Tips for Successful Personal Finances
October is National Financial Planning month!
According to Wallet Hub, 2 out of 5 US adults grade themselves as a “C” or worse on their personal finance knowledge. To see the report and find out where your state stands, click here.
It’s never too late to learn about personal finances. Start by reading something each and every day. Check out my newsletter past issues and sign up to receive, Money Choices it in your inbox.
Fact Checking Charities
My heart breaks with all the information and photos from hurricane Harvey and now Irma. We all want to help and these people need our help. but you want to give where your money will do the best and not go to scammers. If you choose to give, and I’m sure you do, make sure your money goes to those in need through a charity that you have researched.
Unfortunately, it’s fairly easy to set up a charity, and fundraisers can legally keep most of the money donated to the cause. Not to mention the scammers who are out there to take your money. Before you donate, find out whether the charity is legitimate. You should also find out how your money will be spent.
You can start your research at www.Give.org (associated with the Better Business Bureau). This organization researches charitable organizations to find out how they use the funds they receive.
Here are some tips to help in your research:
• Find out if the charitable organization has a 501(c) status (IRS code for non-profit organizations). Non-profits have stricter requirements, and your donation will be deductible on your tax return.
• Find about how much of each dollar is being used for the cause versus administration costs. The more administrative costs, the less of each dollar is being used for those in need. Look for the lowest administrative costs.
• For cash donations, request a receipt to use as documentation on your tax returns. All donations over $500 will require additional paperwork, so speak with your tax preparer ahead of time.
• When donating non-cash items such as food, clothing, furniture, etc, you will need an itemized list of the items you donated and the total value. Most charities will ask you to value your own items.
Make sure you get a receipt for your donations with the charity’s information on it.
Do your research and chose the organization(s) wisely. This is a great way to help out others who are less fortunate than you during this hurricane season.
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You know that your credit is an important part of your financial life. You know that the higher your score the better the terms are when you apply for credit – lower interest rate, lower monthly payments and more. You may have wanted to improve your credit score, but it’s too confusing and you don’t know where to start.
Let me tell you that this is a journey and there is no instant magic pill. It takes hard work and dedication on your part. Where do you start? The first step is to know your credit score. You can get a close approximation of your FICO score. Yes, it’s time to face the reality and look at it. You need to know where you stand. To see your credit score, go to my resource page and see how to access your credit score for free.
The next step is to make a plan. These are the small steps you take each week to do just one thing to improve your credit score. They can range from not using a credit card to make a purchase, make sure to pay that bill on time, bringing in more money to be able to make that payment and more.
I know this is hard. Years ago I had way too much credit card debt and I couldn’t image that I would every be debt free. But there came a day when I came to the realization that I needed to deal with it. I made a plan and stuck to it and was out of debt. As a result, my credit score increased to be excellent. I know that you too can do this.
Here are some more information to help you understand what it’s costing you.
We’ll talk more about this tomorrow.
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Christmas Holidays in July! You may think I am going crazy but I have a plan. Now is the time to start to think about the holidays. You are at the mid-point of the year, which means there are 21 weeks to save between now and Black Friday.
This year Black Friday is November 24, Chanukah is December 13 and Christmas is December 25.
To stop the January debt hangover, start to save now and have the money you need by automating this process! Set it up once and then you will be at your goal in no time.
First determine how much you want to save and when you get paid (weekly, every other week, etc.). Calculate the amount you will need to save based on the paydays between now and Black Friday. Set up an automatic transfer from your checking to your savings account for the day after your direct deposit.
Do this now and you won’t be scrambling in November. You will be eating turkey for Thanksgiving knowing that you are all set with the cash for the holidays and won’t have to start January off with your holiday debt.
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Today, I am doing a workshop, Money Make The World go Round at Empower Her for kids ages 8 to 11. We are going to discuss budgeting, wants, needs with the help of a fun game!
Summer is coming and that makes me think of vacations. You might be saying, here they go again! You may be right, but not yet. There are a couple planned for later this year.
• Noodles / Rafts / Tubes / Snorkel Gear
• Soft-sided cooler – we have one that the freeze pack is a part of the cooler
(one less thing to carry along)
• Entertainment – playing cards, games, etc.
When we travel to a destination, we try to reserve a unit with a kitchen or at least a fridge. This saves us so much money by being able to make and bring our own meals. You might be thinking cooking on vacation – ugh! This can be as simple as having breakfast, beverages and snacks from a grocery store versus paying restaurant or resort prices. Picking up a bottle of water at the store is much more cost effective than buying a bottle at pool side.
Here’s an example of what we do. We bring as much as possible, especially things you won’t finish, like steel wool, paper plates, herbs and more. Next, we place an online order (if that is possible) from the grocery store before we leave. Then we either pick up the order at the store or have it delivered to where we are staying. Having some or most of your meals at grocery store prices saves money. Yes, we still do go out for some meals – just not all.
Remember that you typically cannot bring meat, fruit or vegetables out of the US and into another country. Usually, you can bring sealed items in their original packaging. Here’s one of our suitcases.
If you want a copy of my food packing list, email jill@jillrussofoster.com and I will share it with you.
Spring is a great time of year! One of my favorites, as the weather turns warmer and the days are longer. For us, it means more time outside and that can be from getting my garden planted and the thrill of fresh vegetables right in my backyard, to having meals outside; either just us or with friends and family. We can open the windows to air out the winter stale indoor air and sleep comfortably with the windows open all night. It means exploring the outdoors, maybe taking a walk in a new neighborhood or park, picnics and movies in the park.
With spring comes weddings and graduations – new beginnings. This can be true for all of us, even if we don’t have a milestone event coming up.
Traditionally, spring makes me think of spring cleaning and tackling the heavier cleaning throughout the house. We can do the same for our finances. For the graduate, you can start them off with the gift of good finances – being able to start to plan their money and finance proactively and make planned purchases versus impulse buying. A great way to start would be the gift of my book, Cash Credit and Your Finances: The Teen Years.
For those who want to get your own finances back on track, 111 Ways to Save or Thrive In Five: Take Charge of Your Finances in 5 Minutes a Day will give you the push you need to get your finances in order.
You can order my books through my website or by order form. If you use the order form, you have the option of me personalizing the book. Just print the order form, fill out the recipient information section, and mail it to the address on the form or fax it to 203-504-7995. For the month of June 2017, we are also offering free shipping on all book sales that are ordered with the order form via mail or fax.
Click here to download the order form.
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The age-old question of payoff debt versus an emergency fund – which is more important?
If you have debt, then you know that the interest you are paying is a drain on your finances. You are correct, that interest is a waste of your hard-earned money. You know that you need an emergency fund and you have been meaning to start one, but you just don’t have the money.
Which should you tackle first? Let’s assume you have $500 in your budget to work with and we will look at a couple of scenarios.
#1 – You have debt totaling $10,000 and you are paying the minimum payment of $250 per month at an interest rate of 20%. It will take you 67 months (5+ years) and you will have paid back $16,750 ($6,750 in interest). That’s assuming you don’t take on more debt.
Then you put the remaining $250 to start your emergency fund.
#2 – You increase your payment on your debt to $500 per month. It will take you 25 months (just over 2 years) and you will have paid back $12,500.
You will not be starting your emergency fund until after the debt is paid. What would you do if an emergency expense happened? How would you pay for it?
As you can see, the answer is somewhere in the middle and you can think outside the box for faster results. You could look into reducing the interest rate on your debt – refinancing, balance transfer for a lower interest rate etc. The quicker you payoff the balance, the less you will pay in interest.
You need an emergency fund to be prepared for whatever happens in life. You will want to start to save something on a regular basis each and every month, even if you have debt.
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Have you ever written down a budget to see where your money is going? Well, we did this earlier this month and everything looks fine, meaning that we make more than we spend.
That means we can pay our bills – great! That’s check one. Check two – are we saving enough? No, we we’re not, but where do we get the money? We won’t find extra money to save until we find out exactly where our money is going.
If you want to do this process with me, follow these steps:
1. Write down a couple of short and long term goals, so you’ll be inspired to do the work.
Short term goals can be planning for a vacation, buying a car, paying down debt, saving for something that you want, and starting an emergency fund.
Long term goals can be saving to purchase a home, saving for your children’s education, retirement planning, and paying off debt/mortgage. What are yours? Imagine what you want or need and write it down now.
2. Track every penny you spend. That means finding a way to record your spending as it happens.
Don’t wait until the end of the month and use your bank statement or receipts. A single store can fall under many spending categories and receipts don’t always list items by name (or by names that you can decipher). Don’t think for a minute that your grocery store trip can be lumped under food. You may buy your pet food there, as well as cleaning supplies, shampoo, or even magazines.
I know this sounds time consuming, but it’s worth it. You can carry a pen and pad with you and write down everything by hand. Another way to track your money is by using a phone app. Choose the way that works best for your lifestyle.
3. Write your totals in a budget worksheet to see where you stand.
Once you see a month’s worth of numbers, than you can begin to analyze what is going on. With this clear picture, you can make changes – lower bills to save money, get rid of unused services, check out the competition to switch etc.
Tell me what you have discovered with this exercise. Next issue, I will tell you what we have changed.
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There are times in our lives that we are not able to pay all our bills. Maybe we have lost a job, had a medical illness or other life circumstance. Not being able to pay your bills is one more stresser added to the mix.
I will give you my advice, but please know that you should check with your professionals for what is best for you and your situation before taking any action.
There are several types of bills categories we have:
Utility Bills – You may have noticed that these typically don’t appear on your credit. Yes, you are correct. When your utilities are paid on time, they don’t appear on your credit report. When you are late, most utility company will report the delinquent payment information to the credit reporting agencies. Or even worse, they may send the account for collection and that will appear on your report.
Credit Cards – This is a double-sided question. You want to be able to have credit in case you need it but you can’t afford to pay the credit card. The best possible option when you can’t afford to pay your bills, is to be able to pay the minimum amount due on all your credit cards each and every month. If not, then you want to contact your credit card companies to work out an agreement. You don’t want your credit card companies to send your account to collections and/or small claims court. Both these options will negatively affect your credit.
Non-Credit Bills – These are debts you owe that don’t appear on your credit usually (i.e. your auto mechanic, cell phones, tax bills, medical etc.). You might be thinking that you can ignore these bills, but that’s not the case. Not paying these can lead to judgments and judgments have serious consequences on your credit report. Try to work out payment arrangements to keep this from happening.
In difficult times when money is tight, you may need to access your credit to get by. You will need to keep these tips in mind so that you have that option available to you. Even when you are unable to pay your bills as you have when you making more money, these tips will come in handy.
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