Jill Russo Foster

Tips for Successful Personal Finances

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Increasing (or Starting) That Emergency Fund

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Are you one of those people that sets a goal to have or increase your emergency savings fund each year.  As we reach the year end, did you accomplish this?

An emergency fund is something that each and every one should have.  If life hands you an unexpected expense and you really need to pay for this now, how will you handle this without that emergency fund?  That unexpected expense can be a car repair, loss of a job, a home repair and more.  These expenses typically come when you don’t have any extra money.  If it’s something you need to do immediately, without this savings you will be adding debt to your budget.  That’s where your emergency fund comes into play.  If you have one, you wouldn’t have the stress of figuring out how to pay for it.  That’s why you need to start or increase yours today!

Have you made your plan to start or increase your emergency fund? Don’t get overwhelmed thinking you need thousands of dollars now.  Nobody starts off with thousands, think baby steps to increase your emergency savings with each and every pay check. 

Steps to start your emergency fund:

  1. Open a new savings account for your emergency fund – don’t link it to your ATM. debit card.
  2. Set an amount to save each pay period – can you find $10 or more to save each pay period?
  3. Set up automatic withdrawals from your paycheck – either through your payroll dept. or with your bank.  Think pay yourself first attitude (you won’t spend it if you don’t see it).

Follow these steps to start out and increase the dollar amount at least annually. A good time to do this is when you get a raise at work – more money coming in, the more money can go to your emergency savings.  Suze Orman’s suggests that everyone needs eight months in their emergency savings.  That can be overwhelming, so let’s start with a goal of saving $1,000 in a year – you can do this as it’s on;y $20 a week.

If you haven’t started or at the level you want / need to be at, these are some great tips from WIFE – Women’s Institute for Financial Education to get you started.

Happy Savings!

Holiday Tipping

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It’s that time of year and we are all faced with this issue.  Today, I am rerunning this newsletter if hopes of helping you decide.

The holidays are coming! The holidays are coming! You probably know this and the retail stores are starting the holidays off during the summer. From Labor Day weekend, I see the holidays all over the place in retail stores. I’m thinking the beach and heat and they are thinking December. While it’s not bad to plan ahead and be proactive, it’s too early for me, but it’s never too early to think about your budget.

Tipping is always something that comes up around this time of year. Here are my thoughts and what we do.

First, we don’t wait for the holidays. In my opinion, good service doesn’t have to wait until the end of the year. If someone goes out of their way or does an exceptional job, then by all means tip them.  A while back we bought dining room chairs and the person in the store took the time to go out of his way. That deserved a tip then and there.

Second, give what you can afford. While it’s nice to give cash and to be able to give to everyone, that may not work for your budget. You can thank people verbally and express your gratitude with a conversation, special note in a card, contact the company or supervisor and express the great service you received, instead of cash. I have made calls to the airline to express how grateful we were for a particular person and the excellent service we received. Rarely do companies get calls like this and they can seem shocked at the call.

This is my plan of attack. Create a list people in your life and here are some examples:

Mail Carrier / Package Delivery
Personal Care (Hair, Nails, Massage)
Child & Elder Care
Teachers
House Cleaner / Lawn Care / Snow Removal Care
Pet People (Groomers, Walkers etc.)
Doorman / Maintenance Workers
Assistants / Key Employees

Then make a plan. If you were to tip everyone in one week, you would break the bank. I like to start after Thanksgiving and end this by New Year. Now if you have decided on an actual tip, it can take the format of the cash or possibly a cash gift card, unless you know them well enough to pick a specific merchant’s general gift card. Spreading out the tipping, helps my budget. Plus, I like to do this in person. So when I have a service done, that’s the time I tip, and again throughout the year helps my budget as well.

Finally for cash tips, make a trip to the bank and get nice new crisp bills and have thank you or blank note cards. People who get many tips need to know who they received it from, so a short thoughtful note handwritten in the card works well. It always is so much nicer to give a tip with a good presentation. I feel that the recipient thinks you took the time to think about them versus handing them crumpled bills from your wallet.

Not sure how much to give? That’s entirely up to you. There are many guides on the internet to assist you, but ultimately it’s your choice. Make your plan now so that you check one thing off your holiday to do list.

Holiday Debt!!!!

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Did you vow to not accumulate holiday debt this year!

According to Wallet Hub, the average person is expected to spend over $1,000 this year, that is up 4.1% over 2017.

What’s your plan to stay out of debt this holiday season?  Here are some questions you need to think about?

  1. How much can you afford to spend this year without going into debt?
  2. How many people are on your list?
  3. Can you eliminate or reduce the number of people?  Think group gifts where you can pool your money with others.
  4. Could you offer a service they need instead of a gift?  What can you do that they need? Think childcare for an evening, so they can go out without the kids.

Take some time to think about what is important to you and your family.  Don’t forget to think about your budget too.  This is something that is really important so that you don’t have a January hangover. Everyone wants to celebrate the season, but no one wants someone to have all these bills come in January.  Make a plan and stick to it.

Make sure you don’t fall off your plan with Black Friday this week.

Enjoy the holidays with your family and friends.

Are You Missing Money?

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

Last week the Secretary of State for Connecticut reported that 52,994 names were added to the unclaimed money list for the 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
  • Proceeds from a check not cashed
  • Unclaimed insurance polices proceeds

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 and the proceeds of an old life insurance policy my father.

When was the last time you checked?  Don’t forget to check in every state you have lived in.  Remember that there is no fee to claim unclaimed money.  If you are asked to pay a fee – don’t.

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

 

Fourth Quarter To Do’s

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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 2018?  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.

We’re Back From Our Anniversary Trip

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This year we celebrated our anniversary with a Pacific Northwest cruise.

Back in the early summer, I wrote two newsletters about planning our fall vacation.  We are back and wanted to share the trip with you.  Here’s the link to the two earlier newsletters – first and second issues to remind you of the details.

We took a Pacific Northwest cruise out of Seattle with stops at Astoria, Oregon, San Francisco, California and Victoria, BC and few days in Seattle too.

With all this planning and paying ahead, we spent very little on the actual vacation.  Mostly everything was paid (or paid with points / miles) in the months before as our budget permitted – hotel, cruise, airfare, attractions and some meals were included.  We selected hotels with breakfast included, bought City Pass’ (discount admission to attractions) and walked and/or public transportation.  Lots of steps – over 21,000 in San Francisco in one day!

Yes, there was a lot of research and planning, but this step saved us money and we have fun – lots of money!

Here we are at the Space Needle.  To view more photos, visit our Pinterest page.

Saving Money

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I am always looking for ways to save money.

Some of the ways that can help you do this is to be on top of your finances.

Let me tell you what I recently did.  We purchase a bark collar for the puppy and within a week, the battery was flashing low.  Instead of going to the store to purchase a battery, I brought the receipt and all the original packing back to the store and explained the situation.  The store manager gave me a replacement battery pack.  Not only did I get the battery replaced free, they gave me an additional battery for the future.

Another example, I purchased something online that wasn’t what I expected.  I was told there was a no return policy after opening.  I explained that I did open it and that’s how I knew it wasn’t what I expected.  After several emails back and forth, they agreed to a return minus the restocking fee.  Yes, I am getting less than I paid, but it is most of the money refunded and it’s not another item sitting in my house, that I won’t use.

Sometimes you can advocate for yourself and get a resolution to the issue that is wallet friendly.  Try it sometime.

Other ways to save money, you can stick with what you own and not purchase the latest and greatest new option.  Our TV/Internet provider wanted to give us faster internet.  The catch was it would be an additional $5 more per month.  We said “no”.  There is nothing wrong or slow with what we have now.

Savings a few dollars here and there can add up.

FREE Stuff To Do

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This Saturday is a big day!  You have so many choices of what to do and it’s all FREE.  Yes, I you heard me FREE!!!!!!

There are two options with many choices for things to do this Saturday, September 22 only.

Option 1 – it’s National Parks Free Day – so you can visit a national park and save on the entrance fee.  Click this link to find out more.  You can check out a local park or make plans to visit one farther.  Don’t worry if you can’t make it this Saturday, there is one more free day coming up later this year.

Option 2 – it’s Smithsonian Museum Day – now is your chance to visit a museum for free, both in your area and across the country.  Check out this link to see which museums are participating and to get your ticket.  You’ll need a ticket to visit for free and you can get that at the website.

Two options for you and your family for this Saturday that won’t break your wallet.  Enjoy!

Upcoming Workshops

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Now that we are gearing up for the fall, I wanted to share with you some workshops I am teaching at Norwalk Community College (Norwalk, CT) in the Extended Studies Dept in the Fall term.

Take Control Of Your Finances

Welcome To The Real World: Teens and Money

Budgeting For The Fluctuating Income

For more information and/or to register click here.

If You Don’t Succeed, Try Again

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You’ve heard the saying, if you don’t succeed, try again.  We’ll that was try number two yesterday to get the results that we wanted.

Every August it’s the time in our home to negotiate the TV, internet and phone bill.  It’s a time that I dislike, but it’s something that has to be done.  Every year, we get that letter that our current package is expiring and the cost will be increasing substantially.  Ugh!

I phoned earlier in the month and was given a new package that didn’t meet our needs or budget.  We have lowered our services in past years, so there isn’t a lower package with less channels (we’re on basic).  Not being happy with the call, I research other companies and their options.

Yesterday, was call number two.  Spoke with two different people and get the results we wanted.  The price will be increasing less than $5.  Yeah!

If you need to negotiate with a company to get the results you need / want, be prepared to make multiple calls.  You might just get a person that will go the extra mile to find what you are looking for.  We did and we are set for another year.