TessMore Finance Blog

You’ve probably already noticed it in recent years – the tide is turning against Black Friday. Public perception of the shopping-focused holiday has soured, largely due to a growing distaste for consumerism and concerns about the welfare of retail workers. If you’re on the fence about Black Friday, you might be interested in National Buy Nothing Day. We’ll explain how it works, and offer some ideas on how to celebrate. What is Buy Nothing Day? A few years ago, when Black Friday started expanding to Thanksgiving Day and beyond, some retailers and consumers started protesting the changes. That’s when Buy Nothing Day started to gain wider recognition. Originally started in 1992, Buy Nothing Day is exactly what it sounds like: a holiday that is celebrated by not spending money, both in physical and online stores. Consumers have different reasons for celebrating Buy Nothing Day, including environmental and ethical concerns. Others may also use Buy Nothing Day as a way to avoid the emoti

Image editing software company Canva recently raised another round of financing that valued the company at $40 billion dollars . 40 billion is a lot of dollars, so what does that mean exactly?  How are companies valued, and what does that mean for investors? An everyday investor doesn’t need to know all of the details of company valuation in order to be successful. Still, it makes sense to have a basic understanding of how companies are valued. What is Company Valuation? A company’s valuation is a measure of how much the total company was worth. There are many different ways to value a company. This includes historical earnings, future earnings potential, or the sum of its assets minus any liabilities.  Historically, it was common for a company’s stock price to be a multiple of their net annual earnings. If General Motors earned $3 billion in a year and had 600 million shares of stock, they would have annual earnings per share (EPS) of $5.00.  In current times, it is less common fo

If you’ve had bank account troubles in the past, you might want to check out banks that don’t use ChexSystems . After all, a poor bank account history shouldn’t mean that you can’t open a checking account. In this post, we’ll cover what ChexSystems is, how it affects your ability to own a bank account, and what you can do if ChexSystems gives you a low score. We’ll also provide you with a list of banks that don’t use ChexSystems. Table of Contents What Is ChexSystems? How Does ChexSystems Work? What Are ChexSystems Scores?  What Might Affect Your ChexSystems Score? No ChexSystems Banks Vs. Second Chance Banks  Best Banks That Don’t Use ChexSystems 1. CIT Bank 2. Current 3. Acorns 4. Chime 5. SoFi Money 6. Renasant Bank 7. FSNB 8. United Bank 9. Navy Federal Credit Union 10. TD Ameritrade Cash Management Account 11. GO2bank 12. Varo Bank 13. First American Bank 14. Langley Federal Credit Union 15. Douugh Final Thoughts What Is ChexSystems? In a nutshell,

When it comes to helping out small businesses, cash is king. The best way to make sure your local mom-and-pop bookstore or coffee shop stays in business is by shopping there as possible. But for those of us on a budget , extravagant spending sprees aren’t always an option. So let’s take a look at some budget-friendly strategies to support your favorite small businesses. Write Positive Reviews During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, one of my favorite local restaurants requested that customers leave positive reviews on Google and Yelp. Several people had recently left negative reviews, complaining about the restaurant’s mask policy. These negative reviews were dragging down their rating average. I went online, left a five-star review and noticed that several other people had also left positive reviews. Pretty soon, their average rating was higher than it had ever been. Posting positive reviews can have huge implications for a small business to attract more visitors, especially i

I recently flew to Cincinnati, Ohio to attend the second-annual EconoMe Conference. I had one of the best weekends of my life. I can't say that the conference itself was the reason for this peak experience. There's no question that I enjoyed interacting with the speakers and attendees. As the video below demonstrates, the main-stage talks were both entertaining and educational. The conversations at the venue were great too. I reconnected with old friends and made some new ones. But while I enjoyed EconoMe, the conference was mostly incidental to making my weekend great. EconoMe was merely the vehicle for bringing everyone together so that I could experience the laughter and conversations I enjoyed for five days. Turns out that EconoMe was also the vehicle for one of those oh-so-rare moments when all of the disparate strands in my life — all of my hopes and fears and recent objects of rumination — weave together to produce something spectacular, a sort of personal Big Bang. T

You probably know that paying down debt is good for your credit score. But there’s a persistent myth about credit card balances and credit scores. Some people say that carrying a small balance from month to month somehow helps your credit score. The idea that carrying a balance helps your credit score is totally false. Read on to learn the facts about how your balance affects your credit score. How Your Credit Card Balance Affects Your Credit Score There are five things that determine your credit score. These credit score factors break down as follows: Payment history (35%) Credit utilization (30%) Average age of credit (15%) Credit mix (10%) Hard inquiries and new credit (10%) As you can see, your credit utilization , or the percentage of open credit that you’re using, accounts for 30% of your credit score. The rule of thumb is that you don’t want your credit utilization ratio to climb higher than 30%. If you can get it to 0%, that’s ideal. Here’s where it gets a bit tric

Some of the links in this post are from our sponsors. We provide you with accurate, reliable information. Learn more about how we make money and select our advertising partners . Women hustle. It’s in their DNA. If you’re a woman, you know how to work hard and overcome the obstacles that come up along the way. You’re willing to do what it takes to provide for your family, even if that means putting in a little more elbow grease than what most people are comfortable with. But sometimes, because of family obligations or other life events, finding extra time can seem next to impossible. That’s where side hustles come in. And you may be wondering if there are ways for women to make money online, especially because you need to work from home. The answer to that is yes … check out No. 2 especially. And No. 6. And No. 17. Sides hustles are great for women looking for ways to make money around their kids’ schedules, such as during school hours, nap time, or in the evenings. They give you th