Let's Talk Money!
Until Next Time,
Testing A New Look
Monday, April 5, 2010
We are gearing up to start a new blogging experience for everyone. We hope you participate and join in the discussions by adding your comment/take on any given post.
Let's Talk Money!
Until Next Time,
Let's Talk Money!
Until Next Time,
Getting Your Finances In Shape
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Along with your Goal setting for the New Year, consider taking a full day aimed at taking a break from your business of life, work, household duties, and put together a financial to-do list that will reap financial rewards in the year to come.
Here are some of the things on the financial task list to consider doing on this “Financial Health Day”:
• Open a high-yield savings account. Why should your savings languish in a low- or no-yield account? (Check into ING online.)
• Get a cash-back credit card. Now we don’t recommend credit cards in general, but if you use one, why not have one that benefits you with rewards or cash back that you WILL use. The key is to always be sure you pay off your balance each month…or else, cut it up! (Go to www.bankrate.com and check into credit card offers.)
• Shop for cheaper insurance. Check into health, life, home and auto. (We personally used Bob Adams of HomeStars in Plant City, and saved about $600/year by making some smart changes.)
• Cut back on phone service/ Change the family cell phone plan. Consider getting rid of phone features you never used but for which you are paying a monthly fee. This may take some amount of time, as there may be long waits and/or many different departments needed to check with.
• Make progress on getting a will completed. If you don’t have a will…do it now! At a bare minimum, go to LegalForms.com and get a bare bones basic one.
• Fill out a “here-is-what-you-need-to-know-about-our-finances-if-I-die” form. This is a wonderful thing for your family to have during an emotionally wrenching time. Ask your husband to do this for you as a gift of love.
• Set up automatic monthly contributions to non-profit groups. Maybe this will end your “end-of-the-year scramble to get donations out.”
• Check gift cards to see how much money is left on them; then go ahead and spend that money! The longer gift cards sit you may start to accrue a monthly fee if you don’t use them soon, as well as the bigger chance of you misplacing the card.
• Organize insurance paperwork. Many of us are adrift in a sea of forms that need to be sorted and organized. Take the time to get a system in place that will help you get organized and more efficient.
• Back up your computer. A preventative step that can save you down the road: make sure your computer has an ongoing backup plan in place — either to an external hard drive or to a vendor such as Carbonite.com. There’s a good chance a crashed computer will cost more to restore than one of these systems. It only takes this to happen to you once for this to mean something!
• Asking the cable company for a lower rate. Doesn’t hurt to ask…sometimes they give it to you.
• Automating payment of bills for insurance, electricity, gas, water. This is a significant time saver.
• Setting up an auto-draft for monthly savings. Easy to do online.
• Closing any unused/old bank accounts. Why keep what you don’t need?
• Find an online budgeting system, or some budgeting software. Should be one that you will use and be proactive to track not only your expenses but to have a spending PLAN and track how much you have in each category – not just your checkbook balance. (Mint.com, Crown Money Map software)
If you truly take the time to evaluate where you stand financially and do a check up each year in these areas, you can comfortably estimate that the time invested in tackling her to-do list will pay off each year in savings and earnings. It helps you to reevaluate decisions and prevent the money leaks or drains that have come on unnoticed and gradually into our lives. It’s a reality shock and a chance to get back on track.
Of course, no two people will achieve exactly the same savings. But for most of us, taking the time to do a financial checkup (even just one day out of the year) is well worth the investment of time. Indeed, the return could be so substantial you might even start looking forward to facing your financial to-do list and getting more fiscally fit.
Until Next Time,
Here are some of the things on the financial task list to consider doing on this “Financial Health Day”:
• Open a high-yield savings account. Why should your savings languish in a low- or no-yield account? (Check into ING online.)
• Get a cash-back credit card. Now we don’t recommend credit cards in general, but if you use one, why not have one that benefits you with rewards or cash back that you WILL use. The key is to always be sure you pay off your balance each month…or else, cut it up! (Go to www.bankrate.com and check into credit card offers.)
• Shop for cheaper insurance. Check into health, life, home and auto. (We personally used Bob Adams of HomeStars in Plant City, and saved about $600/year by making some smart changes.)
• Cut back on phone service/ Change the family cell phone plan. Consider getting rid of phone features you never used but for which you are paying a monthly fee. This may take some amount of time, as there may be long waits and/or many different departments needed to check with.
• Make progress on getting a will completed. If you don’t have a will…do it now! At a bare minimum, go to LegalForms.com and get a bare bones basic one.
• Fill out a “here-is-what-you-need-to-know-about-our-finances-if-I-die” form. This is a wonderful thing for your family to have during an emotionally wrenching time. Ask your husband to do this for you as a gift of love.
• Set up automatic monthly contributions to non-profit groups. Maybe this will end your “end-of-the-year scramble to get donations out.”
• Check gift cards to see how much money is left on them; then go ahead and spend that money! The longer gift cards sit you may start to accrue a monthly fee if you don’t use them soon, as well as the bigger chance of you misplacing the card.
• Organize insurance paperwork. Many of us are adrift in a sea of forms that need to be sorted and organized. Take the time to get a system in place that will help you get organized and more efficient.
• Back up your computer. A preventative step that can save you down the road: make sure your computer has an ongoing backup plan in place — either to an external hard drive or to a vendor such as Carbonite.com. There’s a good chance a crashed computer will cost more to restore than one of these systems. It only takes this to happen to you once for this to mean something!
• Asking the cable company for a lower rate. Doesn’t hurt to ask…sometimes they give it to you.
• Automating payment of bills for insurance, electricity, gas, water. This is a significant time saver.
• Setting up an auto-draft for monthly savings. Easy to do online.
• Closing any unused/old bank accounts. Why keep what you don’t need?
• Find an online budgeting system, or some budgeting software. Should be one that you will use and be proactive to track not only your expenses but to have a spending PLAN and track how much you have in each category – not just your checkbook balance. (Mint.com, Crown Money Map software)
If you truly take the time to evaluate where you stand financially and do a check up each year in these areas, you can comfortably estimate that the time invested in tackling her to-do list will pay off each year in savings and earnings. It helps you to reevaluate decisions and prevent the money leaks or drains that have come on unnoticed and gradually into our lives. It’s a reality shock and a chance to get back on track.
Of course, no two people will achieve exactly the same savings. But for most of us, taking the time to do a financial checkup (even just one day out of the year) is well worth the investment of time. Indeed, the return could be so substantial you might even start looking forward to facing your financial to-do list and getting more fiscally fit.
Until Next Time,
Show Your Love
One of the best ways you men can show your love to not only your wife but to your family is by leaving them a “Love Drawer” or a “Love File”. It has been called a few different names, but the meaning is still the same…share all of your financial information with your family in one place so in your absence they could carry on without any problems or hassle.
Dave Ramsey calls it a “Legacy Drawer” and says: What’s the Point?
There are a few big reasons to have a Legacy Drawer:
• Leave no hassle or fuss. When you die, your family will be overcome with grief. The last thing they need at that point is to have to sort through a mess of papers and forms to find out what happens to your estate. By organizing everything into one simple place, they can find what they need when they need it without getting stressed out.
• Organize other areas of your life. When you realize that you don’t have a monthly budget (one of the things that goes into the Legacy Drawer), it can motivate you to sit down with your spouse and make one. Also, a Legacy Drawer can get you to open up emotionally to your family.
• Communicate with your family. If you communicate to your spouse, children or other loved ones about what to do with your things when you die, it can help you talk to them about other important things.
Until Next Time,
There are a few big reasons to have a Legacy Drawer:
• Leave no hassle or fuss. When you die, your family will be overcome with grief. The last thing they need at that point is to have to sort through a mess of papers and forms to find out what happens to your estate. By organizing everything into one simple place, they can find what they need when they need it without getting stressed out.
• Organize other areas of your life. When you realize that you don’t have a monthly budget (one of the things that goes into the Legacy Drawer), it can motivate you to sit down with your spouse and make one. Also, a Legacy Drawer can get you to open up emotionally to your family.
• Communicate with your family. If you communicate to your spouse, children or other loved ones about what to do with your things when you die, it can help you talk to them about other important things.
Until Next Time,
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