Jill Russo Foster

Tips for Successful Personal Finances

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Are You Part of the Equifax Breach?

By now you should have heard about the Equifax credit breach.  About 1.5 million people may have been exposed in just this breach.  Are you one of them?Credit Report Shock

First, if you are not sure, check to see if you were exposed.  Click here to check.

Then follow the instructions to submit your claim if you were exposed.  There are choices to make when you submit your claim, so take you time and read everything before making your choices.

Hopefully, you were not exposed, but if you were you need to act fast to submit your claim.

Summer Clean Out

In these hot humid days of summer, what are you doing?  We’re cleaning out (and making some money).

As you stay inside with the air conditioning, you could be doing something – cleaning out.  We’ve been on a mission to lessen our stuff. So far, this summer we ahve sold items online, had a tag sale and make several donations.  And there is more to go.

You can make money from almost anything, when you find the right buyers. Here are some examples of what I have personally done:

Sold an iPod Classic online.  First I looked at an electronics trade in, but I didn’t think it was the most I could get.  Sold it on Craig’s List.

Sold a woman’s Movado watch.  First brought it to a company that buys items. They offered me $40, when I said that wasn’t enough for me to sell, they upped the offer to $50.  I didn’t sell.  I took it to my local watch repair shop and they offered me $123.

Donated seller items such as office / back to school supplies to a local non-profit.  Donated older sheets / towels to the animal shelter.

Lots i=of items out of my house this summer, but still more to go.  Here’s some tips on making money from items in your home.

Teens and Money

Last week was amazing!  I had the privilege of working with 6 great high schools students in a 5 day workshop.  Listening and learning what they think and want to know about money, credit cards, borrowing, paying for college and so much more.  Thank you, Norwalk Community College for this opportunity.  If you missed this, I will do this again next summer.

Here is what some of the teens had to say:

“I learned alot about budgeting and finances”

” Good course very helpful”

“Learned about of new stuff and it was fun”

What do you teens know about money and finances?

99 Ways To Save

99 great ways to save 10th anniversary edition

Each year AARP offers great tip on savings.  This year’s list is out and it’s the 10th anniversary addition.  How much can you save with these tips?

AARP’s 99 Great Ways To Save

Upcoming Workshops

It’s going to be a busy July for me.  Do you or your teen want to learn about money and finances?  If so, I will be offering classes / workshops both in Norwlak and New Haven, CT:

For Teens:

July 15 – July 19, 2019 from 1:00 to 4:00 pm (Norwalk, CT)

Norwalk Community College  –  Welcome To The Real World: Teens and Money

 

July 22  – July 26, 2019 or August 12 – August 16, 2019  from 9:00 to 4:00 pm with one hour lunch break (New Haven, CT)

Integrity 1st Learning Support Solutions  –  Life Skills Boot Camp –   I will be teach the financial portion on both Mondays, July 15 and August 12.

 

July 22 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm (New Haven, CT)

Integrity 1st Learning Support Solutions  – Welcome To The Real World: Teens and Money

 

For Adults:

July 15 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm (Norwalk, CT)

Norwalk Community College  –  Budgeting To Create A Spending Plan

 

August 12 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm (New Haven, CT)

Integrity 1st Learning Support Solutions  –  Budgeting To Create A Spending Plan

 

For Norwalk Community College classes registration at call 203-857-7080 or please visit Norwalk Community College.

For Integrity 1st Learning Support Solutions class registration call 203-800-4100 or  please visit Integrity 1st Learning Support Solutions

Reducing Your Interest And/Or Fees

Last, we spoke about bank accounts – now I’ll talk about credit cards.

Do your homework and determine what credit cards your have, what interest rate and fees your paying.

First, you must be honest with yourself and decide which of these two categories you fall into:

  1.  Credit card balances are paid in full each and every month
  2.  You pay your credit card monthly, but carry a balance month to month

Which one are you?

If you are number #1, you are not concerned about the interest rate associated with your credit card.  You pay the balance in full each and every month, so there isn’t interest charged to you.  You need to look at the fees that you might incur.

If you are a number #2, you care about the interest rate and the lower the interest rate is, the less you pay each and every month while you are carrying a balance.

Are you using the right credit card for the spender you are?  If not, look around to determine if there is a better option for you.

Make Your Money Grow

Do you have the best bank / credit union accounts?   How can you tell which is best for you?

For your bank / credit union account, you want to earn the highest interest rate (paid to you) with no (or the lowest) fees.  Start by looking at what you currently have – how much are you earning and paying?  Once you know this information, you have a starting point.  Now compare that with what other’s offer.  Can you do better?  Don’t forget while looking compare both local, out of state and virtual banks / credit unions.  What would you have to do to eliminate all fees?

Keep in mind, that the bank and/or credit union you are looking at must (non negotiable) be FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.) for a bank or savings and loan.  Credit Unions are insurance through NCUA (National Credit Union Administration).  This protects your money up to $250,000.  Once you confirm this, then look at how you earn interest and what fees are involved before making your choice.

Personally, we bank both locally and virtually.  We earn interest on both our checking and savings accounts with no fees and do NOT have to carry a large balance in the account to do this.  So if we can do this, you can too.

Other quick tips, that may help you:

  • Don’t link your savings account to your ATM / Debit card
  • Set up automatic savings deposits with each and every paycheck (pay yourself first).

Remember, that every penny your earn or save is more money in your pocket.  Those pennies add up.

 

Teens and Money Class

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 teens away, so don’t wait to register!

Having Your Wishes Carried Out

Personally, I have dealt with relatives dying and having to clean up the mess.  For me, each time got better with less to clean up.

  • What requests to you have – do you want to be buried or cremated, do you want a funeral or a memorial.
  • What do you want to happen to your stuff – do you want specific things to do to s specific person.  I have witnessed more fighting about little items (two people want the same thing) Take some time to think about what you have and who each item should go to.  Maybe you want to start to give the items away now.  Maybe you want to donate or sell the items.  Remember to leave detailed instructions to prevent fighting.
  • Have you updated the beneficiaries on your insurance and financial account?  Make sure to specify one or more for each account.  It makes things a lot easier.
  • What are your health wishes – do the necessary forms to have your intentions carried out, like you want.

Here’s a great article to get you thinking about what you need to have on place.