Viking Magazine - October 2021 - 11

up, " warns Kern. " Don't wait to
save. Even a little amount-$100
or $150 a month-can be huge,
especially in your 20s and 30s. "
Trick: If I qualify for this loan or
credit card, I can afford it.
Treat: Your bank approved your
loan application for that $500,000
house. Sure, you might be able to
afford the monthly payments, but
how much money will you be left
with after all your bills are paid? If
you're living paycheck-to-paycheck
with no room for savings, that
loan really isn't " affordable. " In
the same vein, just because you're
given a $10,000
limit on your
credit card
doesn't mean
you should max
it out.
" Jobs just don't pay what they
need to compared to the cost of
everything, " says Kern. " That's
why everyone's in so much debt.
Plus, it's not hard to qualify for
anything. If you're moderately
responsible, you can get a credit
card or a loan. "
Rather than being cash-poor,
create a budget and live within
your means. Try to keep housing
expenses around 50% of your
income or lower, and don't buy
luxuries you can't afford.
Trick: All debt is bad.
Treat: After reading the previous
" trick versus treat, " you might
be tempted to swear off debt
forever-but that mindset
can actually
hurt your
fi nances in
the long
run, as
counterintuitive as that
sounds. That's because not
all debt is created equal. Good debt
is defi ned as debt you take on to
increase your net worth in the long
run. For example: your college
tuition, a business or real estate.
Bad debt, on the other hand, occurs
when you borrow money-or
swipe a credit card-to purchase
depreciating assets, such as a car or
that TV you've been eyeing. If you
do choose to carry a credit card-
which can help you build credit to
secure better loans and interest rates
down the road-make sure to pay
off the balance in full every month
to avoid interest charges.
Trick: I'm healthy. I don't need life
insurance.
Treat: Life insurance can be a
hard topic to talk about. No one
likes to think about their eventual
death. But the truth is, the best
time to purchase a life insurance
policy is when you're young and
healthy-regardless of whether
you're married with kids or single.
This is when the rates are the lowest
they'll ever be, and you likely won't
be ineligible because of an illness or
diagnosis.
" It may not ever directly help
you, but it's [there] for whatever
responsibilities you have that you
won't be able to fulfi ll if something
happens to you-to clean up
your own estate after you die,
to leave someone money, " says
Kern. " Everyone needs some life
insurance. It's just a matter of
their situation and how much
they need, or what they want it
to do for them if they were no
longer around. "
Norwegians Love
Chocolate
For more than 100 years, Freia
has been Norway's most famous
chocolate company. The company's
Kvikk Lunsj ( " quick lunch " ) is one of
Norway's most iconic chocolate bars.
It launched in 1937 and was marketed
as an ideal snack to take with you
while hiking and skiing. Chocolate
lovers exploring the streets of Oslo
should stop by the Freia Chocolate
Shop along Karl Johans gate near the
Grand Hotel Oslo.
America's Favorite
Halloween Candy
Candystore.com collected 13 years of
sales data (2007-2019) in the months
leading up to Halloween. Here's a
look at the top 10 most popular kinds
of Halloween candy in America.
1. Skittles
2. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
3. Starburst
4. M&M's
5. Hot Tamales
6. Candy Corn
7. Snickers
8. Sour Patch Kids
9. Hershey's Kisses
10. Jolly Ranchers
sonsofnorway.com VIKING OCTOBER 2021 11
http://www.Candystore.com http://www.sonsofnorway.com
Viking Magazine - October 2021

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