As a financial educator, I travel quite a bit in order to provide onsite workplace financial education on a variety of topics. In fact, some months I am on the road more than I am at home. I’ve been to almost every state, even including Hawaii! Continue reading “On The Road Again”
My husband was ecstatic last weekend as the winning bidder of four Ravens tickets at a silent auction. The silent auction was part of a fundraiser for my friend’s niece, Melissa, who has been suffering from a rare illness that left her paralyzed from the waist down. Her story captured the attention of the local newspaper, then went viral when she was the featured recipient of Chive Charities for Hope for a Home. When I made the check out to pay for the Ravens tickets, I was told to make it payable for $350 to Melissa, but my check was miniscule compared to the over $388k raised altogether. I was so happy that Melissa’s fundraiser had been such an amazing success, but I was also concerned about the consequences these donations might have on her since I was writing the check directly to her. Continue reading “Charitable Intentions With Potentially Uncharitable Results”
Want to win a $50 gift card? By taking the America Saves Pledge and agreeing to receive text messages with tips to help you find money to save and reminders to save for your specific goal, you will be entered to win 1 of 5 $50 gift cards during the month of October. You’ll be joining over 310,000 people who have pledged to save so far, and even if you don’t get the gift card, you will win by staying motivated to save. Continue reading “Take the America Saves Pledge”
When I bought a gently used SUV last year, it came with a 6 month free trial of SiriusXM radio. Unlike my husband, I don’t have to listen to the sports channels, but I did get used to spending up to 3 hours of a long drive with Dr. Laura. When my free trial expired, I called to cancel – I had even written the date down in my dayplanner to make sure I didn’t auto renew – but couldn’t resist the offer to extend my subscription for another 6 months for only $39.99. Continue reading “Are You Sirius? How Much Was I Paying for XM Radio?”
I’ve just returned from a girl’s weekend vacation with a group of 5 friends who I have known for ages, a few going back as far as elementary school. Now we share pictures of grandkids who are about the same age as when some of us first met. Since I’m the number cruncher, I got the task of tallying up the tip and dividing the bill when we went out for a meal, and when the conversation turned to buying new homes or college costs, I was always asked to weigh in with my “professional opinion.” Continue reading “Yes, I’m A Finance Geek”
For the past several months, many of my friends and co-workers have been hinting that it is time for me to upgrade to a new cellphone. I wasn’t quite at the same point as comedian Bill Hader in the commercials where he has bandages on every finger due to a broken screen, but I did sound like a broken record from another cell phone commercial as I repeatedly would say “Can you hear me, can you hear me now?” My biggest hesitation in getting a new phone was having to get locked into yet another 2-year contract with my current carrier if I took the bait of their 99 cent upgrade offer. Instead, I finally took action and went contract-free, but that entailed having to pay outright for a decent smartphone. Since I don’t have to be totally cutting edge, I went for the iPhone 4 instead of the iPhone 5 and here’s where I will save in the long run: Continue reading “Contract Free at Last”
Do you have a last wish? I hadn’t given it much thought until last weekend, when I sadly had to attend a memorial of a friend who died unexpectedly at the early age of 48. Tom left behind a wife, a grown son, and his childhood best friend John, who he’d stayed close with for over 40 years of their lives. Continue reading “Your Last Wish”
My husband Dave recently broke up with our family dentist, and it wasn’t his idea. He felt jilted when he got a letter in the mail a few months ago notifying him that Dr. Muller was no longer going to participate as an in-network provider through his employer’s group dental insurance. In the letter, Dr. Muller encouraged patients to continue to see him, just not with the advantage of the negotiated rates. Would it really make that much of a difference? Continue reading “The Importance of Staying In-Network”
Although I haven’t sold insurance or investments for almost a decade in my role as a financial educator, my happiest client from those days is my dad, who purchased a deferred variable annuity from me. There is quite a bit of negative press about the high fees and long surrender charges with some annuities, but what makes my dad a satisfied investor are the safety nets provided from the benefits riders that can amount to an alphabet soup of abbreviations. So what is an annuity, and how does it help my dad sleep at night without worrying about his money? Continue reading “ABCs of Annuities”
Fall has arrived, and that means open enrollment is just right around the corner. For many employees, this provides the window of opportunity to sign up for either an HSA or FSA in order to set aside pre-tax dollars for your out-of-pocket healthcare costs. Not quite sure what the difference is between these 2 types of accounts? Well, you are not alone. In a recent Fidelity survey, two-thirds of those surveyed said they simply do not understand how an HSA works and “a full 73 percent of respondents said an HSA is pretty much the same thing as a health FSA or were unsure, and the ‘use it or lose it’ provision of FSAs was one of the most commonly misunderstood differences between the account types.” Continue reading “Do You Know the Difference Between an HSA and an FSA?”
One of my favorite things about summer is fresh corn so I’m fortunate to have an Amish neighbor who runs Briar Hollow Farm Market, where I can buy it within walking distance from my house. When I first met the Stoltzfus family, I was amazed at their simple way of living. We can learn a lot from the Amish way of life though. Continue reading “Financial Lessons From the Amish”
I’ve just hung up the phone after calling my local hair salon to schedule an appointment with Michelle, my favorite stylist. Apparently, she’s not just my favorite – due to her popularity, she’s been promoted to an “elite stylist.” So what does that mean to me? Her prices have just gone up 20%. My cut, color, and highlights will now cost me $185 if I still want to work with her. Continue reading “4 Ways to Trim Your Haircut Costs”
I got a call from a friend this weekend who wanted me to join her for a Mexican vacation. She’d just booked a deal that was a one day only special so I’d need to act fast! For just $399, my husband and I could stay at a luxury resort in Cabo San Lucas for 5 nights. Even better, it was all inclusive with food, drinks, and entertainment for BOTH of us at that one low price. But there’s just one small catch – I’d have to take a timeshare tour. Continue reading “Cabo for $399?”
Have you ever been tempted by one of the many infomercials shown on TV for some electronic device or other product that claims to make our life so much easier? Whether it’s the Thigh Master , Snuggie, or MagicJack, it can be yours for a bargain price plus shipping and handling. I’ve typically resisted the temptation to buy due to that added cost of shipping and handling, but when my local department store added an “as seen on TV” section, I couldn’t pass up the chance to buy a few items I’d seen advertised over and over on TV. Continue reading “Don’t Believe Everything You See On TV”
Instead of leaving your wedding guests behind at the reception hall as you head to the airport for your honeymoon with cans dragging behind the limo, consider dragging your guests along to your honeymoon destination with you. Take a cue from my niece and start your honeymoon early by having your wedding where you’d like to vacation. This month, 85 of us will all be traveling to Virginia Beach to witness her marriage on the sand. Continue reading “Pack Your Bags For a Destination Wedding”
I wrote last month about the two happiest days in a boater’s life, but for me, last Saturday was not one of those happy days. A beautiful day boating on the Chesapeake Bay took a turn for the worse when I had the duty of pulling up the anchor after a nice day of hanging out at our favorite swimming spot. As I tugged on the rope, the anchor snapped free! Anchors are expensive to replace, plus we had now added to the pollution of the bay. Continue reading “Anchor Away”
Hardcore shoppers know to be on the lookout for BOGO deals, which means you “buy one, get one” free or half price. My latest score under a BOGO deal was at the grocery store, where Purex laundry detergent was buy one, get one free and priced at $3.39. Extreme couponers can make BOGO deals even better by adding a coupon on top of the sale. It had never occurred to me that I could use two coupons, one for each bottle of detergent, even though I was getting one free – until I watched Extreme Couponing on TLC. Since I also had two $1 off coupons for Purex, the net price for TWO bottles of laundry detergent came to only $1.39! Continue reading “Do You BOGO?”
Back in early 1999, as Internet stocks were all the rage, I invested that year’s Roth IRA into the Putnam New Opportunities Fund, which had double digit returns for their 1 and 3 year historical performance. Now, I know past returns don’t indicate future performance, and I also had that little voice in the back of my mind that was saying it was too good to be true, BUT the Putnam wholesaler had recently visited my office and was saying how hot the fund was, and as a broker myself, I was able to buy in at NAV, meaning I didn’t have to pay the front end sales charge. I couldn’t resist. Continue reading “Following the Herd to My Worst Investment Ever”
My phone rang last Friday night just as I was heading out for the evening. “Hi, this is John. I’m calling to confirm a delivery.” I started to talk to John since his recorded voice had me fooled. John went on to say that my medical alert device was waiting to be shipped and to press 1 to verify my address. Since I hadn’t ordered any type of medical equipment, I quickly hung up. Continue reading “Hi, This Is John…”
As summer heats up, my husband becomes very popular with the neighbors. He’s known as “Mr. Fix It” when it comes to their air conditioning units, and his two decades in the HVAC industry has kept both the temperature and the cost down for several of our streetmates. He’s always willing to take time to help out, even though the phone or doorbell rings just as we are getting ready to head out for our own summer fun. Here are his tips to keep your air conditioner running: Continue reading “Keep Your Temperature and A/C Costs Down This Summer”
