A quick guide to budgeting, saving, and investing.

1. The
CommonBond
Guide to
Managing
Money
A quick guide
to greater
financial freedom

2. 1
Imagine a world with
true financial freedom
You went to a great college (and maybe even graduate school, too) and you’re thriving in your
career. But unfortunately, these experiences didn’t come with a class on the basics of managing
your finances in the real world. So, long after graduation, long after you've started working, you
may still have questions about the basics of personal finance.
That's why we've created this guide – to teach you the nuts and bolts of managing your money.
At CommonBond, we’re invested in your success. We want to get you on the path to fiscal
fitness because understanding your finances is critical for your personal growth.
In this guide, you’ll learn how to:
Set financial goals and build
a budget that actually works 02
04
Save for your goals and
prepare for the future
06
Borrow money smartly and
manage your debt
10
Invest wisely
for the future
11
Create the retirement
you really want

3. 32
Set financial goals
and build a budget
that actually works
Overview of the
50/30/20 rule
It’s likely that you’ll have both short and
long-term goals. For example, a short-term
goal may be planning for a wedding, while
a long-term goal is planning for retirement.
This requires you to prioritize your goals in
order of importance and then determine
how long you have to save for each of them.
Then, you’ll need to determine how much
to save per month to achieve your goals.
Don’t be discouraged if the amount feels
overwhelming – knowing what you’re striving
for and what it might take to get there will
Getting Married:
$88,176 is the average
cost of a wedding in
New York City1
Buying a Home:
$1,120,000 is the average cost
of a condo in San Francisco2
Donating to Charity:
$2,974 is the average
annual household
contribution to charity3
Retiring:
$55,439 per year is the average
cost of retiring in Honolulu4
Mint is a popular
personal finance app.
Prosper is great for keeping
tabs on your daily spending.
Personal Capital helps you
track your investments.
Every person has different financial goals, so your approach to managing your money should
be based on what you want to achieve. Some common goals for people in their late 20s and 30s
around the country are:
Once you set your budget, you’ll need to track your progress. You may want to do so using
a spreadsheet, a pencil and paper, or an online budgeting tool. These apps keep all of your
spending and savings across multiple accounts in one place, automatically categorizing
each transaction and organizing your expenses into charts and graphs to help you identify
spending trends:
Rachel Graper, a CommonBond member since 2014, created a budget so
she could launch her business, Ideal Grain Free Granola, full time and pay
off her student loans. Her advice: Be honest about your expenses. When
starting a new business with significant student loan debt, understand
how much cash you can allocate to student loan debt and the business.
Rachel uses a spreadsheet to keep tabs on her expenses. "First and
foremost, prioritize student loan payments," Rachel says. "You have made
a financial promise to pay your loans and presumably are also reaping the
benefits of a good education, so that obligation should come first," she
says. "Next, plan how much money you’ll realistically need to reach your
goals. This way, you can truly separate your essentials from your wants
instead of starving one to feed the other."
SAVINGS — 20%
■ Wedding
■ Vacation
■ Retirement
WANTS — 30%
■ Eating Out
■ Movie Tickets
■ New Clothes
NEEDS — 50%
■ Housing
■ Food
■ Utilities
A great benchmark for budgeting is the the
50/30/20 rule. In the simplest terms, 50% of
your income should go to your needs, 30% to
your wants and 20% to your savings.
enable you to reprioritize your goals and
make sure you’re focused on the most
important ones.
Having clear financial goals is an important first
step, but goals are not enough. A budget can
be a valuable tool that gives you a framework
to prioritize and reach your goals. The sooner
you set goals and a budget, the more likely
you are to save more, borrow wisely and invest
for the future.
RACHEL'S STORY:
Be honest about your expenses

4. 54
Save for your goals and
prepare for the future
How much do you need to save for a rainy day? Most financial advisors would say to save three
to six months worth of expenses in cash in an "emergency fund." An emergency fund is built to
cover essential costs in the event that the unexpected occurs – like job loss, a car accident or a
health problem.
While it may seem daunting to save that much, setting up automatic contributions for
your savings can make it a breeze to stay on track. Two apps can help you automate your
savings further:
■ Acorns rounds up to the nearest dollar on every purchase you make with a linked checking
account and automatically invests the change into a diversified portfolio for you. You can
customize your risk tolerance and adapt your investments based on personal preferences.
■ Digit monitors your spending habits and, when it determines you can safely afford it,
transfers a small amount of money (typically between $5 to $50 every few days) from your
linked checking account to a special Digit savings account.
Putting your savings on autopilot will enable you to save more and make it easier to achieve
your financial goals.
As you consider how long it will take you to achieve your financial goals, don’t forget to factor
income taxes into your calculations. Depending on your city and state of residence, income
taxes will impact your time horizon for meeting your savings goals.
Bonuses
Bonuses are a great way to kick-start your
savings plans because they're income that
you often don’t count on as part of your
monthly budget. However, many employees
are not sure how much they'll actually take
home because:
■■ Taxes often decrease the total amount
of take-home income employees expect
from their bonuses. Bonuses are typically
taxed at the federal income tax rate of
25%. If the bonus is in excess of $1 million,
it's taxed at a federal income tax rate
of 39.6%. You'll also have to pay Social
Security and Medicare taxes as well as, if
applicable, state and local income taxes on
your bonus. If a significant amount of your
compensation is provided as part of your
bonus, it’s important to understand what
percentage of that bonus is take-home pay
that you can save.
■■ Some employers use “clawbacks” to
recover bonus compensation paid to
employees if employees choose to
terminate their employment. Review
your employment contract to ensure you
understand your employers’ clawback
policy so there are no surprises if you leave
your job.
Depending on the size of your bonus, you can
cut your tax bill by investing it in a traditional
IRA or your company’s 401(k) plan. In 2016,
the Internal Revenue Service limits annual
401(k) contributions to $18,000 and annual
traditional IRA contributions to $5,500 for
people younger than 50. (Go to page 11 to
learn more about retirement accounts.)
Stock
Often, as part of your compensation, your
employer will give you stock, stock options,
or enable you to purchase company stock at a
discount. It's important to understand this type
of compensation so you can determine how to
maximize your savings. Here are two types of
stock options to consider:
■ Restricted Stock Units (RSUs): RSUs are
shares of common stock in a company
subject to vesting and other restrictions.
Employers often grant RSUs that are valued
in terms of company stock. But this does
not mean that company stock is issued at
the time of the grant. After the employee
satisfies the vesting requirement specified
by the company, the company distributes
shares or the cash equivalent of the number
of shares used to value the unit. It’s critical
to understand the number of RSUs you
may have been granted and the vesting
requirements in order to determine how
RSUs can factor into your savings plans.
■ Stock Options: Stock options are the right
to buy shares of a company’s stock at a
certain price. If a company grows in value,
typically the stock options will rise in value,
too. Here are three key concepts to help you
understand stock options.
1. Strike Price: The price you’ll pay per
share to convert your options into stock.
2. Vesting Period: The time it takes to
receive all your options. If your vesting
period is four years, that means you’re
earning one-fourth of your options for
every year you work at the company.
3. Dilution: As a company raises capital,
the number of shares increase, which
means each existing shareholder will own
a smaller, or diluted, percentage of the
company, which may make each share
less valuable.
Gil Addo decided to bootstrap his way to making his entrepreneurial
dreams come true. He co-founded RubiconMD, a health care startup,
after he saved enough money to cover a year’s worth of expenses
from his job as a strategy consultant for biotech and pharmaceutical
companies. "I cut my expenses to a bare-bones level," says Gil, who has
been a CommonBond member since 2015. He shared his apartment at
the time with a roommate to halve living costs. He squirreled away all his
bonuses from work. "I took my savings off the top [of each paycheck],"
he says. Then he paid his bills, including his student loans, and lived off
what was left over. "Save more than you think you’ll need," Gil says.
You should also consider how to save additional sources of income, such as bonuses and stock:
GIL'S STORY:
Save more than you need

5. 7
Most people will have to borrow money at some point in their financial
lives, whether it’s for an education, a place to live or an emergency expense.
Regardless of the reason for the loan, it’s critical to understand the rate and
terms of your loan and how it compares to other options you have.
Borrow smartly and
manage your debt
What is an interest rate?
An interest rate is the amount charged, expressed as a percentage, by a lender to a borrower.
Interest rates are usually calculated on an annual basis, known as the annual percentage rate
(APR). The APR reflects not only the interest rate, but also fees and other charges you may have
to pay to get the loan. For that reason, your APR is usually higher than your interest rate.
What types of interest rates are there?
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT INTEREST RATES
UNDERSTANDING YOUR FICO SCORE
What causes a variable-rate loan
to change?
A variable-rate loan is usually tied to a
market benchmark. The London Interbank
Offered Rate, or LIBOR, is the most influential
benchmark for private variable-rate loans.
Most lenders tie the rates of their variable-
rate loans to 1-month LIBOR, which is the
estimated rate at which international banks
lend to each other in a given month.
Variable Rate:
Rate changes based on a
market benchmark
Fixed Rate:
Rate (and therefore payments)
remain consistent
Why do variable-rate loans often
have a lower interest rate than
fixed-rate loans?
A variable-rate loan will often have a lower
rate than a similar type of fixed-rate loan.
Why? Borrowers are taking a risk with
variable-rate loans that interest rates may
rise. That makes these types of loans best for
people who can handle higher payments if
those rates rise.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR CREDIT SCORE
Many things can determine your interest rate, or the cost of your loan. One of the most
important factors is your credit score, which is a statistical gauge of the likelihood that people
will repay their debts.
The most common credit score is the FICO score. Here’s a brief overview of the FICO score:
What is the FICO Score?
The FICO score is the credit score most lenders use to determine your credit risk. Your FICO
score impacts both how much and what loan terms (interest rate, etc.) lenders will offer you at
any given time.
How does your FICO score relate to borrowing?
Your FICO score can range from 300 to 850. See below for how your FICO score relates to your
ability to borrow money.
You will have a difficult time borrowing money
and pay the highest rates.
You will have more borrowing options, but
they will be limited.
Your credit score is average and you will
have plenty of borrowing options.
You will have better than average rates
when you borrow.
579
or less
580—669
670—739
740—799
You will have the best rates and the most
borrowing options.800+
The FICO score is the
credit score most lenders
use to determine credit
risk. Your FICO score can
range from 300 to 850.
6

6. 98
Heather Wootten, who works for an asset management firm, knows how to borrow
wisely. She took out a personal loan with CommmonBond to refinance
the credit-card debt that she accumulated while volunteering for a
year in low-income communities in California’s Central Valley after
graduating business school. A personal loan from CommonBond cut
her interest rate from 13% to 10%. Heather picked CommonBond
because we refinanced her student loans. "I felt a real personal touch
with CommonBond. Everyone who I spoke with and emailed was
knowledgeable, and the application process was seamless," Heather
says. Now Heather is putting the money she saved with her personal
loan toward her retirement.
HERE ARE THE MOST COMMON TYPES OF LOANS
YOU MAY CONSIDER:
■■ Auto loans (Avg. interest rate: 3.3%5
)
Auto loans come with fixed or variable rates and have terms between 3 - 6 years.
■■ Credit cards (Avg. interest rate: 15.7%5
)
When it comes to credit cards, often you don’t have a choice between a fixed rate or a
variable rate because fixed-rate credit cards are rare. Credit cards typically carry the highest
average interest rates compared to other loan products so it makes sense to pay off your
entire balance each month to avoid those charges.
■■ Personal loans (Avg. interest rate: 9.5%5
)
Personal loans come with fixed-rate and, depending on the lender, variable-rate options.
Personal loans with variable rates tend to have lower rates than personal loans with fixed
rates, which can save you money. Generally, personal loans offer lower rates than
credit cards.
■■ Mortgages (Avg interest rate: 3.8%5
) Mortgages comes with fixed and variable rates.
Which type is right for you depends on your situation and tolerance for interest rate risk.
■■ Student loans (Avg interest rate: 6.8%5
)
More than 90% of student loans are issued by the federal government and come with a
fixed rate. Private lenders, like CommonBond, offer student loans with fixed and variable
rates. Just like with personal loans, variable-rates can boost savings further if borrowers
are comfortable taking the risk that interest rates will rise. CommonBond offers two loan
products:
1. Student loan refinancing, where CommonBond pays off your existing loan and issues
you a new loan at a lower interest rate, helping you save thousands. In fact, the average
CommonBond member saves $14,5816
by refinancing their student loans.
2. Loans for students currently in business school. CommonBond saves students money
by offering loans with a lower interest rate than the federal government. The average
savings a student gets with a CommonBond MBA loan is $11,719.7
HEATHER'S STORY:
Use debt wisely to save money
Sometimes life throws you
a curve ball. A car accident.
A medical emergency. An
unexpected move. This is
why it’s important to have
good credit.
Instead of using a credit
card to pay for these
expenses, you should
consider taking out a
personal loan if your
emergency fund falls short.
Why? Generally, rates are
better than credit cards.
And if you choose a
fixed-rated personal loan,
you won’t have to worry
about your interest rate
rising, unlike with most
other credit cards.
What
happens
if your
emergency
fund is not
enough?
Lower your credit card utilization – your total
outstanding balances compared with your
total available credit limits. Aim to keep your credit
utilization under 30%. This will help you to maintain
your available credit limit even if you choose to close a
credit card account.
Review all of the information on your credit
reports. One in four consumers find errors in
their credit reports that could affect their credit scores.
You can get free copies of your credit reports each
year from the big three U.S. credit reporting agencies
at AnnualCreditReport.com.
How can I check my FICO score?
You can check your FICO score for free on a number
of websites including Quizzle.com, Credit.com and
CreditKarma.com. These sites also offer resources to
help you improve your score. Many major credit card
issuers also offer free FICO scores to cardholders.
How do I improve my FICO score?
Here are three things you can do to boost your
credit score:
The most important factor to improve your FICO
score is your payment history. If you've missed
payments, start paying regularly and stay current.
Use online bill pay services to schedule automatic
payments. The longer you pay your bills on time, the
more your score will rise.
2
3
1
Consider taking
out a personal loan
if your emergency
fund falls short.
8

7. 1110
It’s time to think about investing. Why? Investing your savings can earn you higher returns than
keeping your money in cash or in a savings account. You can invest on your own, with an online
investment advisor, like Betterment or Wealthfront, or through a financial advisor. No matter
how you do it, your goal is to maximize your returns based on your risk tolerance. Here’s a
rundown of the most common types of investments you can use to achieve that goal:
■■ Stocks: A stock is a share in the ownership of a company. As you get more stock, your
ownership stake in the company becomes greater. Whether you say shares, equity, or stock,
it all means the same thing.
■■ Bonds: When a government or business (e.g., the US government, the State of New York,
or Proctor & Gamble) needs to raise money, they may decide to issue a bond. A bond is
essentially an IOU that is issued to a buyer. It's a promise by the issuer, the government or
business mentioned above, that they'll pay the value of the bond with interest.
■■ Mutual funds: Mutual funds are professionally managed investment vehicles that buy
stocks, bonds and other assets. They come in three basic varieties:
1. Actively managed funds, which have mangers that pick stocks and bonds for the fund.
2. Index funds, which track a market benchmark, such as the S&P 500 (the 500 largest
stocks in the US).
3. Smart Beta funds which emphasize capturing investment factors or market
inefficiencies in a rules-based and transparent way; these funds have increased in
popularity due to a need for diversification and a desire for greater risk-adjusted returns.
■■ Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs): ETFs are defined by three simple qualities:
1. They track an index, or a basket of assets, like an index fund.
2. They are made up of underlying assets (think stocks, bonds, gold bars, etc.), and the
ownership of those assets are divided into shares.
3. Those shares are traded like common stock on a stock exchange. As they're bought
and sold, shares of an ETF go through price changes.
ETFs are gaining popularity because by owning shares in an ETF, investors benefit from the
diversification of an index fund but with lower brokerage fees, and potentially lower taxes, than
ownership in a mutual fund.
Invest wisely for the future
$227K
$331K
$479K
Retirement is the most common investing goal. Many financial planners
recommend that you save 10% to 15% of your income for retirement, starting in
your 20s.
Although retirement may seem far away, you can make it much easier on yourself
if you start investing now. Why? The power of compound interest.
Take this scenario: A 25-year-old, a 30-year-old
and a 35-year-old all want to retire at age 65
and each person invests $200 per month in a
retirement fund that earns 7% annually.
On their 65th birthday, here’s what each person
will have in their retirement fund: The 25-year-
old has more than double the retirement nest
egg of the 35-year-old because of the extra
decade investing.
Create the retirement
you really want
25-year old 30-year old 35-year old
The types of investments you choose depend on your risk tolerance. For example, stocks
tend to be very volatile, but earn a higher return if you hold them over longer periods than
bonds.Most investors strive to cut their risk and boost their returns by diversifying among
different types of investments. Portfolio tools from mutual fund research companies like
Morningstar and online financial advisor Personal Capital can help you determine the right mix
of investments for you.

8. 1312
Haven’t started saving for
retirement? Don't worry!
Here are some tips to balance your retirement savings with the rest of your financial life:
Take advantage of your 401(k). If your employer offers matching contributions in
its 401(k), invest in the plan to get the match. A 401(k) plan is the most common employer-
sponsored retirement plan. An employee can make contributions from his or her paycheck
either before or after taxes, depending on the options offered in the plan. The contributions
go into a 401(k) account and the employee can choose investments based on options provided
under the plan. According to an analysis by financial advisory firm Financial Engines, the typical
employee who doesn’t receive the full match misses out on $1,336 each year; that loss can be
as much as $42,855 over 20 years.
Even if your employer doesn’t match your contribution to your 401(k), there are still benefits
to investing in it. For example, fund management fees may be lower than general portfolio
management fees and you may have access to investments that you could not otherwise take
advantage of.
Open an IRA. Not all employers offer an employer match or even have a retirement
plan. Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) allow you to increase your savings and offer tax
advantages without an employer-sponsored retirement plan.
ROTH IRA TRADITIONAL IRA
Contributions may be tax-
deductible, investments
grow tax-free, but withdrawals
are taxed.
IRAS FALL INTO TWO CATEGORIES:
A traditional IRA lets you contribute pre-
tax dollars to an investment account so your
money can grow without paying income taxes
and capital gains taxes on the contributions
and earnings. However, withdrawals from
traditional IRAs are taxed. And if you take
money out of a traditional IRA before age 59.5,
you’ll likely pay a 10% early withdrawal penalty
unless you’re facing financial hardship.
Must be under age 70.5.
Contributions are taxed,
investments grow tax-free and
withdrawals are tax-free.
No age restrictions.
Single people who earn less
than $132,000 annually and
married couples who earn less
than $194,000 annually can
contribute to a Roth IRA.
No income limits to make
contributions.
Tax Benefits
Eligibility:
Age
Eligibility:
Income
Penalties at
Withdrawal
As long as your funds have
been invested for 5 years, any
withdrawal is considered tax-
and penalty-free by the IRS.
Withdrawals you make before
the age of 59.5 are subject
to a 10% withdrawal penalty
unless an exception applies.
HERE'S A DESCRIPTION OF EACH TYPE OF IRA:
With a Roth IRA, contributions are
taxed, investments grow tax-free
and withdrawals are tax-free.
With a Roth IRA, you can contribute after-
tax dollars to an investment account and
withdrawals are tax- and penalty-free. Keep
in mind both traditional and Roth IRAs have
contribution limits and, if you’re a high earner,
your contributions to a Roth IRA may be
restricted based on your income.
Derek Adbelmaseh, an accountant and CommonBond member since
2014, routinely provides retirement advice. He understands that various
retirement savings options come with their own set of advantages and
disadvantages. For example, an employer-sponsored retirement plan,
such as a 401(k), can be more restrictive on how the money in the plan
can be used to pay for school than certain types of IRAs, says Derek,
who is finishing his MBA at NYU's Stern School of Business. Withdrawing
money from a 401(k) to pay for school will carry a 10% tax penalty while
taking money out of an IRA to pay for qualified education expenses will not. "You
shouldn’t take tax and retirement planning lightly," Derek says.
DEREK'S STORY:
Understand your retirement accounts

9. 1514
You now have the knowledge to take the next steps to a better financial life.
Whether it’s setting financial goals, building a budget that actually works, or
saving and investing for the future, you’re ready to achieve the next level of
financial success.
Ready to take control of
your finances?
Identify and prioritize your short and long term goals
Determine how best to save to achieve those goals
Understand and manage your debt to help you achieve your goals
Invest for the future
Focus on building an actionable plan to achieve your retirement goal
Email us at personalfinance@commonbond.co
with your questions and feedback.
HAVE QUESTIONS? WE'D
LOVE TO HEAR THEM!
CHECKLIST TO TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR FINANCES
About CommonBond
At CommonBond, we're
striving to make a broad
impact on personal finance
– starting with student loans.
As a tech-enabled student
lender, we’re bringing new
solutions to the $1.3 trillion
student debt issue in the
US. We fund and refinance
student loans, with the belief
that student loans should
be more affordable, more
transparent and more easily
managed online. In fact,
the average CommonBond
member saves over $14,500,
on average, when they
refinance their student loans.
For more information, visit
www.commonbond.co.

10. 16
1
ValuePenguin, 2016.
2
Curbed, 2015.
3
The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, 2015. http://www.nptrust.org/philanthropic-resources/charitable-giving-
statistics/
4
SmartAsset, 2016.
5
Bankrate, 2016. http://www.bankrate.com/
6
Savings calculation of $14,581 is based on loan amounts and terms selected by CommonBond borrowers who refinanced
their student loans between 5/15/15 and 6/30/15. Savings is calculated as the difference between borrowers’ estimated
future payments for a sample of previously held loans and their future expected payments after refinancing with
CommonBond. The calculation is a weighted average dollar savings across loan terms and assumes no change in interest
rates, on-time payments, enrollment in ACH, and no pre-payment of loans.
7
Savings calculation of $11,719 is based on an assumed $130,524 loan amount and a fixed product with 6.23% APR and
deferred payment until graduation and six-month grace period. Loan is assumed to be taken for the borrower’s first and
second years of business school. Savings is calculated as the difference between a borrower’s estimated future payments
of $130,524 in Direct Grad PLUS loans and their future expected payments with CommonBond. The calculation assumes no
change in interest rates, on-time payments, .25% ACH discount, and no pre-payment of loans.
Rates current as of March 10, 2016.
For the Hybrid Loan Product, the first 60 payments (5 years) of the hybrid loan have a fixed rate which ranges from 4.06%
(with auto pay discount) to 5.53% (with auto pay discount). The last 60 payments (last 5 years) have a variable rate which is
the total of the margin plus 1-month LIBOR.
Borrowers are eligible during the repayment period for the 0.25% reduction in the loan rate by signing up for auto pay and
making monthly payments. Variable loan rates may increase after origination. Full principal and interest payments will begin
approximately 30-60 days after disbursement. There is no origination fee for Refinance Loans. The Refinance Loan Program
is not offered or endorsed by the educational institution that you are attending.
Individuals portrayed as CommonBond members are actual clients and were compensated for their participation.
To learn more about CommonBond’s Social Promise, visit commonbond.co/social-promise
CommonBond, Inc.
524 Broadway, 6th Floor
New York, NY 10012
©2016 CommonBond, Inc.
Sources and Disclosures
Notes

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care@commonbond.co (800) 975-7812 524 Broadway, 6th Floor
New York, NY 10012