Jill Russo Foster

Tips for Successful Personal Finances

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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.

 

Upcoming Workshops

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Now that we are gearing up for the fall, I wanted to share with you some workshops I am teaching at Norwalk Community College (Norwalk, CT) in the Extended Studies Dept in the Fall term.

Take Control Of Your Finances

Welcome To The Real World: Teens and Money

Budgeting For The Fluctuating Income

For more information and/or to register click here.

Teens and Money

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Last week I had the honor of teaching a Teens and Money class at Norwalk Community College – 5 afternoons of teens in grades 9 to 12.

We discussed money management, credit, credit cards, banking, car buying, paying for college, budgeting and more. Teaching teens is a passion of mine.  This is something they don’t seem to be getting elsewhere.

Here are two of the teen comments:

  • I definitely learned a lot about money and how to pay for college and a car.
  • I liked the hands on simulations, like the dilemma packets we were given free range with, so that we could play with the elements of rela life situations in a safe setting.

Make sure to talk with your children about money and finances, so they can make educated choices based on knowledge that are right for them, making them look at their choices both the pros and cons.

If you are in the area, I will be teaching a shorten version of this class on Saturday, October 20 at NCC.  To register, call NCC at 203-857-7237.

Money Habits To Avoid (Part 1)

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In my opinion, there are seven money habits you want to avoid.

 

You may be currently doing these or have done them in the past (and I have been guilty of them myself), but now is the time to break the habits and get on with your finances.

  1. Lending Money — I think we all did this at some point in our lives, whether it be loaning $5 to a friend and not getting paid back, or lending more. Not only does this put a strain on your finances but it can affect your friendship. Make a resolution to give up lending. If you want to help someone out, then make it a gift with no repayment expectations.

 

  1. Spending It All — Yes, you know what I am talking about — living paycheck to paycheck. We all have choices we make with our finances — whether to spend this today or save for tomorrow. Budgeting is about choices that your make. So make the choice to not spend it all and save. Making this decision is the first step to starting to save and the next step is to actually do it (automate the savings process to make it foolproof).

Check out the next two posts to find out the rest of the Money Habits To Avoid.

Take Your Child To The Library Day!

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This is a great memory from my childhood.  I loved going with my mom to the library and taking out a book.  In fact, I still use the local library and read many books each year.

In honor of Take Your Child To The Library Day which is February 3, 2018, I am offering you a 20% discount on my book Cash, Credit and Your Finances: The Teen Years from now until February 3.  For $20.00 you can purchase a copy of my book directly from me, have it personalized to your recipient and it including priority shipping.  This is only available from my website. Click here to purchase.

Voted “Best Teen Book” by Radical Parenting Teen Team

The Perfect Teen Gift

Help your kids:

  • Cope with product advertising
  • Understand that credit isn’t magic money.
  • Develop strong short-term budgeting skills
  • Create a long-term financial plan

Cash, Credit, and Your Finances: The Teen Years looks at finances through the eyes of five different teenagers. They all have things they want and need, but they all handle their money differently.  Some will succeed and some will give up… which one do you want your child to be?

Start your child off with the gift of reading and learning great money skills. Buy Cash, Credit and Your Finances: The Teen Years now!

Your Path to Great Credit

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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.

Good credit card debt

Reading your credit report

Budgeting

We’ll talk more about this tomorrow.

Testimonials

What people are saying about Jill
Jill’s advice was concise and to the point!
“Jill Russo Foster spoke tonight to a well-rounded group of parents, high school students and their siblings. She pointed out several good financial habits that anybody can relate to and everyone should live by. Her advice was concise and to the point — and she handed out relevant material to back up her practices such as budget worksheets. Not only was Jill talking from her own experience, but able to share experiences of others she has coached (anonymously, of course), and also able to address questions brought up to her, while making it relevant to everyone in the room. There was group interaction and all left with at least a few good tips to try out in the near future.”
Barbara Garelick
Co-President Parents Club,Brien McMahon High School
She empowers the audience with confidence!
“Jill Russo Foster is repeatedly requested to speak at the Women’s Mentoring Network, Inc. (WMN) workshops. She has presented a variety of topics including budgeting, understanding your credit score, credit card management, debt consolidation and organization tips. Her presentations are engaging, educational and practical. Whenever Jill presents, she shares a wealth of knowledge with our clients, giving everyone access to information, additional resources and practical tips that make a stressful and intimidating topic like money management easy to understand. She empowers the audience with the confidence and tools to effectively manage their finances.During our WMN “Healthier Finances” workshop series, Jill spoke to parents about “Teaching Your Children About Money Management”. The parents left the workshop knowing that they have something extremely valuable to pass onto future generations, and eager to have the conversations with the children about budgeting, earning and saving. Information is power!”
Catherine Dumas
Director of Client Services, Women’s Mentoring Network

I recommend Jill!                                                                                                                                                           “I first met Jill when she was a client of the Women’s Business Development Council (WBDC). I got to know her, and in 2011 asked Jill to join the WBDC team as our Financial Education Specialist (Consultant).  At that time we had just launched our Personal Financial program. She presented numerous workshops, managed our budgeting program and personally coached clients on budgeting, credit, debt reduction and more. She also assisted in the management of our volunteer coaches and clients.

Jill also worked with WBDC on a program that we participated in with Norwalk Community College. Here Jill again, served as a Budget Coach to students with the ultimate goal of obtaining a Bachelor Degree and personal financial security.

I recommend Jill to your company or organization for a personal finance workshop or to coach you on your personal finances. She is very responsive, accountable and personally a lovely person. She cares deeply about her work and her clients.”

Marian Cicolello

 

High School Students from an Accounting Class

“Thank you for taking the time out of your morning to come present to my class about credit cards.  All the information and resources handed out were very resourceful.  You taught me a lot of things I never knew before.”

“Thank you Ms. Foster.  I’m really going to try and rethink the way I spend my money”

“Thank you for taking time out of your morning to come present to my class about credit cards.  All of the information and resources handed out were all very resourceful.  You taught me a lot of things I never know before.”

 

Girls and Money

“Jill’s hands-on presentation to ten-year-old girls attending a summer program at Empower Her, Inc. was comprehensive and educational. The girls were exposed to “real-world” money education, which was based around budgeting and financial decision-making. The girls left the workshop with a better understanding of what their financial futures might look like and tools to help them maintain their lifestyle while still paying their bills and saving money. Thanks, Jill!”

Danielle Beerli, MSW                                                                                                                                            Executive Director & Founder of Empower Her CT