I heard about a story from a friend and I didn’t believe it.So I went to a more reliable source than my friend’s text message, and I found this article about Illinois lottery winners receiving IOU’s rather than money. The lottery agency is a state run entity and the state has not passed a budget so winners of $25,000 or more are not getting paid right now. Continue reading “When Winning The Lottery Isn’t Really Winning”
Using credit cards that allow you to accumulate rewards or cash back is a great way to get more bang for your buck. It totally works as long as you start out with no credit card debt and stay that way. But this is also how many people end up in debt in the first place. (There’s a reason that card companies offer those plush rewards.)
Okay, I am going to call this Confession Tuesday. I have spoken to so many people that struggle with creating a budget. I can hear the guilt and even shame in what seems to them like their inability to live within their means. Continue reading “How To “Budget-Bust Proof” Your Spending Plan”
If you had to expose your finances or pictures of yourself wearing only your “birthday suit,” which one would you choose? A recent survey from MasterCard revealed that a majority of Americans are concerned about financial information and Social Security numbers being exposed. In fact, consumers said they were less concerned about having their email accounts hacked (62%) or having their home robbed (59%). Going back to that not-so-lovely thought of having your private pictures made not so private, 55 percent said they would rather have naked pictures exposed online than their personal financial information stolen. Continue reading “Are You Financially Exposed?”
I am a big fan of the KISS principle when it comes to having a written financial plan.No, I don’t mean the Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons version of KISS. (Although I’m a big fan of Rock & Brews every time I’m out in El Segundo, California.) I mean Keep It Simple Stupid (or keep it simple smarty-pants if the word “stupid” is deemed offensive in your household). Continue reading “Is Your Financial Plan Too Complicated?”
One of my favorite phrases with my friends after I say something that clearly isn’t all that brilliant is “Is there any wonder I’m still single?” Sometimes, I say things that are meant one way but interpreted another. At dinner the other night with a group of friends, I made a comment about needing to go outside for a potty break. Of course, I meant the dog but the way I said it made a few of the guests a wee bit nervous. Fortunately, my date understood what I meant and got a good laugh out of it. Continue reading “How Your Finances Can Affect Your Dating Life”
Which generation has the lowest average credit score? According to this article, it’s the Millennials, who have a 625 VantageScore vs 650 for Generation X and 709 for Baby Boomers. This is unfortunate since Millennials are the most likely to look for a new job or buy a home, which are two of the situations when having good credit can be most important. Continue reading “The Kids (Credit Scores) Are All Right”
One of the most common questions I get is how do I improve my credit score. There is so much information on the Internet that people cannot make heads or tails of it. I was talking to my buddy, Kelley, a fellow CFP(R) professional and CPA, and she offered great insight as to what really matters vs. what does not matter to your credit score. Below are her thoughts: Continue reading “What Really Matters To Your Credit”
My family and I are history buffs so we try to choose cities with lots of history to visit. This year, we chose St. Augustine, Fl. It is considered to be the oldest city in the country and is full of historical sites and museums that kept the kids entertained. Continue reading “What Alligators Taught Me About Budgeting”
In a conversation with another financial planner here at Financial Finesse, the subject of having college–age children elicited laughter as well as groans. Cynthia Meyer and I shared some stories about our past “adventures” in finance and some mistakes we made along the way. She was inspired enough to write this blog post: Continue reading “Money For Grown Ups”
One of my cousins came to see me excited over a meeting she recently had. If you know my cousin, she gets excited over air so I always have to proceed with caution every time she has wide eyes and a high pitched voice and looks like she is about to do a cartwheel. She was excited because she had just met with a credit repair company that promised that they can get all of her negative credit taken off her credit report and can get her score high enough so she could buy a home. Continue reading “DIY Credit Repair”
At the heart of the American culture is a sense of wanting to be free and independent, yet many find themselves slaves to their finances. It could be mounting medical bills, credit card debt, or simply an inability to save for future goals. If you’re like me, you don’t want to owe other people money, and you certainly don’t want to work for the rest of your life so how do we break free from these financial chains? It starts by declaring war on your financial adversaries. In the spirit of July 4th, here are a few things you can do to win your “financial” independence: Continue reading “Waging A Financial War For Independence”
This week is the last in the Financial Check-Up series and the final opportunity to enter your name in a random drawing for a personal financial planning consultation. Multiple entries are acceptable so be sure to like Financial Finesse on Facebook (or like this blog), tweet us on Twitter, or enter your comments below to enter your name for a professionally guided financial check-up. All entries received by Friday, June 19 at 11:59 PM will be entered into the drawing and the winner of the financial planning consultation will be announced next week. (If the winner prefers to “pay it forward” the consultation is transferable and may be gifted to a friend or family member.) Continue reading “Your 4 Week Financial Check-Up Challenge: Week 4”
A couple of weeks ago marked the beginning of a Four Week Financial Check-Up Challenge. For some, these “best practice” financial behaviors are a part of the daily routine and you already create world class budgeting spreadsheets and could teach classes on making every dollar count. For others, just the thought of getting financially naked and examining the state of your financial affairs is a bit overwhelming. Continue reading “Your 4 Week Financial Check-Up Challenge: Week 2”
Whether your main financial goal is to pay off debt, buy a home, or retire comfortably, chances are that saving money will be instrumental to achieving it. Yet too many of us just aren’t saving enough. Why is that? The following are the three main culprits I’ve found and what to do about them: Continue reading “3 Reasons You Probably Don’t Save Enough”
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you had to dip into your savings account or worse, pull out that credit card that you just paid off and use it for sudden car problems? When my husband and I were struggling financially, there were few areas in our finances that brought us to our knees the way that a potential car problem did. As my husband and I were reminiscing (really shuddering), he told me that if he had to talk to a couple struggling to manage their finances and their cars the following is what he would tell them: Continue reading “Don’t Let Car Problems Wreck Your Finances”
I recently met with a couple (let’s call them James and Julia) in their early-40’s with two young children. I could feel the stress and tension enter the room before they even took a seat in my office. If you’ve ever been around friends that were obviously not getting along, you probably recognize that feeling as all positive energy exits the room the moment the couple in distress enters. This couple’s debt-related stress was not just affecting their relationship, it was starting to impact their friends. Even more potentially devastating, debt-related stress was starting to take a toll on their physical health and well-being. Continue reading “Slaying the Three Headed Debt Monster”
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about 3 tools that can help you invest. But technology can also aide us with our day-to-day money management as well. Here are some of my favorite online tools for cash and credit management: Continue reading “5 Online Tools to Better Manage and Save Money”
Working as a financial planner gave me the opportunity to meet so many people and to hear their amazing stories as to how they became wealthy. Most came from humble means, from former refugees who did not speak English, to former teenage moms, to those that grew up in foster care. Their stories are an inspiration. Continue reading “Passing On Your Money Skills”
At a time where I love to look for good news stories to combat all the negativity I’ve seen in the press lately, comes a very good news story for consumers. The 3 major credit bureaus have agreed to overhaul how they handle medical debt in credit reports. I meet with a lot of people who are looking for ways to improve their credit score so that they can buy a car, buy a house, get the nod of approval on a new job or many other reasons. Often, we look at a credit report and the biggest negative is debt from a medical provider. What’s amazing to me is that over half of the debt on credit reports is unpaid medical debt. That is gigantic. Continue reading “Good News For Credit Scores”
