Jill Russo Foster

Tips for Successful Personal Finances

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Simplifying Our Meals

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I cannot imagine an easier way to plan meals than being a part of a CSA.  This was a huge incentive towards simplify our lives.

For us, we get an email two days before the pick up of the items of the week.   This gives me time to shop for groceries, check out new recipes and plan the weeks meals.  This makes my life easier as it takes the guess work out of what’s for dinner and as an added bonus gives us plenty to take for lunch and snacks.

I am able to plan the week based on the CSA items and sales / specials from the local grocery store.  This is a big money saver for us.

No more, saying what’s for dinner and ordering take out.  This not only helps our budget, but it’s a time saver too.   For most people, food (groceries, eating out, take out, beverages, etc.) is the biggest part of your budget.  Meal planning helps us to plug the holes in the budget easily.

Simplified By Joined A CSA

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One of my goals has been to eat healthier.  We have made many changes over the years by eliminating chemicals and not so healthy ingredients in foods we buy.  This year I took it a step further to simplify my life.  We joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) co-op.  You pay a fee to the farmer upfront and you get a share of the crops.  Not only are you helping local farmers, but you gain from this.

If you know me, I want organic, non-GMO vegetables.  We found Deep Roots Farm NY is just prefect for us.  We now get a half share of whatever the farm has to offer.  Yes, we are eating more vegetables.  We are trying vegetables that we never have before.  I am spending time looking up .ecipes and that’s fun for me.

From a simplification point, I don’t have to buy vegetables in the grocery store anymore.  We are getting organic vegetables at a fraction of the cost.  Our half share comes out to $20 per week.  That’s a bargain compared to what I used to spend and it’s simple.  Every Wednesday, we pick up a shopping back full of vegetables and it couldn’t be simpler.

My Journey To Simplify

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After having time to reflect these past few months, I have come to the conclusion that I want to simplify my life.  I have too much going on and don’t want to run around at this hectic pace anymore.  If I have learned anything these past few months, it’s to slow down.  I have enjoyed our daily walks in the neighborhood, meeting new neighbors and just seeing the beauty of the area.  These little simple things are making me happy. 

What I realized is that I want more free time to do what we want when we want and not be guided by a to do list a mile long and what people expect of us.  So with that said, join me for the month of July and see what changes I am making.  Some changes will be with finances in mind, others will be my lifestyle. Stay tuned to find out more.

Tell me what you have done and that may inspire me to do the same.  Make sure to subscribe to my newsletter so see everything.

Saving Money On Your Electric Bill

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Are you finding that your electric bill is going up?  With the past few months of being at home, ours has.  So I was bound and determined to reduce ours.

We have started to unplug electronics all the time.  We shut the strip on the TV when not is use.  We unplug the computer and accessories when we are not using them.  We have cleaned the back of the fridge to make it run more efficiently.  We are doing air drying with the dishwasher cycle.  We wash as much laundry as possible in cold water.

What are you doing?

For more suggestions, check out this article.

Your Finances Today

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Our lives are changing from what we know.  People are losing their jobs, others are furloughed.  You can’t count on unemployment as your survival means.  We have to fallback on our savings (hopefully you have one).  If not, you have to prioritize your spending.

Eliminate the expenses you can.  If a service you pay for is closed, try to stop paying for it.  Reduce other expenses.  But at some point, that may not be enough.  What can you do and what bills should you pay and which can you delay.

Here’s a article from CNBC Which Bills To Pay During a Coronavirus Pandemic

Remember that each state / city has specific policies, check with the state that you live in to see what is available to you.

 

 

You Need An Emergency Savings

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Whether you have been laid off, furloughed or salary reduced, you need an emergency savings to fall back on more than ever.

What’s your emergency savings account look like? Suze Orman suggests that you have eight months of income in your emergency savings. Dave Ramsey and Jean Chatzky both say 3 to 6 months. Hello Wallet suggest that you think of emergency saving in three ways – minor emergencies, major emergencies and job loss. Bottom line, you need an emergency savings account.

As with any goal, start with a plan – then automate it. When we started our emergency savings, our goal was to save $1,000. That would get us through the unexpected small expense. We started by saving $20 per week to reach that $1,000 goal in one year.  Maybe that’s not possible in these challenging times, can you find $5 per week.  While you are home, it’s a good time to review your bills, to find savings.  Take a look at your credit card / bank statements, are there automatic changes you are paying for and not using?  Can you replace an expense with something free?  Can you reduce an expense to save money? 

Once you accomplish your goal, I would like you to about your next savings goal. Sometimes unexpected emergencies cost more than you expect, especially if you are a homeowner. I have always thought that the major repair emergency fund should be in the $5,000 range. So then we started on this goal.  $100 a week gets you to $5,000 in a year. We divided this between both our paychecks. My husband gets paid weekly so he contributes $50 each week. I get paid every other week, so I put in $100. We then have achieved this goal of $5,000 in a year.

Remember, this is not a save for one year and done type of thing. You may need to use this money, so you need to replace what you use. You can never have too much money saved for the what if’s of life.

Spring Cleaning Your Finances & More

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As I sit here and write this blog post about spring, I am glad it actually begins tonight.  The days are getting longer with the change to daylight saving time.

For us, it has been a mild winter with only one snow storm of a couple of inches back in January.  We have even had some record warmth days with one more coming tomorrow.  If fact, I know it’s spring is here because the daffodils and crocus are blooming.

In this difficult time, I am trying my best to stay present and not react out of fear.  For me, the best way is to accomplish something, such as learning a new skills or tackling a project.

Here are some projects that you might want to tackle:

  1. When was the last time you shredded your out dated paperwork.  Typically, after seven years papers can be tossed with a few exceptions.  Check with your tax preparer for your situation.  This is a good time to do this as many communities have a free paper shredding days coming up in April for you to take advantage of.
  2. Did you learn something from filing your taxes?  Maybe you need to make adjustments to your paycheck withholding or to save more to be able to pay the taxes you owe.  Take a look at your finances and make the changes now with your HR department.
  3. Where do your finances stand in relationship to your beginning of the year goals?  Maybe you set a goal to save a certain amount this year.  Are you one quarter of the way there?  We are about three months into the year, therefore you should be at 25% of your goal.  Are you on the path to achieving this goals? Do you need to make adjustments to your finances to achieve the goal?  Now is the time to take a look and make the changes needed, so you are not disappointed at year end.
  4. When was the last time you changed your passwords?  Update your accounts with strong passwords.
  5. How about organizing your paperwork?  Paper comes in everyday and seem to pile up.  Use this time if your home to create a system that works for you.

Stay healthy and use your time wisely this spring.

Tipping – Should You And How Much

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Do you ever wonder should you tip this person?  Personally, the answer for me is sometimes “yes” and sometimes “no”. For me it depends on the service I receive – was it Thank You!good or exceptional, did someone go out of there way and do something extra?

When I am in a restaurant, yes I tip the server.  When I use a car park service, yes I tip the attendant.  Also, I tip for personal services – hair cuts, nails, porter at airport and more.  The list goes on and on.  There are so many to tip in our lives, and even more so now that the holidays are approaching.  But who and what do you tip and how much?

And the next question for me is – how much?  Cash is always a great option for giving, but may not be the answer for your budget.  Other ideas, might be a thank you note, a call to a company to tell them what I great experience you received from someone that works there, a bouquet of flowers, baked goods, etc.

As the holidays approach,  here are suggestions from Real Simple Magazine with who and what.

Asking Those Questions

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With the holidays fat approaching and family gatherings, now is the time to assess your life.

For those of us in the sandwich generations (parents and kids), you need to think about your aging parents.  Are they prepared for what comes next?  Are you prepared for what’s next?

Where are some ideas for what you need to know:

  • What are their finals wishes
  • Do you know what assets, insurance policies, etc they have and where are those documents?
  • Do they have all the legal paperwork in place – wills, power of attorney, medical directives, etc

It’s a difficult conversation to have, but it’s extremely helpful to do this ahead of time.

Personally, my father was very forthcoming with this information, so I had it easy.  But even then, there was still a life insurance policy he must have forgotten about.  I found it through a search of unclaimed funds website for my state.  It was probably a policy that he (or his parents) had taken out years before.

I can’t imagine not having this information and knowing where things are.  What about you?  Do your kids know this information about you?

Take some time to have this important conversation when your family gets together.