Jill Russo Foster

Tips for Successful Personal Finances

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Things To Do Before You Retire

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Whether you are just starting out or nearing retirement, there are things you can do now to make retirement easier for you.  You don’t want to retire and not have the money to do what you want.  Here are some things you should think about:

  • Do you have enough in your emergency fund? This past year many people were laid off, furloughed and/or unemployed.  An emergency fund helped many get by.  These funds will help you with an unexpected need for funds i.e. fridge dies and needs to be replaced, your car breaks down and you need to rent a replacement car, etc.  Life happens whether or not you have the funds.  Create or increase your emergency fund to cover 6 to 12 months of your expenses.
  • Have you maxed out your retirement contributions? You may want to fund your retirement accounts both through your employer (401K, 403B, 457, etc.) and your personal (IRA and Roth) accounts.  You can never have too much money for retirement.
  • Is your budget balanced? One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to have more expenses than income.  If this is the case, you will be accumulating debt and therefore not savings money.  Eventually, this could snowball and you will be a slave to your debt.   Make changes now to live within your means.
  • Is your debt paid off in full? Just like living within your means, having your debt paid off in full is important.  When you retire, you will be living on less income.  Having debt paid off will help you living within your means.  Make a plan to have your debt paid off.

According to AARP, more than half of the full-time workers age 50 years and above will lose their job involuntarily.  Keep track of your finances, live below your means and be prepared for whatever comes your way.

Goodbye 2020, hello 2021!

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2020 was a year for the record books. This past year has brought many issues for many people, from job losses, reduced wages, not to mention healthcare issues.  If this past year didn’t convince you that you need an emergency fund, I am not sure what will.

For us personally, we have had job furloughs and reduced hours – therefore less income.  Luckily, we have an emergency savings to help us out.  In addition, we took on part time weekend jobs for additional income.  What about you, how are you surviving?

Our goal for 2021 is to get our finances back on track – replenishing our emergency savings and eliminating debt.  Fortunately, we are back at work and earning income (and we have kept the additional part time work).  So here is our plan:

  • We continue to automatically save a portion of each paycheck.
  • We have made a plan to pay down some debt we accumulated.

Notice that we are doing both at the same time.  Personally, I don’t believe that all your money should go to paying down your debt while not saving anything.  If you have an unexpected expense, then what will happen?  You will go into more debt.  That’s why I believe in doing both at the same time.

For us, we are using the snowball method to payoff the debt we have accumulated.  What is your plan to get back in track in 2021?

Who handles the finances in your relationship?

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I met a woman who asked me some questions when she found out what I do for a living.  This subject is one that all of you should be aware of and in honor of Valentine’s Day, I wanted to discuss joint finances.  You wouldn’t believe how many people this affects.

Are you married or in a relationship with joint finances? Even when couples share accounts, living space, or property, it’s typically one person who handles the finanlove and moneyces in a relationship – paying the bills, savings, investing, etc.  But the other person shouldn’t be left in the dark.  Think about your future, I have meet many who have no clue on how their finances are handled and then something happens and they now have to take charge.

Because this is your joint future, both should know what is going on and how to access the information at any time. The definition of the word joint is defined by Merriman-Webster as “united, joined, or sharing with others”.

Both of you should be making decisions together, understanding where you are today with your money and where you want to go for the future. You should both know the names of your banks and investments and how to access these accounts, especially if you use online accounts.  Think of it this way, if the person handling the finances is not able to do it – what would happen?  Could you put food on the table?  Would the utilities be paid to be kept on?

Remember, too, that your children can see how the money is handled in your relationship. What you do, and don’t do, shows them just as much as what you tell them.

I also believe that each person needs to establish credit in their own name and if you are listed as a co-owner on the assets you should also be listed as a co-owner on the liabilities. What that means is that if you own a home (your name is on the deed) you should also be on the mortgage.

Many partners are left out of the finances.  If that’s you, and something happens to the person who handles everything, you are going to have a difficult time.  You may find that the bank accounts that you thought were joint are not.  You may find that you thought you owned the home you live in, but you don’t.  You may find that you need to open a credit card or take out a loan and you have no credit in your name.

All this happens more times than I can count.  If this describes you, then you need to have a conversation today with your partner. You need to what know what assets you have, what liabilities you owe and have a plan for moving forward to achieve your goals.  The first step is having this conversation.

Your Financial Health

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Do you ever wonder how your financial pictures stacks up?  Are you on track to meet your goals?  What do you need to still do?  These and other questions are always on the many people’s minds.

I have discussed the importance of having an emergency savings, a budget to know where your money is going, great credit /score to have the best interest rates when you need to borrow and minimal high interest debt.  Check out some of my past emails for more information on these topics.

This is a great article Six Numbers Reveal the State of Your Financial Health. How well do your finances compare to these six areas?  All are important areas that should be goals for you to accomplish with your finances.

Financial Literacy Month – Tip #21

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Planning Ahead

Here’s the tip from October 20 – More Income / Planning Ahead month:

While we are in a month of More Income and Planning Ahead, today would be a good time to begin thinking about your financial future and the documents that you should have in place to make sure things are carried out according to your plans and wishes. Think about this today and over the next few days we’ll talk about the specific documents that I think are absolutely necessary for you to make sure you have taken care of regardless of your age.

To purchase a copy of either of my books Thrive In Five: Take Charge of Your Finances in 5 Minutes a Day or 111 Ways To Save

#JillRussoFoster  #30WaysToSave

Financial Literacy Month Starts Wednesday!

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April is Financial Literacy Month and I want to spread the word so that everyone can understand and improve their finances.

For the month of April, we will be posting daily tips from my book Thrive In Five: Take Charge of Your Finances in 5 Minutes a Day on Twitter, LinkedIn and my Facebook Fan Page.  We need you to share and repost to your connections and friends so that these simple tips spread across the internet. My goal is to increase my exposure and therefore increase the number of people who improve their finances.

Financial Literacy MonthFirst, remember to connect with me through social media – Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook Fan Page,  or you can forward this blog post to your family and friends for them to sign up for the newsletter.   Thank you for spreading the word.

We want everyone to have some extra cash this April, so let’s make it rain by sharing financial information that really works.

To purchase a copy of either of my books Thrive In Five: Take Charge of Your Finances in 5 Minutes a Day or 111 Ways To Save

Watch for my first post on April 1st. 🙂

#JillRussoFoster  #30WaysToSave

Automatic Transfers To Save More

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savings-automatic

Have you struggled to save money because there never seems to be anything left over?Big surprise! We tend to spend the money we have in front of us. Getting a raise never seems to help, because that money disappears, too. There’s always something we think we need or want right now.

The best way to grow the money in your savings account is by setting up an automatic deposit from your paycheck. That way you never see it to spend it. If your company doesn’t offer this, that’s not a problem. Have an amount set up to be transferred automatically from your checking account to savings on a regular basis. The benefits here are that you are saving without any effort on your part and the money isn’t in your checking account to tempt you.

In addition, don’t have your saving account linked to your checking account on your ATM card.  Why you ask?  It’s too easy to transfer the funds without any thought.  Also, you might want to have your saving account at another financial institution.  You can access when you need the funds, but it isn’t that easy – so you will have time to think about withdrawing the funds.

Start to put your savings on automatic pilot today.

What Are Your Financial Goals for 2020?

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What is it that you want to achieve with your finances?  Is it to have an emergency fund?  Is it to save for a specific goal such as a down payment on a home / car?  Do you want to save more for retirement?  Whatever you want you can achieve it.

Start by writing down your goal (in a SMART format).  Then break it down to manageable steps.

For example, I want to save $500 by the end of the year – that’s

  • that’s $41.67 per month
  • that’s $9.62 per week

Now think of ways to find that money to save

  • could you bring your lunch / coffee to work one day a week
  • could you add an extra week between haircuts / manicures (if you do your nails every other week that’s 26 times a year, switching to every three weeks would be 17 times a year – that’s a savings of 9 manicures)
  • could you cancel or reduce your unused memberships / subscriptions
  • could you research lower costs for utilities / insurance
  • could you eliminate a fee (bank account, credit card and more)

With this in mind, you could find the $9.62 a week to save to meet your goal.

Remember that breaking it down to manageable steps is key so it doesn’t seem so over whelming.

Let me know what your financial goal is and maybe I can help you break it down in to smaller steps.

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.

Having Your Wishes Carried Out

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Personally, I have dealt with relatives dying and having to clean up the mess.  For me, each time got better with less to clean up.

  • What requests to you have – do you want to be buried or cremated, do you want a funeral or a memorial.
  • What do you want to happen to your stuff – do you want specific things to do to s specific person.  I have witnessed more fighting about little items (two people want the same thing) Take some time to think about what you have and who each item should go to.  Maybe you want to start to give the items away now.  Maybe you want to donate or sell the items.  Remember to leave detailed instructions to prevent fighting.
  • Have you updated the beneficiaries on your insurance and financial account?  Make sure to specify one or more for each account.  It makes things a lot easier.
  • What are your health wishes – do the necessary forms to have your intentions carried out, like you want.

Here’s a great article to get you thinking about what you need to have on place.