How Not Eating a Marshmallow is Key to Financial Success

February 16, 2012

I recently read this interesting Reason magazine interview with New York Times science writer John Tierney, co-author of the new book Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength. The interview starts with an explanation of the famous “marshmallow test” experiment in which 4-yr olds were given a marshmallow and told that they could eat it but that they would get two marshmallows if they waited 15 minutes before eating. The kids who were able to resist eating the marshmallow not only got a second one but ended up doing better in school and in their lives in general. Continue reading “How Not Eating a Marshmallow is Key to Financial Success”

Are You Paying Too Much On Your Phone Bill?

January 26, 2012

We often review people’s budgets  to help them find savings and one area that I consistently find people spending more than they probably need to is on their phone bill. The average landline bill is probably only about $20 but most people also have a cell phone bill that averages about $50 per month. As people switch to smartphones with more expensive data plans, that cell bill will only increase. The average smartphone user now spends over $100 per month. Continue reading “Are You Paying Too Much On Your Phone Bill?”

Is Love Draining Your Money?

January 16, 2012

This is an extreme example. I’ll say that right up front but there are lessons here we can all take away.  Yesterday, I took a call to our financial helpline from a caller who was having trouble making ends meet.  She said that she made good money but was always scrambling at the end of the month to get her bills paid.  As I always do, I started asking her questions not only to get to the root of the problem but to tap into her strengths.  Building on people’s strengths is a much better way to achieve real behavior change than to focus on only the problem and the obstacles.  Anyway, long story short, the root of the problem soon emerged. Continue reading “Is Love Draining Your Money?”

What Can Superbowl Ads Teach Us About Financial Decisions?

January 13, 2012

I just read this article about NBC selling out all of its Super Bowl ad inventory.  $3.5 MILLION is the average price for each 30 second ad!!!  Wow, that’s a lot of money.  (Unless you’re in Congress where even $3.5 Billion doesn’t seem like a whole lot of money…..)  What do the companies who purchase these ads get?  A big audience and the chance to make a memorable ad that hopefully drives customers to purchase more of their product or use their service are their rewards.  But $3,500,000????  Really????  That’s a big expense for any company.  For some companies, it pays off.  For others, it’s not very effective.  So, spending money isn’t always the best choice!  (Are you listening, Washington D.C.?)  In our own lives we can incur big expenses.  The question we have to answer is if it’s the right choice. Continue reading “What Can Superbowl Ads Teach Us About Financial Decisions?”

How to Turn Your Investment Lemons Into Lemonade in the Next Two Days

December 29, 2011

We usually wait until April 15th to worry about taxes, but the time to do something about them is mostly well before that. Some examples include contributing to your employer’s retirement plan and flexible spending accounts. But there is also one thing that you can do right now if you have investment losses outside of your retirement plan.(I know I do and if you have any taxable investments, you probably do too). Here’s how you can turn losses into extra cash on April 15th: Continue reading “How to Turn Your Investment Lemons Into Lemonade in the Next Two Days”

The Cure for the Financial Hangover

December 28, 2011

Now that the holidays are behind us, do you find yourself carrying a few extra financial “pounds?”  That is, did you put so much of your holiday shopping on plastic that you end up starting the New Year carrying a balance on your credit card?  If so, then you’re probably not alone.  According to First Data, credit card use among holiday shoppers soared, and continued use could make the problem worse.  The good news is that there is a cure to the financial hangover.  It begins with a commitment to get rid of the debt, followed by a plan for reducing it.  To help you get started, here are some simple steps you can take to start shedding the financial weight: Continue reading “The Cure for the Financial Hangover”

Surviving the Holiday Season

December 22, 2011

Opening gifts may be fun but opening the credit bills next month won’t be. No one wants to start off the New Year deeper in debt, but too often that’s exactly what happens. Here are some ways to survive the holiday season without turning into the Grinch: Continue reading “Surviving the Holiday Season”

FSA: Use It, Don’t Lose It – 5 Ways to Use Your FSA by Year End

December 12, 2011

As the year comes to a close, many people are decorating their homes for the holidays and stocking up their pantries for company.  Others who have Flexible Spending Accounts are scheduling colonoscopies instead!  What gives?  Since the FSA has a “use it or lose it” clause, the funds must be used for health purposes by the end of the year (however most plans give an extension for  6 – 8 weeks into next year).  So to take the full benefit of the funds set aside in the FSA, the funds must be spent soon. Continue reading “FSA: Use It, Don’t Lose It – 5 Ways to Use Your FSA by Year End”

Is Education the Next Bubble?

December 01, 2011

That may sound like a strange question but it’s one that a lot of people are beginning to ask. What makes a bubble a bubble is that it’s hard to tell when you’re in it until it’s too late. Let’s take a look at the housing bubble. It was based on widespread faith in home ownership as a key pillar of the American Dream that had paid off well for previous generations. It was then fueled with artificially cheap credit and government incentives that led millions of people to stretch their budget and buy as much home as they could with the expectation that rising home prices would make it a great long-term investment, even if they were barely able to afford those mortgage payments. Besides, owning a nice big home is so much fun! Substitute education for housing and student loans for mortgages, and you pretty much have the current state of higher education. Continue reading “Is Education the Next Bubble?”

The Wardrobe Capsule – A Smart Way to Look Fabulous While Spending Less

November 28, 2011

I had never heard of a wardrobe capsule until last week.  I’ve heard of time capsules, of course.  In high school, my friend and I put together a “memories time capsule” to remember the academic, social and athletic events of our high school years.  Turns out the time we spent documenting the music was a waste of time.  Who knew that today we’d all be listening to classic rock anyways?  A favorite “music” memory of mine was going through a fast food drive-thru with my two pre-teen sons while Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Freebird came on the radio.  I excitedly told them how cool the song was and I could see them through the rear view mirror rolling their eyes at how completely out of touch their Mother was until, of course, we got to the famous guitar solo.  They changed their tune after that. (Pun intended.) Continue reading “The Wardrobe Capsule – A Smart Way to Look Fabulous While Spending Less”

Holiday Season: An Encouraging Sign

November 25, 2011

If you watch the news on a regular basis, it can get a little bit depressing.  Economic uncertainty, both here and abroad, seems to dominate the daily news cycle.  It feels like the stock market moves up and down (but the downs are far more noticeable!) because of news events in Greece or the failure of a Super-Committee (it never felt Super!) to reach a deal that was good for the fiscal state of the country.  In the midst of watching a bunch of pundits talk about how dire the consequences are for the Super-Committee’s failure, I hopped online to see if I could find a good news story.  Fortunately, I found this!  Continue reading “Holiday Season: An Encouraging Sign”

How to Enjoy Black Friday without Going into the Red

November 21, 2011

Black Friday has been a shopping tradition for many years.  I remember when my son, Brian, was a baby and we were visiting my parents, he was rather fussy and was driving my father crazy.  So the day after Thanksgiving, he went into town to purchase a baby swing at Toys R Us ®.  That was 23 years ago and he hasn’t forgotten it!  He thought the baby was fussy, Black Friday shoppers are in a league of their own – they were then and they are now, so he now knows to stay out of the way or stay home.  He did come home with a swing which made the rest of our Thanksgiving holiday weekend much more pleasant. Continue reading “How to Enjoy Black Friday without Going into the Red”

Emergency or Disaster?

November 18, 2011

I don’t know how much the rest of the country paid attention to a very early snowstorm in the Northeast, but I had to pay attention to it.  It was a big part of the last week or so of my life.  I travel to Connecticut a lot and nearly the entire state was without power for a few days.  Those days happened to coincide with the dates that I was supposed to be there.  Have you ever tried to call a hotel that doesn’t have power to confirm your reservation?  I hadn’t until this storm hit.  And, since I couldn’t reach them I kept my travel plans because I didn’t want to be a “no show” for the meetings that I was supposed to attend.  And, when I got within about an hour of my hotel, I got an email that my reservation was cancelled.  Perfect!  Here I am, far from home, close to where I’m supposed to be for work, and nothing in the area has electricity.  Fortunately, I have a phone full of contacts and I scrolled through my list to see who I could call as my Plan B.  Eventually, I found a place to sleep that had electricity, which means HOT water for the shower! Continue reading “Emergency or Disaster?”

3 Ways to Save when Holiday Shopping for Kids

November 09, 2011

There are 46 shopping days left until Christmas, and if you’re anything like me, nothing squashes your holiday spirit faster than being at the mall standing in line to purchase overpriced merchandise on Christmas eve with a thousand other people, and I refuse to get up at 3 AM on black Friday to go out and get the best “deals” when I could be home eating Thanksgiving leftovers with the family.  That said, the Christmas shopping will eventually have to get done, and in tough economic times such as these, we have to come up with ways to shop smarter.  Here are some ideas we at the Ward family have adopted to help make the holidays a time of joy, and not a recipe for financial woe: Continue reading “3 Ways to Save when Holiday Shopping for Kids”

Travel Tips from a Frequent Traveler

November 03, 2011

One of the things I do a lot as a planner at Financial Finesse is travel. I have to go up to our office in LA for training sessions (training never ends at Financial Finesse, even for the trainer) and meetings. I also travel all over the country to facilitate workshops, meet with employees for individual consultations, and occasionally film a video. As you might have picked up from reading my blog, I consider myself to be quite frugal and like to get as much value from my money (or Financial Finesse’s in this case), so here are some travel tips I can share with you for your next trip: Continue reading “Travel Tips from a Frequent Traveler”

The Right Way to Save 15% or More on Car Insurance

November 02, 2011

A few months ago I received my annual notice from my auto insurance company that my auto policy was up for renewal.  I pay my auto insurance premium monthly, and to make it easy, I have it automatically drafted from my checking account.  When I first took out the policy, the insurance company I chose was one of the more competitive pricewise.  However, over the last several years I’ve noticed that my monthly premium has slowly been going up.  Now, I would expect the cost of coverage to increase with inflation, plus we purchased a newer car a few years ago, but the most recent increase was way more than I expected, so I started shopping around.  I did end up finding a new company to insure my vehicles, but not without learning a few things along the way. Continue reading “The Right Way to Save 15% or More on Car Insurance”

Are You Married to a Spender?

October 31, 2011

What do you do if you are married to a spender and you are a saver?  Last week I met a woman (I’ll call her Paula) during a worksite financial planning session, and she complained about this very thing.  Having money in savings is a high priority for her – she has four months of emergency funds saved and has a dent in the down payment for their future house.  She is recently married to a spender (I’ll call him Rick) and is starting to feel resentful because the burden for saving is on her. Continue reading “Are You Married to a Spender?”

Why We Should Tune Out the Politicians

October 28, 2011

As someone who travels a lot for work, I spend a lot of time in hotel rooms.  And, each hotel has a very different TV lineup, so it’s impossible for me to ever remember if ESPN is on channel 29, 53, 37, or 6.  (Yeah, there are bigger problems, but knowing what channel ESPN is on is important to me!)  And, a part of my night is flipping through the dial to check out what’s going on in the world outside of sports.  I’m a bit of a news junkie too.  In the latest trip around the dials (are there even radios or TV’s with dials anymore?), I was fascinated by all of the tax proposals I saw being talked about.  You’ve all heard that the only 2 things that are certain in this life are death and taxes.  I agree that those are absolute certainties, but I think there are a few other things that can be counted on.  One of them is politicians with plans. Continue reading “Why We Should Tune Out the Politicians”