Jill Russo Foster

Tips for Successful Personal Finances

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Start The Year Off Right!

NewYear-resolutions

Each year there are several things I do in January to make a fresh start of our finances for myself and my family.

I take the credit cards out of my wallet and put them in my copy machine. Why do I do this?  So, I’ll have up-to-date information on my cards in case my wallet and/or phone is lost or stolen. If you want to do this, too, make sure to spread your cards out on the paper so you’ll have room to hand-write the contact phone numbers found on the back of the cards. This serves a few purposes:

  1. You won’t have to go online or search past bills for contact numbers in case you need to cancel those cards in a hurry.
  2. You will know exactly which cards you need to call on, and,
  3. You’ll remember to take the credit cards off the copier.

I set a new file for 2021.  This includes my accordion multi-pocket folder for this years’ tax information.  If I am organized at the start of the year, I will be all set for the accountant at year end.  For last year, I am ready to give our accountant all the tax information so that I can file early.  (This is a good idea to file early, just in case someone steals your identity and files a false return).

I shred our pay stubs when the W-2’s come in. Check to make sure they agree first! (Yes, there are still companies that use paper pay stubs)

We review last year’s bills. We really like to save money on everyday expenses so we can afford the things we really enjoy. So, we look at how we’ve spent our money in the past year to see if we can make any improvements.  In the past, we have deregulated our electric, lowered our cell phone package, and cut out TV channels we don’t watch.  We have made choices about what subscriptions to keep and what not to renew, keeping only the most useful magazines and memberships.

January is a month we plan our extra spending. These are the expenses that aren’t in the usual monthly budget but are essential to our standard of living. If you want to plan your extra spending, here are some examples and tips:

  1. What do you want to do this year for fun?  We usually already have a vacation or two in mind.
  2. What big events are taking place for your family or circle of friends?  You usually know a year in advance if someone is planning a family reunion or getting married. Be sure to factor in travel costs.
  3. What home projects do you need or want?  With this past year’s weather, you may be thinking its time for that major improvement to your home.  Last year, we replaced our roof.

If you need to spend money to have it, then it’s worth planning ahead.  It’s so much easier and less stressful to have the money saved than to try to figure out where can to get the money at the last minute.

Welcome 2021

 

Wishing you all a Happy and Healthy New Year!

Getting Ready For 2021, But Do These Things First

2020 has been a challenging year – job losses / furloughs, pay decreases, health challenges and more.  This was the year that you needed your finances in order and an emergency savings to fall back on.  Plan ahead so that you will be financially prepared in your time of need.

Before 2020 ends, you may want to consider these steps to help with your finances and do them in this calendar year:

  • If you pay estimated taxes, consider making your January payment before Dec 31.
  • If possible, you can prepay your January installment of your real estate taxes before Dec 31.  This may be difficult to do if your taxes are escrowed in your mortgage payment.  You will need to check with your town’s tax department for details in your city / town.
  • Fully fund (or as much as you can) your retirement accounts – IRA and Roth IRA’s (you can do this in 2021 for 2020 too).
  • Fully fund (or as much as you can) your HSA (you can do this in 2021 for 2020).

These steps may work to your advantage with your income tax.  Always check with your tax preparer about your individual situation.

 

Simplified By Joined A CSA

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.

Upcoming Workshops

Want to take your finances to the next level?

Come to hear me and get your questions answered at Norwalk Community College (Norwalk CT):

Start Your Finances Off Right – Thursday      4/2/2020      6 to 8pm

Budgeting To Pay Down Debt – Monday      3/23 and 3/30/2020      (2 sessions)       6 to 8pm

What about your teens, do you want them to learn about finances?

Have them come hear me at Norwalk Community College:

Teens and Money:  Teen Personal Finance – Saturday      3/28/2020    10 am to 12 noon

For more information or to register, please call (203) 857-7080 or Email:  extendedstudies@norwalk.edu

I hope to see you there

Your first credit report of 2020

This month use Experian

Hello, it’s Jill again, reminding you to get your finances in order so you can start the new years off right.

How to Order Your Credit Report

The only authorized source for your report is AnnualCreditReport.com. You won’t be charged and they won’t force you to sign up for “credit monitoring”. It’s yours to review by law. Learn more.

Visit www.AnnualCreditReport.com:

  1. Select your state, then click Request Report.
  2. Fill out your information, then click Continue.
  3. When it asks you to select a service, select Experian.

Not comfortable ordering online? There are other ways to order your report:

  • Mail your postal order by downloading the form at AnnualCreditReport.com
  • Call in your order at 1-877-322-8228

What should you do with your report?

  • Review it for accuracy!
  • Follow the instructions to correct any errors.
  • And, always remember to keep copies for your records.

Were you hoping for your credit score instead? Try CreditKarma.com. It doesn’t give you a FICO score, but it comes close. And, there’s no charge for you. CreditKarma funds their service through website advertising.

P.S. I’ll send you another reminder in April for your next report of the year.

Budgeting By The Numbers

Do you ever wonder how much of your income should be going to this and how much should be going to that?

I know that you are aware that the general rule for your monthly mortgage payment should be 28% or less of your gross income.  The mortgage payment plus your monthly debts (credit cards minimum payments, auto payment, student loan payment, etc.) should be less than 36% of your gross income. 

These are the guidelines that help us to determine where your finances stand at any point in time.  You may be higher or lower, but your know how you stand against the suggested ratios.

Here are some other suggestions:

Emergency Funds – 3 to 12 months of income.  You need to have money aside for yourself when emergencies occur.  There are several thoughts here for amounts – I believe that homeowners should be more towards the 12 month or more range, as you never know when you might need to make an emergency repair right now.  Also, if you become unemployed, it seems that the older we get the more time there is in between jobs.  This plus many more scenarios could make you rely on this emergency fund.  Start or increase yours today.

Savings – the more the better!  You can never have too much savings.  Automate your savings and pay yourself first.  Have your savings deducted from your paycheck each and every paycheck – that’s the pay yourself first part.  You need to do this, as there is never money left over to save.  Living off what’s left is the way to go.  Remember to increase this amount often (at least every time your get a raise).  If you haven’t do this start small – maybe $20 / paycheck and keep increasing this.  I would love for you to aim for a minimum of 10% of your income.

Food – this one is a hard one.  I know that we spend a lot on our food budget.  Maybe you think this way too.  I personally have tried different ways to keep this under control – from vegetable gardening, to only buying with cash, to sticking to lists (meal planners and grocery lists), but it’s tempting to spend more – that are so many items (not on my list) that we seem to want.

For a general guideline of what percentage of your check should be, check out this article from Every Dollar.  Remember that these are suggestions and you can tweak them to fit your lifestyle.

 

Teens and Money Class

If you want to teach your teens about personal finances, I am teaching a class at Norwalk Community College in Norwalk, CT specifically for teens.

It’s a five day class the week of July 15, 2019 from 1:00 to 4:00 pm.

For more information or to register your teen, call 203-857-7080 or please visit Norwalk Community College.

Last year this class filled quickly and we turned teens away, so don’t wait to register!

Ready To Make A Big Purchase

We recently purchased a replacement car.  We bought my 1995 Jeep in September 1994 and we felt it  was time to get another car.

Here are the steps we took before making the purchase:

  • Started to look at cars to determine what manufacturer and model we were interested in (looking a pricing)
  • Reviewed our finances – how much can we put down as a down payment, how much can we afford as a monthly payment, etc?
  • Reviewed our credit to make sure all is well
  • Looked at car loan interest rates from several sources to determine rates and terms
  • Unfroze it to make it accessible to the lender for a car loan

All this took place over about a four month time frame.  Once we determined what car – brand and model, we did our online research for deals (the model and miles).  We wanted to be ready to move as soon as we found the car we wanted.  It had been a long time since we purchased a car, so we weren’t sure what we wanted in an SUV and we were open to most car manufacturers.  This made the search process long, but I knew when we found what we wanted we would be ready.

And it happened a couple of weeks ago, we found the perfect SUV for me.  A couple of years old (2016) with hardly any miles (less than 4,000), certified pre-owned and an extended warranty.  That was the car for me. Saw it on a Thursday and make the decision on Friday – all our preparation made us ready to go.  We picked up the car the following week.