Jill Russo Foster

Tips for Successful Personal Finances

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It’s Never Too Late

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Welcome to 2022!

It’s time to think about your finances.  What are your financial goals for the upcoming year?  Are you looking to save for an emergency fund, retirement, a new home or home improvements, education, an emergency fund? 

There is so much to accomplish and never enough money.  Well, that is how I used to think.  But not anymore. 

I started by taking small steps to achieve my financial goals.  My first goal was to create an emergency fund of $5,000.  Sounds overwhelming, but I broke it down into small steps:

                $5,000 in one year is $416.66 a month   –  $5,000 in one year is $96.15 a week  –                  $5,000 in one year is $13.70 a day

 Next, I needed to find this money in my budget.  What could I cut back on or do without?  It turns out it was multiple ideas to come up with this money.  We spaced out haircuts, we stopped buying beverages for work (we bring our own), we trim our dog’s nails ourselves and more.

 Lastly, we automated the savings.  Each paycheck we save $100.00 into our emergency savings automatically.  It’s set and done. 

 Now we have the emergency fund we need to be prepared for whatever happens in our life. 

Please know that it’s never too late to start to save for your goal.  Obviously, the earlier you start the better off you are.  But not starting is a mistake.  Make a plan and decide to start now.  You too can achieve your financial goals this year.

Our 2021 Finances

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2021 with the pandemic had us take a look at our finances in relationship to our goals.  As we near, retirement, we have put a plan together. 

This year we refinanced our mortgage. We had a 1-year ARM based on Treasury bill index, so it was time to get a low-rate fixed rate mortgage.  We didn’t want to refinance for 30 years, so we chose a 15-year fixed mortgage that we plan to payoff in 10 years.

We had several credit cards that we didn’t use often and always paid in full when we used them.  We made the decision to close these credit cards. Yes, it will lower our available credit line, but that isn’t a concern for us at this point.

We have maxed out our contributions to our retirement accounts and health savings account.

All in all, we have accomplished out financial goals for 2021.  How about you?

Planning Your Holiday Season

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Getting your finances ready for the upcoming holiday season.  With two months left to the year and all the news reports to shop now, what can you do?

First let’s start with your list.  Who are you planning on making purchases for?  

Next, let’s take a look at your budget.  How much do you have saved?  How much can you afford to spend?  Remember that the season typically includes more than gifts.  You may have opportunities to attend gatherings, participate in events, and more.  Don’t forget to include this in your budget too.

How is it looking?  Are you all set and ready to shop?  Or do you need to tweak your plan?

Some of the things we have done to reduce our spending is to cut back on gift giving, give one family gift as opposed to individual gifts and have get togethers instead of gifts.  Take your list and think outside the box for what is right for you.

This is not the time to open a new credit card account, because you can get a discount.  This is will lower your credit score with a new inquiry and new credit line.  Probably not in your best interest.  Plus, you don’t want to start off 2022 with holiday debt added to your budget.

Make a plan and decide what is right for you and enjoy the holidays.

Married Finances: Should Two Become One?

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Weddings are an emotional celebration. We love the idea of a bride and groom starting a new life together. We use words like “two becoming one” or “sharing your lives as one,” meaning that everything will be shared as though the couple are no longer individuals. I believe this puts a lot of unnecessary sentimental pressure on a couple to share all their finances even though it’s not always necessary, or even wise, to do so for every single account or property.

So, how do you merge two separate financial lives?  There are many successful ways to do this.  Some couples keep their individual incomes and expenses separate by having separate bank accounts, credit cards etc. Then, they have a joint expense account for their household bills that they each put money into. Sharing the joint account can be as simple as having each person responsible for different bills, or figuring out the bill totals and having each put in their half. Some people base the joint account total on a salary percentage (this works great when one spouse earns more money that the other). And, of course, some people merge everything and all accounts are joint.

You need to think about what type of financial people you are.  Here are 3 questions to think about that will help you decide (and could possibly save some financial squabbles):

  1. Are you a saver and your spouse a spender?  Having one person be the fall back for financial emergencies can be challenging financially and to the marriage.
  2. Are you both spenders? What will happen when there are no reserves for emergencies?
  3. How do you each handle bill payment? Are all your bills paid on time?  Do you have bills that have slipped through the cracks?

Answers to these questions can be tricky, but worth the discomfort.  Proactive thought can be a financial life saver for your future.  Double check your answers by looking at your account statements and credit reports. You may not be as good at finances as you think you are, or you might be better than you thought. Discuss your habits with each other, as well as any outstanding issues that could affect you both.

I am a firm believer that you both should participle in your finances. You have joint goals in your future, so you should do the financial planning for this together as well. Don’t let the responsibility fall to one person.  If something were to happen to the “responsible” one, then the other party would be left completely in the dark, not knowing anything about the accounts or how to deal with them. I have seen many situations like this. It may seem kind, or convenient, to handle the money if your partner doesn’t know how, but it’s not.

Whichever way you choose to handle your finances as a married couple, make sure it’s a mutual decision based on real knowledge of your habits and goals.

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 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

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.

What Can You Do With $20.00

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In honor of Money Smart Week, let’s talk about cash. Do you have enough?  Are you living paycheck to paycheck? My philosophy about money is that is comes down to make choices that are right for you at this particular time of you life.  Let’s start with $20.00 cash.  What would you do?

A $20.00 may not seem to be a lot of money, but it can be.  If I gave you $20.00 bill, what would you do with it?

You could:

  1.  Deposit it to your bank account or open a bank account
  2.  Buy something
  3.  Give it to help someone or a charity to help others
  4.  Have fun by brightening your day

I bet you can think of more choices.  Your choices are unlimited.  But instead of think about one thing to do, how about thinking about multiple things to do.  You might be thinking that $20.00 is too little to do anything with, trust me it’s not.

What will $20.00 buy you:

  1.  Movie ticket and possibly popcorn too
  2.  Flowers for you or to give away
  3.  Picnic lunch on a nice spring day
  4.  Pay extra on a bill
  5.  Can of paint to refresh a room

My suggestion is to think about money is multiples.  In this case, it’s not $20.00 maybe it’s 2 $10.00 bills or 4 $5.00 bills.  Now what can you do with that?  Now you can select multiple things on your list.  Your choices are unlimited.  Instead of thinking it’s only $20, think 12 months ahead – that would be $240.  What could you do with that?

Finding extra money (no matter how small) can be put to good use.  The choice is yours – do you use it today or save it for tomorrow?

 

Finances and Money

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Finance and money is more than paying your bills on time.  Yes, this is extremely important – paying bills late may effect your credit and can cost you money with late fees / finance charges.  But there is more getting your finances organized.  Do you have the money to pay your bills each and every month?  You will want to have money for today and for the future.  Do you have goals you want to achieve?

There are many ways to deal with your finances and money and you have to find the plan that works for you.

The major parts of finances and money:

Determine your goals – what do you want in life?  Maybe a short term goal is having your month last all the way to the end of the month, or to be able to pay all bills in fulls each and every month.  What about long term goals?  How about saving for …. (insert goal such as paying for college, a car, home, vacation) all the way to financial independence.

Action plan – how are you going to achieve your goals?  Break this down into action steps, using the smart goal formula.  What is the first step you need to do to start down this financial road?  Maybe it’s starting to save … (insert amount every pay period).

Budgeting – now’s the time to put your money on the table.  How much money do you need to achieve your goals?  Start by tracking your net income and your expenses (every penny) to see where you stand.  Don’t think your have money to save, then you need to make changes to reduce your expenses and/or increase your income.  Remember that making a budget is not a one time thing, your are making a budget, review and sticking to it.

Savings money – break it down into manageable amounts and be realistic.  Your not going to be able to save $1,000 in a month, but your could start out by planning to save $20 or more per paycheck.  Automating your saving is the easiest and best way to stick with this goal – paying yourself first before you paying anything else.

Paying down debt – we all know that the finance / interest charges are the enemy of your budget.  This is money that could be used in other ways.  Don’t stick you head in the sand, we have all been there at one point or another.  Make a plan to payoff your debt – avalanche or snowball methods are way to start.

Take some time and take a look at your finances and start to deal with your finances and money to get on a path to achieve your goals.

This is very simplified and not all plans work for everyone.  Take the time to modify or find a plan that works for you and your finances.

If you want more information, please visit my website for my upcoming workshops.

 

It’s Time To Update Your Health Insurance

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It’s that time of year again for open enrollment for medical insurance. For Medicare you have until December 7 to make any changes to your secondary insurance and/or prescription coverage until December 15.

To enroll and/or make changes to your Affordable Care Act health insurance, you have from November 1 to December 22 in Connecticut. Check your individual state for your specific deadlines.

If you are coverage is through your employer, fall is typically the time to make changes as well.  Please check with your individual state or company for possible changes to the deadline date.

If you want some general questions to think about to compare your options, here are some that you can consider when making your health insurance selection that is best for you:

1.    What type of insurance is this?
2.    What is the monthly premium cost and how much am I responsible for paying?
3.     Are there subsidies available for us?
4.     Do I have out of network coverage?
5.     How much are the deductibles for both in and out of network care?
6.     How much do I have to pay to see a healthcare provider?
7.     Do I have medical coverage out of state and out of the country?
8.     Will I be able to use my current doctors?
9.     What additional benefits are included (prescriptions, dental, vision, etc.)?
10.   Are preventative visits (physicals, routine tests etc.) covered without a deductible?
11.   What is the procedure for going to a specialist and/or the emergency room?
12.   How are disputed claims handled?

Ask these and more questions to make sure you have all the information to make the most informed choice for you and your family. Mark your calendar today to do this during your open enrollment each and every year as medical plans changes and so do your needs. If you miss the open enrollment period, you can only make changes if you have a life changing event.