to an Ally survey. Additionally, nearly half of Gen Z Americans experience weekly stress attributed to money matters while feeling less in control of their finances. Ally Bank Head of Money Wellness Jack Howard comes on Wealth to have a conversation with Brad Smith on Gen Z's impulse buying habits, being more mindful about spending and saving, the extents of the strain from financial stress, and building up financial confidence while creating an emergency savings fund. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Wealth here.
