Jill Russo Foster

Take Your Child To The Library Day!

This is a great memory from my childhood. I loved going with my mom to the library and taking out a book. In fact, I still use the local library and read many books each year.

In honor of Take Your Child To The Library Day which is February 3, 2018, I am offering you a 20% discount on my book Cash, Credit and Your Finances: The Teen Years from now until February 3. For $20.00 you can purchase a copy of my book directly from me, have it personalized to your recipient and it including priority shipping. This is only available from my website. Click here to purchase.

Voted “Best Teen Book” by Radical Parenting Teen Team

The Perfect Teen Gift

Help your kids:

Cope with product advertising
Understand that credit isn’t magic money.
Develop strong short-term budgeting skills
Create a long-term financial plan

Cash, Credit, and Your Finances: The Teen Years looks at finances through the eyes of five different teenagers. 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?

Start your child off with the gift of reading and learning great money skills. Buy Cash, Credit and Your Finances: The Teen Years now!

Tax Dates That You Want To Have In Your Calendar For 2018

We all know that it’s tax time, just check your mailbox and email for those 2017 forms.

Early birds – did you know you can’t file until January 29!

Procrastinators – did you know you may get an extra day or two since April 15 is a Sunday.

Get all the dates in one place from Clark Howard.

2018 Goal

If you have been a reader of Money Choice and know me, you know that 2018 my goal is to simplify my life.

One thing I am tackling is the clutter in my life – both physical and mental. I have been organizing my home, donating and tossing out lots over the years. My way of doing this is to tackle on small area at a time – one drawer, shelf or other small area – and that seems to work for me.

This year as I continue this process, I have added an online year email class – daily emails to work through this clutter process. What’s great is that you don’t have to begin on January 1 (I didn’t). You can start whenever it right for you. You are welcome to join me. I’m in week 2 of the Daily Om’s A Year To Clear What Is Holding You Back!

Thinking about retirement

As we get older one of the things that is always on my mind is retirement. What does it look like for me? Where do I want to live – stay where I am or move? Stay in my current house or downsize (maybe condo)? The list of questions goes on and on for me.

Wallet Hub has come out with a list of 2018 Best and Worst States to Retire To. Where is your state? This might be something to take into consideration in your planning.

One call saved $153.00

Two weeks ago, we received our insurance renewals (auto, home and umbrella). They arrived on the day of the snowstorm. We lost phone, TV and internet, but not power. So I read the policy information more diligently than I usually would. (I am being honest).

I found a charge for $17.00 on the auto policy that I had questions about. I made a call last week and discussed this with the company and after a long conversation, she found $153.00 worth of savings (more than the $17). That’s a a little over a 12% savings on our policies and that much less that we have to pay in February.

What bill are you going to look into this week to see if you can save money? Check you bills and question what you don’t understand. You could save some money too!

What did you think?

You received my new format of a newsletter / blog combination on Friday. What did you like? What would you like to see that isn’t there? What would you change? Let me know your thoughts.

Money Choices Newsletter

Happy New Year and welcome to 2018!

My goal for all aspects of my life for 2018 is to simplify. To start this goal off, I have changed up the Money Choices newsletter. Money Choice was a bi-weekly newsletter delivered to your inbox every other Friday. My blog was something that I posted other content to. For 2018, now they are one. You will receive my newsletter every Friday with all the blog posts of the week. I hope you enjoy.

What topics are you interested in? Let me know.

Financial Check Up for the New Year

It’s the start of a new year and it’s time to revisit your finances. Take a look at your finances.

Here’s a great article from AARP’s give Yourself a Financial Checkup to see if you have a plan in place for these five areas. In addition, the article gives you suggestions to tackle this area of your life.

With Interest Rates Rising, You Might Want To Consider …..

Welcome to 2019!

I hope you had a great holiday and are looking forward to another year beginning.

2018 was a challenging year. The Federal reserve raised interests rates four times – yikes! The stock market lost all of it’s gains for the year. What does that mean to you? Rising interest can mean larger monthly payments. Stock market loses could mean less money for retirement. Let’s talk about what rising interest rates means to your wallet.

Mortgages / Home Equity Lines

Do you have a fixed or variable interest rate on your mortgage? If you have a variable rate, that could mean your interest rate could go up. For an adjustable rate first mortgages, they typically change at a certain point (see you mortgage documents), but most home equity lines of credit change as interest rates change. High interest rates means larger payment is due. This might be the time to modify to refinance to a fixed rate.

Credit Cards

Most credit cards typically have variable interest rates. High interest means a larger minimum payment is due. If you carry a balance from month to month, you may want to transfer your debt to a zero or lower interest rate credit card while you are paying down your debt.

You never know what is going to happen, so you need to be prepared for whatever life throws at you. Be proactive and your debt paid off, so that interest rate hikes won’t hurt your finances.

From Holiday Card To Gift Tag

Turn this year’s holiday cards into next years gift tags. An easy way to save money (and recycle / re purpose too)! Just cut out your favorite design. Then when you need a gift tag, just write your message on the back side.