Jill Russo Foster

Tips for Successful Personal Finances

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Gotta Vacation Coming Up?

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If you have travel plans for Memorial day weekend or the summer, you should check your pricing again (just before you leave).  We always recheck the pricing on hotels, cruises, rental cars and more.

A while back, we found our hotel room was $60 less per night. Made a new reservation and cancelled the original. For our most recent trip, we were able to get upgraded to an executive room for the same price.  The executive room includes breakfast and light dinner. This saved money as we will be paying less for food.

A few years back for an upcoming cruise, it seemed as if the price went down every Monday.  We we are able to save about $500 – this is money that was deducted from what we would have owed at the time the final payment was due.  After the final payment is made, any savings is given back to you as an onboard credit – which we had another $200).

Money is my pocket is always good.  Make sure to check your reservations to save more money.

Want Your Teens To Learn About Money

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If you want your teens to learn about money, register them for my 5 day class at Norwalk Community College, Norwalk, CT

Teens and Money: Teen Personal Finance – 5 Day Class for Teens

This course is intended to help students develop an understanding of financial literacy and will inform students how individual choices directly influence occupational goals and future earnings potential. It is designed to prepare students to manage money and make informed financial decisions in their own lives. A focus of the course will be the effective use of mathematics as a tool in developing financial literacy skills.  Real world topics covered will include income, money management, spending and credit, as well as saving and investing. Students will design personal and household budgets utilizing checking and saving accounts, gain knowledge in finance, debt and credit management, and evaluate and understand insurance and taxes. This course will provide a foundation for making informed decisions about money and gaining financial independence.

Monday to Friday       7/16/18 to 7/21/18        1:00PM – 4:00PM

To register: Telephone: (203) 857-7080 Email:  extendedstudies@norwalk.edu

Money Habits To Avoid (Part 3)

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This is part 3 of Money Habits To Avoid.  If you missed part 1 or 2, please search my blog post.

 

6. Keeping up with the Jones’ — There is always going to be someone with a nicer home, car, clothing, etc. That’s just life. Your budget cannot survive trying to keep up with others. This habit will send your budget off a cliff. You going to need to get comfortable with where you are and what you have.

 

  1. Ignoring Your Finances — I met some people who don’t open their mail, don’t answer the phone, and are totally oblivious to their finances. Ignoring your finances won’t make them go away, they will be there untilyou deal with them. In fact, you will owe more with added interest and additional charges. If this is you, take baby steps to get acquainted with your finances.

If you see yourself in any of these habits, the first step is awareness.  Once you are aware, you can make the changes necessary to break the habit.

Money Habits To Avoid (Part 2)

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This is part 2 of Money Habits To Avoid.  If you missed part 1, please search my blog post.

3. Using Credit Cards to Get By — You know what I mean, you use your credit card because you don’t have the cash to purchase … This is a red flag if this is an every day, week, or month occurrence. Credit cards definitely havea place in your finances, but they are not the means to spending more than you can afford on a regular basis.

4. Discretionary Spending to Impress — This may have happened to you, I know it did for me when I was coming out of college. You are out with friends and you offer to pick up the tab. Maybe you want them to think you are doing better than you actually are, maybe you want to seem on par with your friends, whatever the case, no one expects you to pay more than your fair share. If you can’t afford to do something at this point, maybe you politely decline.

5. Emotional Spending — Just like emotional eating, emotional spending can be a problem. You are upset, and you go out and buy a …… Yes, you feel great in the moment, but did you need a … ….? Was it money you were planning on spending? Probably not. You know what you need to purchase, make a plan and stick to it.

Check out the next posts to find out the rest of the Money Habits To Avoid.

Money Habits To Avoid (Part 1)

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In my opinion, there are seven money habits you want to avoid.

 

You may be currently doing these or have done them in the past (and I have been guilty of them myself), but now is the time to break the habits and get on with your finances.

  1. Lending Money — I think we all did this at some point in our lives, whether it be loaning $5 to a friend and not getting paid back, or lending more. Not only does this put a strain on your finances but it can affect your friendship. Make a resolution to give up lending. If you want to help someone out, then make it a gift with no repayment expectations.

 

  1. Spending It All — Yes, you know what I am talking about — living paycheck to paycheck. We all have choices we make with our finances — whether to spend this today or save for tomorrow. Budgeting is about choices that your make. So make the choice to not spend it all and save. Making this decision is the first step to starting to save and the next step is to actually do it (automate the savings process to make it foolproof).

Check out the next two posts to find out the rest of the Money Habits To Avoid.

Get Rid Of …..

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As April is typically a clean out month, I want to make you aware of two different opportunities to get rid of some items in your home.

First, this Saturday, April 28 is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.  Now you can safely get old and unused prescriptions (and over the counter medicines) out of your home easily.  For more details and locations, click here.

Next, do you have unused toys?  Hasbro is offering a pilot recycling program to recycle your unwanted toys.  You start at the website,  register, print the free shipping label and drop off the package.  It’s that simple and keeps the toys out of landfills, click here to start.

For more resources and suggestions, please visit my website to get rid of your unwanted items.

 

Paper, Paper Everywhere!

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For the past couple of years, we have tackled paper in our home.  It always amazes me that so much paper could accumulate and how many file cabinets for all this paper .  So in our household, we are working our way to minimal paper.  This is how we are doing this.

Step one was to make a promise to go through the mail each day – recycling what is junk and dealing with the remaining.  That means putting the bills in the bill pay file. Responding to invites.  Creating a folder for menus and discounts.  Keeping on top of subscriptions.  This is working in our home.

But there was still papers! Like many of you, I didn’t have a lot of time to spend on this project, so I planned baby steps.  For me, that was one major area per year.  There were two items I needed to tackle this.  First a scanner – I chose one with a feeder to be able to scan multiple pages.  Next, the shredder – I chose a cross cut versus a strip cut to really make confetti out of the documents.

Year one, was our medical records – lab results, doctors notes, insurance claims, cancelled checks etc.  We sorted these into piles – keep and scan, toss and to do.  This took time, we spent 5 minutes most days and did a little more each day.  Within the year, this was done.  One file cabinet drawer tackled.

Year two, was taxes and supporting documents.  This wasn’t as hard as I imagined.  We kept 7 years worth of paper returns.  We choose to scan the actual old tax returns before shredding them.  Now, we scan everything including the supporting documentation and keep the returns in a pdf file.

Year three (honestly, this two two plus years) was the family photos.  For our home, this included movies and slides in addition tot he photos.  I inherited all my families media and sorting this took time.  First, we the movies.  we didn’t even own an 8mm projector.  We took a giant leap of faith and trusted the titles to a company to put them on DVD.  And that worked for us.  Next, the photos. I have to be honest and tell you this was time consuming.  It took lots of time to sort and scan the photos we wanted.  Last, came the slides.  We sorted these and sent them to the same company to be put on a flash drive.  This project is done!

This year is the year of the manuals, you know those items that come with a new item and you keep it just in case.  Ours are very organized and filed by room or type of product and we do refer to them from time to time.  But they are taking up a whole file drawer.  My though process, is to download the manual as we by new products to refer to and not save the paper.  I will create a file with folders like my file cabinet.

Remember to back up anything on your computer, either in a cloud or on external media.  You would to lose your family photos or important documents with a computer crash.

We have gotten rid of three file cabinets – two four drawers and one lateral – so far.  And there is more to go.  What do you do with all your paper?

Spring Cleaning Your Finances & More

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As I sit here and write this blog post about spring, I feel that I am missing spring.  Here in the northeast we seem to be having a never ending winter.  Yes, we have had a few days of warm sunshine.  We have been subject to various temperature swings – one day 50 and then cold, snowy / rainy days.  I know it’s spring because the daffodils and crocus are blooming (and something peeking out of the snow).

Because the calendar says spring, lets talk about your finances.  Now that tax season is over, it’s a good time to take a look at your finances and tackle these ideas:

  1. When was the last time you shredded your out dated paperwork.  Typically, after seven years papers can be tossed with a few exceptions.  Check with your tax preparer for your situation.  This is a good time to do this as many communities have a free paper shredding days this weekend for you to take advantage of.
  2. Did you learn something from filing your taxes?  Maybe you need to make adjustments to your paycheck withholding or to save more to be able to pay the taxes you owe.  Take a look at your finances and make the changes now.
  3. Where do your finances stand in relationship to your beginning of the year goals?  Maybe you set a goal to save a certain amount this year.  Are you one third of the way there?  We are about four months into the year, therefore you should be at 33% of your goal.  Are you on the path to achieving this goals? Do you need to make adjustments to your finances to achieve the goal?  Now is the time to take a look and make the changes needed, so you are not disappointed at year end.

Hopefully, the weather will agree with the calendar and spring will arrive soon.

Let me know what your spring finance projects are.

Spring Cleaning Your Finances & More

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Today, I am going to talk about actual spring cleaning and how I do this while saving money.

Personally, we try to avoid chemicals in all aspects of our lives.  A few years back I was amazed at all the products on the market and what they were made up of.  Have you hear of these words?

  • sodium lauryl / laureth sulfate (SLS)
  • fragrances and dyes
  • propylene glycol
  • parabens
  • formaldehyde

And that is to name only a few ingredients.  Can you guess what products these chemicals are in? (see the bottom).

In our household, we have eliminated much of these thanks to many other options.  We use  Young Living’s Essential Oils and make many of our own products and/or purchase them from Young Living.  Thieves is a staple in our home – here’s a link to the product information page.  We use this oil / products to clean (dish washing soap, dishwasher detergent, tooth paste, hand sanitizer, wipes and more.

We make our own cleaners – one quick and easy to do one is glass cleaner (1/4 cup white vinegar, 2 cups water with a few drops of my favorite essential oils mix together in a glass spray bottle.  This works great in mirrors, windows and glass coffee table.  There are many more items you can easily make at home without chemicals.  One of my favorite books Essential Oils Ancient Medicine by Dr. Josh Axe, Ty Bollinger and Jordan Rubin.

If you would like to try a sample of essential oils, I have a very limited supply of Young Livings Thieve’s essential oils, that I can let you try, just reply to this blog post and I will respond.  If you are interested in learning more about Young Living oils, please click this link.

Not only can you spring clean your home without chemical, you can save money too.  Home made products are easy to make and can be cost pennies (saving your wallet too).

Note, that I have an affiliate relationship with Young Living.

Toothpaste, Shampoo, Make Up, Laundry Detergent, Soaps, Deodorant and more.