Paul Folger

Money Minute: 3 paycheck months If you get paid biweekly, that’s 26 paychecks a year. That means that twice a year, you’ll get three paychecks a month. Nicole Middendorf of Prosperwell Financial says to really think about it. “There’s three opportunities for me to get a check this month. What am I going to do with that money?” Middendorf said. Make sure you have three to six months in cash for emergencies. Then, consider any high-interest credit card balances you have.

Money Minute: Spare change If you need a little extra cash for the holidays or you want to beef up your emergency fund, the money could be right at your fingertips. Go to your closet and pull out all of the change you’ve been keeping. Take it to your bank and find out what you can do with it. “You can put it in our machine and then take it to the counter and they will give you cash,” said Theresa Peterson, Blaze Credit Union branch manager.

Money Minute: Credit card debt I’m sure you’d agree costs have gone up, but does it seem like folks are still spending money as much as ever? In today’s Money Minute, the reason may be as simple as what people are pulling out of their wallets. “Over the last three months, we are seeing people coming in with large amounts of debt,” said Shannon Doyle with LSS Financial Counseling. A few months ago, Doyle said that when clients came in, their debt was often over $10,000.