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Jill Russo Foster

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You are here: Home / Archives for Jill Russo Foster

Start The Year Off Right!

January 7, 2021 By Jill Russo Foster

NewYear-resolutions

Each year there are several things I do in January to make a fresh start of our finances for myself and my family.

I take the credit cards out of my wallet and put them in my copy machine. Why do I do this?  So, I’ll have up-to-date information on my cards in case my wallet and/or phone is lost or stolen. If you want to do this, too, make sure to spread your cards out on the paper so you’ll have room to hand-write the contact phone numbers found on the back of the cards. This serves a few purposes:

  1. You won’t have to go online or search past bills for contact numbers in case you need to cancel those cards in a hurry.
  2. You will know exactly which cards you need to call on, and,
  3. You’ll remember to take the credit cards off the copier.

I set a new file for 2021.  This includes my accordion multi-pocket folder for this years’ tax information.  If I am organized at the start of the year, I will be all set for the accountant at year end.  For last year, I am ready to give our accountant all the tax information so that I can file early.  (This is a good idea to file early, just in case someone steals your identity and files a false return).

I shred our pay stubs when the W-2’s come in. Check to make sure they agree first! (Yes, there are still companies that use paper pay stubs)

We review last year’s bills. We really like to save money on everyday expenses so we can afford the things we really enjoy. So, we look at how we’ve spent our money in the past year to see if we can make any improvements.  In the past, we have deregulated our electric, lowered our cell phone package, and cut out TV channels we don’t watch.  We have made choices about what subscriptions to keep and what not to renew, keeping only the most useful magazines and memberships.

January is a month we plan our extra spending. These are the expenses that aren’t in the usual monthly budget but are essential to our standard of living. If you want to plan your extra spending, here are some examples and tips:

  1. What do you want to do this year for fun?  We usually already have a vacation or two in mind.
  2. What big events are taking place for your family or circle of friends?  You usually know a year in advance if someone is planning a family reunion or getting married. Be sure to factor in travel costs.
  3. What home projects do you need or want?  With this past year’s weather, you may be thinking its time for that major improvement to your home.  Last year, we replaced our roof.

If you need to spend money to have it, then it’s worth planning ahead.  It’s so much easier and less stressful to have the money saved than to try to figure out where can to get the money at the last minute.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Welcome 2021

December 30, 2020 By Jill Russo Foster

 

Wishing you all a Happy and Healthy New Year!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 23, 2020 By Jill Russo Foster

 

With Thanksgiving around the corner, I wanted to express my gratitude to all my readers.

It’s time for change and I have made the decision to stop writing this newsletter.  I have enjoyed all the readers feedback, suggestions, and the friends  I have made over the many years.  But it’s time for me to move on.

Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving and a Joyous and Healthy Holiday Season!

Filed Under: Personal Note from Jill

Getting Ready For 2021, But Do These Things First

November 17, 2020 By Jill Russo Foster

2020 has been a challenging year – job losses / furloughs, pay decreases, health challenges and more.  This was the year that you needed your finances in order and an emergency savings to fall back on.  Plan ahead so that you will be financially prepared in your time of need.

Before 2020 ends, you may want to consider these steps to help with your finances and do them in this calendar year:

  • If you pay estimated taxes, consider making your January payment before Dec 31.
  • If possible, you can prepay your January installment of your real estate taxes before Dec 31.  This may be difficult to do if your taxes are escrowed in your mortgage payment.  You will need to check with your town’s tax department for details in your city / town.
  • Fully fund (or as much as you can) your retirement accounts – IRA and Roth IRA’s (you can do this in 2021 for 2020 too).
  • Fully fund (or as much as you can) your HSA (you can do this in 2021 for 2020).

These steps may work to your advantage with your income tax.  Always check with your tax preparer about your individual situation.

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Credit Card To The Rescue

November 10, 2020 By Jill Russo Foster

For several years, we were planning this big vacation for this year. We would be visiting several European countries over the course of three weeks. Lots of time and efforts was put into the planning and coordinating with friends we would be seeing along the way. Enter 2020 and the pandemic, and we cancelled everything.

That left us with many refunds / credits to pursue. The airlines tickets were amazingly easy, we cancelled, and miles were returned to our account within days. We have a credit for future travel – easy. Hotels were all booked without a deposit – so that made cancellations easy. Excursions were fairly easy to cancel, although we have credits for one to use in the near future (I hope).

Now on to the hard part. We chose to cancel our cruise before the cruise line cancelled the cruise. We did it before final payment, as we did not want to have our money tied up. Now, we needed to get back our deposit plus some extra charges. We cancelled our cruise more than 90 days in advance, so all was refundable. We understood that refunds were taking quite a while and were patient. The credits started to come in and various amounts. No amount refunded was equal to the charges. So, we totaled up what was owed and started to subtract the refunds, but not all the money was returned. (Thanks to meticulous record keeping, we knew what was owed to us and how it was paid for).

Why is this important? Because when all was done, we were not made whole. We were shorted some of our money paid. We ended up filing a dispute with our credit card company. When you use a credit card for payment you have the added benefit for protection. We were able to provide all the details, original charge information and all the calls / emails to rectify the situation. This is important for your dispute case. Then just this past week, the dispute was resolved by our credit card company and we are all set, and we were made whole.

When you find yourself at your wits end and frustrated, know that your credit card company can help you resolve the situation. Remember this only works if you use a credit card for payment.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Travel, Vacation Planning

My Top 5 List

November 5, 2020 By Jill Russo Foster

I want to share with you my top 5 list of what we have done with our finances over the years that have taken us from being in debt to having a safety net for our finances.

  1. We automatically save from each and every paycheck. When we receive a deposit, there is an automatic transfer of funds from our checking to our savings.  By doing this, we have built up an emergency savings account.  Something we all need.
  2. Taking our large annual bills and dividing them by 12. Then saving that amount monthly.  That way when a large bill is due, we are able to pay it in full without any scrambling or stress.  For example, our car insurance is about $900. annually.  That means we save $75 monthly to be able to make the payment.  All we must do is to plan for the increase in premium to make the payment in full each year.
  3. Earning interest on our bank accounts (yes, even our checking account) and not paying any fees to have the bank accounts.
  4. Maxing out our retirement contributions to our IRA’s accounts each year to have a nest egg for retirement. In addition, we contribute to our 401K / 403B retirement accounts.  You can never have too much saved for retirement.
  5. Contributing to a Health Savings Account (or a Flex Savings Account) to cover our medical costs that insurance does not cover.

I wrote this so that you can know what is possible.  Start today and make changes so that you can achieve your goals.  For us, this was not something that we did overnight, it took many years of making small changes to get to where we are now.

Filed Under: Every Day Finances, Personal Finance, Personal Note from Jill

Your Financial Health

November 2, 2020 By Jill Russo Foster

Do you ever wonder how your financial pictures stacks up?  Are you on track to meet your goals?  What do you need to still do?  These and other questions are always on the many people’s minds.

I have discussed the importance of having an emergency savings, a budget to know where your money is going, great credit /score to have the best interest rates when you need to borrow and minimal high interest debt.  Check out some of my past emails for more information on these topics.

This is a great article Six Numbers Reveal the State of Your Financial Health. How well do your finances compare to these six areas?  All are important areas that should be goals for you to accomplish with your finances.

Filed Under: Credit Management, Family Finances, Financial Goals, Personal Finance, Retirement Planning

Unique Passwords – Do You Use Them?

October 27, 2020 By Jill Russo Foster

How to use a unique password for every account without going crazy

In honor on Cyber Security Month, I am rerunning this newsletter to help you access your accounts safely.  You know you should have completely unique passwords for every online account, and you’re not supposed to write them down anywhere. But that’s not enough. They also have to be hard to remember.

If you’re like me, that’s just not possible because you use a lot of online services. The internet has made my life easier in so many ways, but it comes with its own risks.

So, how do you keep your online accounts safe? Many people are turning to Password Managers.

A password manager is software that stores and organizes your passwords in an encrypted state, which makes them hard to hack.

The most popular versions will fill login forms automatically. Once you’ve downloaded the software and stored your passwords, they’re fairly easy to use.

Are they safe? The experts are mixed on this point. Some feel that it’s never safe to store your passwords. Others are comfortable with the encryption used on the best versions.

My assistant swears by LastPass. It’s free for your PC, but the is a cost for using it on your smartphone.

If you want to use a password manager, you can choose between a web-based or a local service. LastPass is web-based as is Dashlane and Roboform. The information is stored in the cloud so you can easily use it on all your computers and devices. Keepass and SplashID are local, meaning they’re stored on your PC.

To do your own research, check out the links below.

If you use a manual system, remember to use unique passwords for each site.  When was the last time you changed your passwords?  One of the most common passwords in the actual word “password”.  Not a good choice.  Be creative and make something you can remember that isn’t public information (mother’s maiden name, pet’s name, etc.).

Two factor identification is another great way to keep your accounts safe.  You’ll receive a text or email with a code, that you have to enter so that you can prove you are you.  Yes, it can be an added step that takes time, but it can save you in the long run.

How do you manage your passwords? Let me know in the comments.

Filed Under: Personal Finance, Privacy

Fourth Quarter To Do’s

October 21, 2020 By Jill Russo Foster

Can you believe it, it’s fall and the year end is in sight!choices

For me, there is lots to do (and I am not thinking the holidays yet).

This time of year means it’s time to review my health insurance choices.  Open enrollment for health insurance is here (or just a week or so away).  Medicare is already in the open period, the state of CT will open up the 1st of November and many company plans have the open enrollment at this point too.  It’s time to reevaluate and determine if I want to stay on the same healthcare plan or make a change.

If you have a FSA (Flexible Spending Account), start to look at the balance and determine how to use the funds.  This is a use it or lose it type of account. You wouldn’t want to lose money, would you? If you have an HSA (Health Savings Account), have you maximized your contributions for 2020?  This can be a great way to lower your taxable income.  Make sure you pay all your eligible medical expenses with this account.

Take the time now to do your research and make the choices that are right for you and your family now.

Filed Under: Insurance, Personal Finance

The Holidays Are Here

October 13, 2020 By Jill Russo Foster

The holidays are here. Yes, with many retailers starting there holiday shopping sales early this year, are you ready?  This is a good thing, if you need to stay within a budget, start early.

First, make a list of all the people on your holiday gift list, then see if you can make changes.

Could you give a family gift instead of individual gifts?

Can you go in on a gift with someone else and share the cost?

Would a name draw work for the family party? With a name draw, each person buys only for the person whose name they drew. It’s fun and inexpensive. Do a separate drawing for the children so each child receives one gift and gives one gift. Make sure to set a dollar limit that everyone can afford.

Once your list is complete, set a firm amount for each person and don’t go over. The grand total of all your gifts should be a realistic amount that you can afford. Be honest with yourself and don’t overspend.  You’ll regret it when the bills start coming in.

When shopping, keep your list of people and your budget amounts with you. Check the sales fliers now because holiday sales are already starting. Big retailers are also adding holiday layaway plans.  Layaway plans work great if you know your budget. They allow you to make affordable payments without using a credit card.

You could also try giving gifts that don’t cost a lot of money. Service coupons are a wonderful gift. For example, you could cater a meal for a family that has a busy lifestyle. Try an inexpensive but meaningful gift, like a photo CD or memory album. The choices are endless if you take the time to think of what each person might enjoy most.  This year with being at home more, I have come up with some great gift ideas that are meaningful, but not a budget breaker.  I can’t tell you what they are as family members ready my newsletter.

The most important thing this holiday season is to have fun and enjoy your time together. Create new memories instead of new debts.

Filed Under: Every Day Finances, Holidays, Reducing Expenses, Shopping Tips

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