Jill Russo Foster

Tips for Successful Personal Finances

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January Reset

For us, we look over our finances every January.  Yes, we do this all the time, but this is the time we reassess everything.  Here is what we do: 

  • Auto / Home and Umbrella insurance – we checked to see that we are paying a competitive annual rate for all policies
  • We took our safe driving class to lower our auto insurance (This is something we do every three years)
  • TV / Internet – we did this in December.  Our current provider increased our internet, so we switched to the competition and cut our bill in half
  • We set up automatic monthly payment from our checking account to lower our medical insurance premiums. Just switching from a credit / debit card to checking account, saved us money.
  • We are in the process of consolidating accounts.  We transferred retirement accounts from past employers to one account.
  • We have started the process to update our wills, power of attorney, healthcare proxy and more.  There is so much more with these with your digital footprint to consider.

These are some of the things we have done in previous years:

  • We eliminated our trash and recycling services, saving us $75/ month.  It costs us $25 annually for the Town permit.  Savings = $825.
  • We do our own yard work – lawn mowing and snow removal.

What are you doing in January with your finances?

What Are Your Hidden Money Leaks?

Do you ever seem to think, where is my money going?  In 2025, we made lots of changes to our finances to reduce and/or eliminate expenses.  According to a recent article from AARP, these hidden money leaks could be hazardous to your budget:

1, Automatically renewing your auto insurance: this is the next project for us. We are going to shop our home and auto insurance for better rates.

  1. Putting your internet on auto pilot: we switched providers last month and reduced our internet bills by two thirds. Yes, having to make an appointment for installation was a pain, but we have a guaranteed rate for three years that works for us.
  2. Paying for unused subscriptions
  3. Overspending on entertainment: we cut the cord on the triple play package and eliminated our home phone and cable TV. We are able to watch movies from our local Library with an app called Hoople for free,
  4. Overlooking bank fees: our bank accounts do not have any fees and neither should yours. We even earn interest on our checking account. We don’t pay a monthly fee and we don’t have to keep a certain amount to do that.
  5. Paying high credit card annual fees
  6. Leaving FSA funds behind: do you have an FSA (Flexible Spending Account)? If so, you have until the end of the year to use the funds to make purchases. If there is nothing you need to purchase, maybe stock up on over the counter medicines.  You can also submit for reimbursement past expenses from the current year – copays, out of pocket costs, glasses / contact lens,
  7. Letting gift cards go to waste: you need to use or sell them before you lose them – the value doesn’t get lost, but you may misplace them.

For the full article click here.

Cost Cutting Strategies to Plug Money Leaks

Financial Literacy Month #28

Now that we are past the frost, it’s time to start our garden.  I save our cardboard egg containers to use to start my seeds.  Buying seeds (our library gives out free seeds) and starting them indoors will create a budget friendly alternative to buying vegetables at the grocery store.  Don’t worry if you don’t have a yard, container gardening works just as well.  Simply start with growing your own lettuce or herbs.  It’s easy and will help your budget. #JillRussoFoster #FinancialLiteracyMonth

Financial Literacy Month #25

Do you cook at home or eat out (that includes take out)?  There is a huge difference in your cash flow by the choice you make.  Consider cooking at home and make double portions, so that you can freeze one for another time or take it for lunch. #JillRussoFoster #FinancialLiteracyMonth

Financial Literacy Month #24

Some of the things that we do in our household to save money:  I cut my husband’s hair, we take our own recycle and trash to the transfer station, we walk to do our errands, we do our own yardwork (cutting lawn, trimming bushes, snow removal, etc.) #JillRussoFoster #FinancialLiteracyMonth

Financial Literacy Month #20

Consider paying your bills annually.  Most times paying once a year (or even twice a year) could save you money.  For example, Amazon Prime is $14,99 / month versus $149.99 annually – that’s a savings of $30.88.  We pay our auto insurance annually to save money. #JillRussoFoster #FinancialLiteracyMonth

Financial Literacy Month #13

Have you cut the cord or do you want to with your TV provider or streaming service?  When was the last time you used your local library?  With your library card you can download the Hoopla app and stream movies at home for free. #JillRussoFoster #FinancialLiteracyMonth

Financial Literacy Month #8

While thinking about saving money, what can you eliminate from your life that would save you money?  Can you bring your choice of beverage from home versus buying?  Can you stop buying bottled beverages?  Do you bring your lunch with you from home? We have eliminated the trash removal / recycle bill by taking it ourselves.  We went from $75/month to $25/year.  How can you save? #JillRussoFoster #FinancialLiteracyMonth

America Saves Week – Reducing Your Expenses

This is a favorite of mine. I am always looking to reduce the cost of things.  Here are some ways that we have reduced our expenses:

  • Bringing beverage and lunch to work instead of purchasing
  • Stretching out the time between personal services – haircuts, nails etc.
  • Asking for discounts – just received a discount code to take an online safe driving class to reduce the cost of auto insurance for the next three years
  • No fee bank accounts and using online bill pay (not paying for postage)
  • Eliminating annual costs – warehouse clubs, magazine subscriptions, TV subscriptions, etc.
  • Using the local library for more than books
  • Contacting your bill companies to see what offers are available.  We received a $25 monthly discount on a bill for being a loyal customer
  • We do things ourselves – lawn mowing / snow removal, taking our own trash / recycle to local facility and more

What bill bothers you the most?  Have you looked into ways to reduce or eliminate it?  Have you checked out the competitions pricing?  Have you asked your family and friends for suggestions?

Do You Want To Find Hidden Money?

Yes, please – don’t we all.  I can remember as a kid finding a $5.00 bill on the floor of Radio City Music Hall and I was thrilled. That’s not what we are talking about today.

How can you find hidden funds in your budget?  Here are some of the ways that we have reduced or eliminated expenses to find money without any struggle:

  • Do you have subscriptions and/or memberships that you don’t use?  Cancelling those things and put more money in your pocket.
  • Shop with a plan.  We make a list of meals for the week and then look at what we have in the house then make the grocery list for shopping.  Without it, we would be making duplicate purchases and spending more money at the store.
  • Do emails make you shop?  Unsubscribe from temptation.  If you didn’t need the item before you opened the email, you probably don’t need to spend money on the item.  If you can’t unsubscribe, then consider having those emails come to a different email that you only check when you need an item.  Don’t be tempted to shop because of an email sale or daily deal.
  • Are you paying bank fees?  Stop! We have several bank accounts and don’t pay and monthly fees for any of our accounts.  Find out what you need to do to avoid the fees associated with your account.
  • You’ve heard this before, bring your beverage, lunch and snacks with you from home.  A coffee for $3.00, a snack for $2.00 and lunch for $10.00 is $15.00 a day or $75.00 a week and $3,750 a year.  What else could you do with that savings?
  • Use your rewards points / rewards for items.  We have a credit card without an annual fee, that gives us points for using.  When it comes to our holiday shopping, we are able to use point for gift cards and this reduces our holiday shopping budget.
  • Do you know your discounts and use them?  What benefits does your company offer it’s employees?  Take advantage of these savings opportunities.  We get a discount on our monthly cell phone bills just for showing a paystub once a year.  Our bank debit card offers us savings offers.  We review the website and when we make the purchase then a percentage of the sale is deposited back to our checking account.

For more savings tips, pick up a copy of my books 111 Ways To Save.