Jill Russo Foster

Tips for Successful Personal Finances

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Off Season Shopping

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Now is the time to shop for your winter items – no, it’s not a typo.

You can get great deals on off season items now.  Think snowblowers, coats, heavy clothing, and so much more.

I saw a ski jacket I liked this winter. It was $200 – more than I wanted to spend.  I kept an eye on it.  In March it was reduced to $80 – not bad but I was hoping for more of a discount.  Well in May it was down to $60.  I was able to save $140 and get the coat I wanted for next season.  It pays to shop off season.  In addition, I will watch the price.  If it goes down more in the next 30 days, I will bring it back for a price adjustment for the difference.

This is just one example of shopping off season.  What are you thinking of buying?

Summer Travel For Everyone

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As we start to think summer, what are your plans?

Personally, we are planning a few day trips / long weekends.  One day trip in the works is to a concert that’s about 2 hour drive each way.  This takes some planning – checking out the route and plans for the concert – tickets, parking, the location, etc.  Our weekend away is for later in the summer, this involves more planning as it’s out of state to an event. Nver the less, planning comes into play here as well.

With all our plans (and whatever you are planning) for this summer, here are some tips for that road trip from The Hartford for everything from a day trip to driving in a foreign county to prepare yourself and your car to be able to plan ahead.

You need to consider – route maps, lodging, gas, lodging, admission fees, parking and more to work with your budget.  Options is what it’s about.  For example, route maps have come a long way from the paper maps to GPS to phone navigation apps – all are good choices, but require planning.  What’s your preference?  Doing your research ahead of time, helps you plan your finances and helps you to stay within your budget.

I’ll keep you posted on our summer adventures.  So what’s on your bucket list for this summer (and beyond)?

Where Did My Money Go!

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Do you ever get that feeling you are missing some money?

There is lots of unclaimed money in every state.  The unclaimed money list is a big list of names (individuals, companies, non-profits and more), that each state maintains from institutions that turn over money to them.  You may be asking why would an institution turn over your money to the state?  Good question, these are funds from accounts that haven’t had any activity in several years.  Here are a few examples:

  • An in active savings account – did you forget you had an account from when you were a child?
  • Proceeds from a check not cashed – did you lose a check a while back?
  • Unclaimed insurance polices proceeds – did your parents buy life insurance when you were born that was forgotten about?

This past weekend, I did a search for myself and members of my family. I didn’t find any results this time, but I have in previous attempts.  In the past, I found a few share of stock that I inherited from my mother’s estate and the proceeds of an old life insurance policy my father that my father must have forgotten.

When was the last time you checked? Don’t forget to check in every state you have lived in.  Search by your name(s) and for family members.  Remember that there is no fee to claim unclaimed money.  If you are asked to pay a fee – don’t.  You can do this yourself easily and there is no fee to collect unclaimed money.

Here’s an old article I wrong on this for more information click here.

Do You Want Your Teen To Learn About Personal Finances?

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If you want to teach your teens about personal finances, I am teaching a class at Norwalk Community College in Norwalk, CT specifically for teens.

It’s a five day class the week of July 15, 2019 from 1:00 to 4:00 pm.

For more information or to register your teen, call 203-857-7080 or please visit Norwalk Community College.

Last year this class filled quickly and we turned people away, so don’t wait!

Single Use vs. Reusable

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I grew up with a mother that recycled and composted, so reducing and reusing is in my blood.

Our town was one of the first town’s in the state to ban the single use plastic bags at stores.  They encourage you to bring your own bags.  If you don’t bring your own, they will give you a paper bag.  I personally keep my reusable bags in the back seat of my car, so that they are always available and with me.  Also, when buying one single item, we skip the bag and take the item without a bag.

 

 

In addition, we have been reducing our single consumption items in favor of reusable ones.  We are eliminating the plastic in our lives.  We have switched from plastic bags to reusable silicone bags and from plastic containers to glass jars (mason jars are a great inexpensive alternative).  We try not to purchase items in plastic instead looking for alternatives.

We now make our own cleaners in reusable glass jars – no more single use bottles from the store.  You can believe how inexpensive it is to make your own (besides not having a single use container to toss).  Baking soda, vinegar and essential oils can clean just about everything for a fraction of the cost of store bought cleaners.

We have eliminated the private trash collection service from our home and now take our own trash to the transfer station – we our down to one bag of trash per week.  This eliminated a $100 a month bill!  I love saving money.

Share with me what reusable things you do.

 

 

 

 

Time To Order Your Second Credit Report Of The Year

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For your 2nd report of the year, use Equifax

Hello, it’s Jill again, reminding you to get your finances in order so you can relax this summer.

 

How to Order Your Credit Report

 

The only authorized source for  your report is AnnualCreditReport.com. You won’t be charged and they won’t force you to sign up for “credit monitoring

”. It’s yours to review by law for free!

To Learn More, Visit www.AnnualCreditReport.com:

  1. Select your state, then click Request Report.
  2. Fill out your information, then click Continue.
  3. When it asks you to select a service, select Equifax.

Not comfortable ordering online? There are other ways to order your report:

 

  • Mail your postal order by downloading the form at AnnualCreditReport.com
  • Call in your order at 1-877-322-8228 FREE

What should you do with your report?

  • Review it for accuracy!
  • Follow the instructions to correct any errors.
  • And, always remember to keep copies for your records.

Were you hoping for your credit score instead? One option is to take a look at CreditKarma.com, Quizzle.com or CreditSesame.com. They won’t give you a FICO score, but they come close by providing a close approximation of your score. And, there’s no charge for you.

May you have a relaxing and successful summer!

 

Take Time For Fun In Your Life

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We were away and now back and ready to go.  Yes, we took another cruise to the Caribbean on the Celebrity’s Equinox.

We had perfect weather 85 and sunny everyday.  We did lots of fun things  – relaxing at the pool, watching shows, comedians an magicians.  Here are some photos of our day on Sapphire Beach, St Thomas, breakfast on our balcony, our glass blowing experience and more.

 

 

 

You Can’t Have My Information

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There are so many ways that scammers can get your information.  It’s getting harder and harder to stay under their radar.

Personally, we request do a lot to be off lists:

  • Mailing List – we opt out of catalogues and unwanted mail.  We shred a lot – most information with our name and address.
  • Phone – we are on the Do Not Call list and we subscribe to NoMoRobo.
  • Contests / Warranties – we don’t do this either. For warranties, we keep the receipt of purchase with the information in case it’s needed in the future.

We were very careful and put minimal information in the newspaper with the last death notice, we were responsible for.  We give serious thought to what is posted in social media.

This is a constant effort that needs daily attention.

Do you want to know ways scammers get your information?  They can get it through your trash, through your incoming / outgoing mail, over hear you on the phone and so much more.  There are ways you probably don’t even realize.  Here’s an article from AARP 7 Ways Scammers Get Your Information.

 

Tax Day Is Here!

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Yes, today is April 15! With that it’s tax day for us here is the US. 

If you haven’t already today is the day to pay your taxes.  We file early ever year, but always wait to pay or taxes until today.

Filing early is one of the steps to help eliminate tax scams.  You don’t want someone filing your taxes before you do!  So we file early.  On the other side, I don’t want to give my money to the government ahead of time.  I want it to earn interest until the last possible day.  So when we file, our ta preparer has the state or federal government automatically take the payment on April 15.  I want to hold on to our money, but I don’t want to be late either.

Getting a refund means you are loaning your money to the government and NOT earning interest or use of the funds.  Now, we plan ahead to have the money ready to pay when it’s due.

If you owe, make you payment today!

Packing Light

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We don’t want to pay the checked baggage fee with the airlines, so we try to pack in a carry on. 

If I can do it, you can to.  Here are some tips on how we pack light:

  • Pick a color theme – I pick three colors (two neutrals and a color) so that I can mix and match outfits.
  • Make items do double duty – a pair of sandals can go to the pool and dinner.
  • Wear you bulkiest clothing – think sweater / coat / sweatshirt vs. packing it.
  • Consider packing less clothes and doing laundry mid way through the vacation.
  • Think multiple use items – your phone or tablet can be your camera, e-reader and still be able to check your email vs. all single use items / electronics.

So I wear my sneakers and sweatshirt.  We bring a pack a clothesline, clothes pins and laundry detergent to do laundry.  My tablet eliminates my need for a camera, book / magazines.  I wear my sandals to the pool and then use them in the evening for dinner )shoes take up a lot of room in the suitcase).  My pool / beach cover up can be used a as sundresses for dinner.  It takes a little organization, but works for me.

Every little thing you can eliminate from your luggage will lessen what you hvae to take and in turn you will have less luggage and avoid luggage fees.  One carry on can easily do a week of vacation for me.