By Rebecca Wiggins, Executive Director, AFCPE^®

Do you find yourself struggling to pay off debt, or sticking to your spending plan each month? Are you trying to find extra money leftover so you can begin saving for your child’s college education? Or maybe you are just uncertain of where to start or what questions to even ask?

Halloween is just around the corner, which means it’s time to start shopping for costumes or planning your party! If you’re prepping for October 31, finding ways to save money will be helpful. After all, Halloween is just the beginning of the end-of-the-year holiday rush. Here are five easy-to-follow tricks and treats to help you save money this Halloween.

By Lori Schock, Director of the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy* and Patrick Campbell, Acting Assistant Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection’s Office of Servicemember Affairs

As a member of the military, you are called to serve every day in challenging environments to secure the freedom and prosperity of our nation. To meet these challenges, you engage in “immediate actions” training to better prepare yourself to respond to all kinds of threats and situations.

This Financial Planning Month, plan to use your credit cards to your advantage. No matter how much you try to avoid them, we all use credit cards sometimes. Having money set aside for unplanned expenses is one way to avoid overspending on your card. Here are some credit card tips and tricks from Bank of America’s Better Money Habits so when you do use your card, you can earn cash back and receive rewards on some of your transactions.

As of September 21, 2018, you can freeze and unfreeze your credit with Experian, Transunion and Equifax for free. A credit freeze, prohibits lenders from accessing your credit report, making it more difficult for anyone to steal your identity or access your financial assets without your permission. Previously, only residents of certain states had access to such freezes free of charge. Here’s why you should take advantage of this freebie.