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BUSINESS Thursday 9 May 2019
A25

Millennial Money: 'Tidy up' so each dollar sparks joy

By SEAN PYLES category brings you the
Marie Kondo has inspired most joy — but it's also like-
countless people to wipe ly where you can trim the
out clutter. Her KonMari or- most. Expenses like meals
ganizing method, popular- out, new clothes or vaca-
ized by her book and Net- tions fit here.
flix series, lays out how to Examine your spending on
get more joy from your life wants and ask if each one
and possessions. brings commensurate en-
This approach can extend joyment. If not, trim or cut
to your money, too. Apply- that expense. Keeping that
ing her mindset can reduce money in your accounts
the financial clutter in your could make you happier
life and help you make a by reducing financial stress
better plan for each dollar. or helping you see progress
Here's how to "Marie Kon- on retirement savings.
do" your finances. Subscription services are
COMMIT — AND IMAGINE an easy target, says Brian
A BETTER FUTURE Walsh, a certified financial
Before you dive in, commit planner and manager of
yourself to the task and vi- financial planning at SoFi,
sualize what you'll gain. an online lender.
Do you want to spend less In this March 21, 2019 photo passers-by walk on a bridge between shopping centers, in Boston. "When people start track-
on eating out? Are you sav- Associated Press ing their spending, they
ing up for a car or a house? may see unused services
Have a clear picture of Kondo's method of tidying joy, but they keep a roof find ways to make them fit come up," Walsh says.
your goal — a zero bal- focuses on sorting through over your head and your more neatly. If you're sort- "Gym memberships, game
ance on your credit card, categories, like clothing, credit score afloat. ing through a mess of credit memberships, Netflix and
or that new car or home — books and paperwork, and If this category consumes card bills, for example, see Hulu at the same time.
to stay focused throughout miscellaneous items. an outsized portion of your about reworking the terms. These can be easy cuts to
the process. Pull a few months of bank income, see where you By consolidating debt onto make."
"If you can create a men- and credit card state- can trim. Trading in your car a credit card with an intro- SAVINGS: This category
tal image of what your life ments and take the same for a less expensive one, for ductory 0% interest rate or can be a little too easy to
with your money will look approach to your three example, could mean an via a personal loan, you keep minimal. In fact, 4
like on the other side, it's a main spending categories extra $100 in your bank ac- can pay less in interest, in 10 Americans said they
lot easier to create a path : needs, wants and savings. count every month. That though you'll need good couldn't come up with
to get there," says Kimberly NEEDS: The non-negotia- gives you the ability to tuck credit to qualify. And you'll $400 in an emergency or
Zimmerman Rand, a Boston bles, like housing and debt a little more into savings. have less paperwork and would have to borrow or
financial coach. payments, fall into this cat- Debt payments may be fewer monthly payments to sell something, according
UNDERSTAND YOUR CAT- egory. These monthly ex- an unavoidable part of manage. to a May 2018 report by the
EGORIES penses may not bring you your budget, but you can WANTS: Chances are this Federal Reserve.q

US stocks move sideways as investors eye trade talks

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. 1.7%. The Dow Jones Indus- all the major indexes. But, ers. Utilities and house- 1% and payment products
stocks swung between trial Average shed 473.39 the latest tough talk is rais- hold product companies company FleetCor Tech-
gains and losses in morn- points, or 1.8%. ing anxiety levels on Wall lagged the broader mar- nologies surged 6.6% on sol-
ing trading on Wall Street Investors have been antici- Street and casting more ket. Apple rose just under id first quarter earnings.q
Wednesday as investors
wait for key trade talks be-
tween the U.S. and China
to start this week.
Investors have been on
edge since President Don-
ald Trump threatened to
impose more tariffs on
Chinese goods. Negotia-
tions between the U.S. and
China are set to continue
in Washington on Thurs-
day. Trump said via Twitter
Wednesday that China in-
tends to make a deal, but
that he's happy to raise tar- In this March 11, 2019, file photo specialist Peter Mazza, left, and
iffs if the negotiations fail to trader James Riley work on the floor of the New York Stock Ex-
produce an agreement. change.
The tougher trade rhetoric Associated Press
pushed indexes lower on
Monday and then jolted pating a deal throughout doubt about a resolution.
them into a rout on Tues- the year, which contribut- Technology and energy
day. The S&P 500 slumped ed to double-digit gains in companies led the gain-