A Balanced Budget is a BIG Deal

May 04, 2011

While on vacation recently I had an opportunity to do something I don’t often find the time to do: think.  I had the chance to read the morning paper and scan a few of the opted articles that had differing viewpoints on a topic that seems to be getting a lot of attention these days: our nation’s debt and the importance of balancing the budget.  Now when I was in college, I had a roommate explain that the national debt really wasn’t that big of a deal because we essentially owed the money to ourselves, so who cares?  Well, I’m not really sure that’s how it works, so I wanted to spell out why the national debt and having a balance budget ARE BIG DEALS when it comes to our economy as a whole. Continue reading “A Balanced Budget is a BIG Deal”

It’s Wedding Season – Are Your Workers Daydreaming About Their Fairy-tale Day?

May 03, 2011
Royal kiss
Photo by americanistadechiapas/flickr

Now that Kate Middleton is officially the Dutchess of Cambridge, many of your workers are probably still in the midst of planning their own royal weddings as we enter the most popular months for weddings – May and June.  We Americans certainly don’t spend as much as the multi-million pound price tag of the Westminster Abbey royal ceremony, but we do spend an average of $20,000 on our own version of the wedding fairy-tale.  As the magic day approaches, your female workers might spend as much as 25% of their workdays planning their weddings, and my guess is the pending grooms spend less than a minute of their days even thinking about the event until the bachelor party begins. Continue reading “It’s Wedding Season – Are Your Workers Daydreaming About Their Fairy-tale Day?”

Reduce Financial Stress with Clarity and Direction

May 02, 2011

Overwhelming stress takes its toll.  Research shows that stress is the leading cause of disease and financial stress is the most common stressor.  Imagine the feeling of not making ends meet and not having a safety net – no emergency fund and high debt so you feel like you may never get out of it.  In our latest research, we studied stressed out employees who used our financial wellness assessment and found there were two things they all had in common — no emergency fund and high debt.  Maybe it was the combination of the two that put them over the edge of “high stress” to “overwhelming stress.” Continue reading “Reduce Financial Stress with Clarity and Direction”

Six Steps to Follow to Help Improve Your Credit Score

April 22, 2011

With the American economy still not firing on all cylinders, unemployment at very high levels (the rate only seems to come down when people have received the maximum number of weeks’ payments and fall out of the workforce altogether), and no sure signs of economic recovery imminent, it doesn’t surprise me that one of the topics that I talk about with people on a very regular basis is how to rebuild credit scores after a period of unemployment and falling significantly behind on debt obligations.  I don’t have any data to support this, but it seems like the average credit score of all Americans has probably dropped 100 points or more in the last several years.  (I think I just found a weekend research project for myself.  Yep, I just might need a hobby.) Continue reading “Six Steps to Follow to Help Improve Your Credit Score”

7 Steps to Follow after Losing a Loved One

April 20, 2011

My neighbor Mr. P passed away several weeks ago, and now I find myself in the difficult position of having to help Mrs. P sort through all the financial details.  Mr. P took care of all the financial decisions in their household, so you can imagine how upset and confused Mrs. P is right now.  While there are many important financial decisions that need to be made, very few need to be made right away.  Here are some steps to take following the loss of a loved one: Continue reading “7 Steps to Follow after Losing a Loved One”

Financial Planning: It Starts with a Simple Goal

April 15, 2011

When I read the article, Sumo Wrestler becomes Heaviest Man to Ever Finish Marathon, about a Sumo wrestler who ran and finished the Los Angeles marathon and in doing so became the world’s heaviest man to ever finish a marathon (~400 lbs.), I felt inspired.  If you look at most marathon runners, the LAST THING you think of is sumo wrestling.  When you look at sumo wrestlers, the last thing you think of is long distance aerobic exercise.  That’s what makes this story so interesting to me.  This guy (Kelly Gneiting), not only did something that most people would think he had no shot at doing, he has set the bar even higher.  He wants to swim the English Channel.  He knows how to set goals and not only achieve them but set them higher again after reaching the 1st goal.  Many people could learn a thing or two from him. Continue reading “Financial Planning: It Starts with a Simple Goal”

Top Ten Most “Foolish” Financial Decisions

April 06, 2011

It was only after my son Ethan got home from school and played an April Fools’ Day joke on me that I even realized it was April.  In the spirit of laughing at ourselves, I thought it would be fun to do my best David Letterman impression by offering what I consider to be the top ten most “foolish” financial decisions we make: Continue reading “Top Ten Most “Foolish” Financial Decisions”

Employee Communications: Last Minute Tax Tips

April 05, 2011

As I was conducting a workshop last week focusing on health insurance coverage, an employee asked if he could put additional money in his Health Savings Account (HSA) above and beyond what the employer contribution was.  “Of course!!” I said, and even better, if he made the contribution prior to April 18th it could be used as a deduction for his tax return NOW.  So it got me thinking about other tips that could be shared with employees over the next few weeks to help them muster through the chore of doing their taxes and save a few extra bucks. Continue reading “Employee Communications: Last Minute Tax Tips”

Retirement Preparedness: Don’t Work Until You are 70

April 04, 2011

I read an article today titled, How to Collect Social Security and Still Keep Working?,  and found myself yelling at the computer screen in a rant similar to what I have seen my husband perform during sporting events when his team is losing.  It is out of character for me but this article got me going.  The article gives details of how much you can earn at 62 and still collect your social security and goes on to explain how income from working affects your income after you hit your full social security age (for me that is 67)  but the whole premise to me is backwards.  We CAN collect Social Security and still keep working if we time it correctly and we don’t make too much money if we are under our “full” retirement age.  But seriously, do we really want to? Continue reading “Retirement Preparedness: Don’t Work Until You are 70”

College Planning: A Conversation that Might Save Me $100,000 or More

March 25, 2011

One night not too long ago my daughter and I had a really good conversation about life, choices people make, who we like in this year’s American Idol (James!), and why she thinks her milkshakes are better than any that you can buy at an ice cream shop.  I’m sure there were plenty of other topics discussed too, but those are the ones that I remember the most.  And, she REALLY can make a mean milkshake!  Hey, a dad has to make sure that his kids don’t lie, right??? Continue reading “College Planning: A Conversation that Might Save Me $100,000 or More”

College Planning: The Tax Benefits of Education

March 23, 2011

Today’s blog is the last in a series addressing the different pieces of the college planning puzzle.  Last week we looked at financial aid and basically determined that no matter how much or how little we save for college, financial aid (primarily in the form of loans) will help us make up the difference.  That should provide some relief, since we would like to think that our children can go to whatever school they want to no matter how expensive.  At the same time the idea of our kids (and us) being saddled with debt right out of college doesn’t always sit well with us.  So how do we reduce our dependency on financial aid when the amount saved is not enough?  This will probably come as a shock to you (and yes, I’m being facetious), but parents and students are expected to use some of their current income to help pay for college. Continue reading “College Planning: The Tax Benefits of Education”

Financial Planning: Paying for College

March 16, 2011

In last week’s blog entry I discussed some of the tax-free ways to save for education.  If you are able to save enough to fully pay for a child’s education then I tip my cap to you because that is an impressive feat.  Unfortunately, for most parents the amount they are able to save will only cover a portion (and in my case a small portion) of the full cost of education, so in this week’s blog entry I’ll focus on the next pillar of college planning known as (imagine the thunderous voice of Zeus as you read) FINANCIAL AID. Continue reading “Financial Planning: Paying for College”

Should I Pay Down My Debt or Save More for the Future?

March 10, 2011

There are questions in life where sometimes the best answer is “it depends” (how many times did we hear that when we were growing up?).  This is one of those questions, but I do have some solid guidelines that can help you make a decision on this question.

First, take a hard look at the interest rates you’re currently paying on your debt as well as what you are getting on your savings accounts.  In most cases Continue reading “Should I Pay Down My Debt or Save More for the Future?”

Healthy and Wealthy

March 07, 2011

I always had a suspicion that health and wealth had a direct correlation but it’s not quite what I expected.  It comes down to cash – cold hard cash.  Who knew?

A recent study published in the Journal of Consumer Research cites that people who pay for groceries with credit or debit cards buy more impulsive and unhealthy items than those with cash.  This may be due to the “pain of payment” according to the researcher Manoj Thomas. Continue reading “Healthy and Wealthy”

Is a Reverse Mortgage Right for Me?

March 03, 2011

It seems that every retirement planning workshop I do lately, this question rears its head.  Used to be not too long ago many people didn’t know what a reverse mortgage even was (Quick definition of a Reverse Mortgage: A special type of home equity loan for persons 62 and older.  The loan proceeds can be in the form of a lump sum, cash advance, or a line of credit.  The loan does not usually have to be repaid during the homeowner’s lifetime, which is why it is often used by retirees.)  Now that people are aware of this investment product, it has suddenly started becoming a first choice answer to retirement security for some people. Continue reading “Is a Reverse Mortgage Right for Me?”

Frugal vs. Cheap: How to Tell the Difference

February 25, 2011

In my prior blog, Car Buying: A Way to Save a Fortune, I talked about how I like to be a bit frugal when it comes to buying my cars.  Many of my friends have read that blog and, of course since they’re my friends, they aren’t afraid to chime in and tell me what points I failed to make.  With friends like that…well, you know the rest of that line.

Here’s the overwhelming commentary I got from people I know.  There is a difference between being frugal and being cheap.   Continue reading “Frugal vs. Cheap: How to Tell the Difference”

Cash Management: How to Manage the Extra Money in Your Pocket

February 23, 2011

Have you ever found yourself at the end of the week with a little extra cash lying around?  (I know, it doesn’t happen that often, but when it does, what exactly do you do with it?)  For many, they just simply find something to spend it on, and who wouldn’t.  I mean after all, you’ve worked hard all week to earn it, so why not enjoy it.  Well, I can’t argue with that, but there may be another reason why you’re not sure what to do with it: you lack financial goals. Continue reading “Cash Management: How to Manage the Extra Money in Your Pocket”

Budgeting: Is that Laptop Really Worth $1500?

February 16, 2011

I’m not sure who said it, but I can bet you they were trying to sell you something.  If you’ve read any of my previous blogs  (and if you haven’t, why not?) then you know I have a tendency to prefer paying more for higher quality stuff that should last longer rather than buying cheaper stuff that will likely break down sooner and only end up having to be replaced more frequently.  Well, I’ve since modified my position on the issue.  Here’s what happened: Continue reading “Budgeting: Is that Laptop Really Worth $1500?”

Why Financial Knowledge Isn’t Enough

February 11, 2011

Last week I talked about how there is an enormous volume of financial knowledge available to anyone willing to look for it.  Heck, you don’t even have to look, it’ll find you if you let it.  But even with the mountains of knowledge out there about how to become financially independent, there are countless people under financial stress who are considering bankruptcy, facing foreclosure or eviction, or who are a missed paycheck away from disaster.  How do we turn this knowledge into action? Continue reading “Why Financial Knowledge Isn’t Enough”