Budgeting basics

A budget is a spending plan that helps you understand how much money you're making and where you're spending it. A budget is the cornerstone of a strong financial plan.

Envelope budgeting

Zero-based budget

Create a home budget

Budgeting tips

A couple budgets together.

Bankrate offers 18 ideas for stretching your budget to save money.

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Understanding discretionary income can help you with your budgeting strategy.

Our guide tackles the basics of disposable income and how you can use it to budget.

Essential reading

Calculate your savings

Use our Savings Calculator to help you quickly and accurately estimate the growth of your investment. Set a goal and figure out how much you need to save each month to hit the mark.

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Latest articles

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Get the latest rates on top-yielding money market accounts.

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Check out the latest CD rates from Bankrate’s weekly survey of banks and thrifts.

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Stagflation is an economic “super villain,” bringing high inflation and unemployment.

Woman reaching in to the air for cash

Prices rise and fall all the time in the U.S. economy. It’s not always inflation.

Whimsical illustration of a hand putting a quarter into a miniature but realistic high end safe. As if it were a piggy bank

Comparing savings rates can ensure you get the best return on your savings.

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These simple moves can help you build a cash cushion.

Image of Jerome Powell and Donald Trump side by side above the Federal Reserve building.

Lower rates won’t fix trade uncertainty, and credit could still be tight.

Home Finances

Here’s how to earn more interest with a high-yield savings account.

Person shopping at grocery store choosing oranges in the supermarket

Monthly budgets are popular because many expenses, such as rent and bills, occur monthly.

Man using cell phone in living room

It’s important to find the right accounts for your emergency savings.

Illustration of construction workers on a roof

An emergency fund is an essential part of a solid financial plan.

Mother and daughter shopping for vegetables

These simple moves can help you build a cash cushion.

Calendar of 2023

Use this challenge to stash more cash toward your savings goals.

illustration of money growing on trees

Here’s a helpful guide to how much you need in savings over the course of your life.

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Creating a timeline is a useful way to plan and meet all your financial goals.

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Rainy day and emergency funds differ but together provide a sound financial plan.

Illustration of men and women for gender pay gap story

Working with less can keep women from saving, investing and growing wealth.

A man gets into a car.

Typically high-net-worth individuals have a net worth of at least $1 million.

pile of US savings bonds

Losing a savings bond doesn’t mean it’s money lost. Here’s how to find it.

A woman holds a phone at an office

Savers can stash their cash in a brokerage these days to rack up returns.

young adult woman cashier

Here’s how to find the part-time job for you and how much you can expect to make.

Car dealership

Here’s when to find the deepest discounts on a range of big purchases.

A doctor's visit.

Everything savers need to know about HSAs.

Man lost in thought as he sits at his office desk

Economists, however, have a different word for describing the economic environment.

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