Jill Russo Foster

Tips for Successful Personal Finances

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Last Chance to Register for Teens and Money Class – Starting Next Week

Connecticut State Community College (Norwalk Community College) is offering College for Kids this summer.

Teens and Money: Teens Personal Finance – July 13 to 17 – 5 mornings 9 to 12 noon all 5 days.  Once again, I will be teaching this class.  This class is limited to 15, register today at 203-857-7080 so you don’t miss out.

Have Your Teen Learn About Money and Finance to Make Informed Choices

Connecticut State Community College (Norwalk Community College) is offering College for Kids this summer.

Teens and Money: Teens Personal Finance – July 13 to 17 – 5 mornings 9 to 12 noon all 5 days.  Once again, I will be teaching this class.  This class is limited to 15, register today at 203-857-7080 so you don’t miss out.

 

Want Your Teen to Learn About Money and Finances?

Join me at Norwalk Community College for College for Kids this summer.  I will once again be teaching Teens and Money: Teens Personal Finance – July 13 to 17 – 5 mornings.  This class is limited to 15, register today at 203-857-7080 so you don’t miss out. The past two years have reached capacity fast.

Do You Have A Teen Entering or in High School?

Norwalk Community College is offering College for Kids this summer.  I will once again be teaching Teens and Money: Teens Personal Finance – July 13 to 17 – 5 mornings.  This class is limited to 15, register today at 203-857-7080 so you don’t miss out.

American Saves Week Offer

Our goal for this year is to reduce the number of items we own.  We are not hoarders, but we have items that we have not used in a while.  So, we have been cleaning out by recycling, donating and selling.

With that in mind and with April being Financial Literacy Month and this week is also America Saves Week, I will be offering my books at a discount.

Best Book For Teens  Cash Credit and Your Finances: The Teen Years: looks at finances through the eyes of five different teenagers all with different financial choices to make. They all have things they want and need, but they all handle their money differently.  Some will succeed and some will give up… which one do you want your child to be?  This makes a great gift for the teen in your life.

  111 Ways To Save: With prices going through the roof, you must make difficult choices on where to spend your money.  Gas prices are up, food is soaring and you want to be able to have what you want and not go into debt.  Try any of these super easy cost savers at any time to find extra cash in your wallet.

   Thrive In Five: Take Charge of Your Finances in 5 Minutes A Day: Each year do you resolve to improve your finances only to have something happen that pushes you back to the same place you were in last year?  With daily short tips that take five minutes or less, this book will help you improve your credit score, spend less, and save more money – all while getting organized!

You can purchase any of my three books from my website www.JillRussoFoster.com at a 10% discount with the code “10PercentOff” to receive the discount.  Do you want to buy the book as a gift?  As I clean out, I have a few books that you can purchase through me personally and I can personalize the book to your recipient with a message.  This is a limited time offer, so act now.

Why You Should File Your Income Tax Early

Yes, I know that filing your income tax is another task on your to-do list.  It takes time to gather your documents and more time to file the return.  These are some of the reasons you should file sooner rather than later:

  • If you are receiving a refund, you will get your money sooner.
  • If you owe taxes, you will know how much money you need to gather to make your payment by April 15. Your payment isn’t due until April 15 regardless of when you file your return.
  • The sooner you know your financial picture; you can make changes earlier in the year to your withholding’s (both state and federal) to adjust amounts is what is being withheld.
  • To prevent fraudulent tax returns being filed in your name. Yes, identity thieves do this.  But they can’t if you have already filed your return.
  • By waiting, you may have to file an extension if your tax preparer cannot complete your return by April 15. Remember that if you owe taxes, they are still due by April 15, whether on extension or not,
  • Lastly, It’s done and you can check this off your to-do list.

I Want To Hear From You

I have been writing for years to bring you important personal finances information that I think you should know about.  I want to turn the tables and ask you what you want to know about.  Here are some suggestions and another section to add more.

 

Personal Finances
                Budgeting
                Reducing Expenses
                Saving for Your Future
Teens and Money
Credit
                Understanding How It Works
                Improving Your Score
Debt
                Loans and Mortgages
Other
                ___________________________

Tell me what you want to know about in the comments.

Save the Date -Teens and Money

Do you have a teen in (or going into) high school?

Do you want them to learn money skills to start them off with knowledge?

I am teaching another week long class Teens and Money: Teen Personal Finance at Norwalk Community College in Norwalk, CT this summer.  Put the dates on your calendar if you want your teen to attend and stay tuned as I will have the registration information as soon as it’s available.  I max this class at 15 students and it sells out every year.  So if you want your teen to attend, save Monday, July 13 to Friday, July 17 all days from 9 am to 12 noon.

National Parks Trips

What are your plans for 2026?  For us, we always make travel plans.  Here are a few things to know about traveling to a National Park in 2026:

Here are the 10 FREE days to help you plan for 2026:

  • February 21: President’s Day
  • May 30: Memorial Day
  • June 14: Flag Day (Trump’s birthday)
  • July 4: Independence Day weekend
  • August 25: 110th Birthday of the National Park Service
  • September 17: Constitution Day
  • October 27: Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday
  • November 11: Veteran’s Day

These days are different than in the past years, so mark your calendars,  We have been to several with many more on our bucket list.  Our most recent trip was to Mount Rushmore.

 

January Reset

For us, we look over our finances every January.  Yes, we do this all the time, but this is the time we reassess everything.  Here is what we do: 

  • Auto / Home and Umbrella insurance – we checked to see that we are paying a competitive annual rate for all policies
  • We took our safe driving class to lower our auto insurance (This is something we do every three years)
  • TV / Internet – we did this in December.  Our current provider increased our internet, so we switched to the competition and cut our bill in half
  • We set up automatic monthly payment from our checking account to lower our medical insurance premiums. Just switching from a credit / debit card to checking account, saved us money.
  • We are in the process of consolidating accounts.  We transferred retirement accounts from past employers to one account.
  • We have started the process to update our wills, power of attorney, healthcare proxy and more.  There is so much more with these with your digital footprint to consider.

These are some of the things we have done in previous years:

  • We eliminated our trash and recycling services, saving us $75/ month.  It costs us $25 annually for the Town permit.  Savings = $825.
  • We do our own yard work – lawn mowing and snow removal.

What are you doing in January with your finances?