My husband has been battling to keep his diabetes under control for the last few years. But no matter how diligent he may be, he still may find himself in the hospital. As we started talking about a recent hospital visit, he started sharing with me the financial lessons learned over the last few years. Continue reading “The Other Pain After a Medical Emergency”
One of the biggest questions I get when I talk to people is, “Is it better to rent or own?” I tell them that it is not as simple as a yes or no answer. The cost of living in your area, your area’s housing market, and your financial stability are all factors in deciding if renting or owning is the better decision. For some, renting temporarily is a better option but no matter what I say, I normally get the following rebuttals from those determined to buy a home now: Continue reading “Is It Better to Rent or Own?”
If you have read any of my prior blog posts, you probably know that I have a thing for chocolate. I even do a run called “Hot Chocolate” held in January. I do the 15K, about 9 miles, with water and chocolate stops along the way. Once I am done, you are given hot chocolate and I gulp it down in about 30 seconds. Despite the sub-freezing temperatures, I enjoy the runs because they gives me and my friends uninterrupted girl time to catch up. Continue reading “Want to Quit Your 2016 Budget? Don’t!”
A few months ago, I was in a coaching session with a woman who was very confused about how her advisor gets paid. Her advisor worked for a major brokerage firm and insisted that he was “fee-only.” She felt uncertain if this was the truth so I asked to look at one of her statements. Continue reading “Is That Advisor Really Fee-Only?”
You can’t help but talk about the lottery with a jackpot sitting at about $1.5 billion dollars. One of my colleagues, Teig Stanley, was talking to me about a recent conversation he had with our colleague, Doug. Here is what he said: Continue reading “How To Become A Millionaire In Just 15 Minutes”
When I was a financial advisor in private practice, my favorite clients were the elderly. They are so much fun to talk to and I learn so much from their life experience. My favorite group is the “World War II” generation. There is something special about the “generation that saved” the world. However, as they grow older, I realize that it is our turn to save them. Continue reading “One Step to Prevent Elder Abuse”
I was talking to a group of girlfriends over an amazing cup of hot chocolate with melted chocolate on the bottom and toasted marshmallows on top. For a chocoholic like me, this was heaven. I will admit I focused more on the chocolate than the conversation, but after a few minutes, my financial planning ears perked up. My friends were talking about their top New Year’s resolutions, which was the same for all of them- to get out of debt. Continue reading “How To Turn That Resolution Into Reality”
I am a huge fan of the movie “What About Bob?” starring Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfus. Bill Murray’s character was so overwhelmed by life that he went to see a psychologist (Richard Dreyfus’ character) for help. The psychologist introduced him to the concept of “Baby Steps,” which suggests taking small steps to achieve your goal. In the movie, Bill Murray took baby steps, literally, but the steps were baby steps based on Bill Murray’s mental state, not someone else’s mental state. Continue reading “Take Your Own Baby Steps”
I really do love my kids. But after two weeks of being indoors with them, we both welcome the new school year. I am always on the hunt for inexpensive things to do to keep my kids occupied during this season. Here are some of my favorites: Continue reading “How to Survive the Holiday Break With Your Kids”
My friends often laugh at how quickly my life changed within about 18 months. I was happily single with plans to be a working woman with no husband and no kids. A friend of mine told me that I needed a life and suggested I check out a dating website. I said “never” but was intrigued… Continue reading “From Single to Married With a Baby”
I love the holidays. For me, Christmas is the chocolate time of the year- chocolate cakes, cookies, hot chocolate. It is awesome! I recently made my own Crock-pot hot chocolate and invited friends over to share my sugar rush. Continue reading “What Financial Advisors May Not Tell You About 401(k) Rollovers”
The holiday season is one of my favorite times of the year. I get to enjoy endless samplings of every chocolate dessert imaginable, while spending time with the people I love. How can it get any better? Continue reading “How to Give Back During the Holidays”
I recently ran into some old friends of mine at a school event. It’s amazing how people get paired with their opposites. The wife is carefree and never gets upset. The husband is about one obsession shy of having OCD. Continue reading “Treat Christmas Shopping Like a Military Operation”
One of the most frequent questions we get from people is how to save money on college education. We understand that for most people, saving to pay for 100% of college costs is unfeasible and that there needs to be a college savings strategy for kids that are close to attending college with limited funds. As I started researching a strategy, my wonderful co-worker, Camille, told us about a book written by Sharla Berry, an educator in Los Angeles called Degree for Free: How To Save Time and Money on Your College Education. Continue reading “How One Woman Got Her College Degree For Free”
My cousin is the ultimate bargain hunter. If you are looking for that amazing combination of value and quality, she is your woman. She can find the $5,000 vacation for $1,000 or the $500 coat for $69.99. She came to me excited because she found an amazing deal on life insurance. She has been searching for months with no luck and finally went to a financial advisor who gave her the cheapest quote she had gotten so far. Continue reading “The Best Place To Find Financial Products And Services”
As a former financial advisor turned financial educator, I enjoyed my relationships with my former clients. I watched my former clients go from single, to married, to having kids and unfortunately in some cases, to divorced. I have cried with them over divorces, job losses, and deaths of a spouse or parent and cheered with them at the announcement of a child, a promotion or the start of a new business. The earlier a client told me about their situation, the easier it was for me to strategize the most cost-effective way for them to transition into their new situation. In many cases, I would find out after the fact. Continue reading “You Better Contact A Financial Advisor If…”
It’s open enrollment time…that time of the year when you get this huge booklet or email of benefits and have to wade through all of the papers and links to figure out what to do while planning for the holidays at the same time. Remember to take time to really think about how you used your benefits last year so you can make the best decision. Here are a few things to consider: Continue reading “Are You Ready For Open Enrollment?”
I was recently at an event at my church talking to a group of wonderful women in their 20s. After getting over the horror that most of them were born after I graduated from high school and I was the same age as one of their mothers, we starting talking about what we did for a living and I mentioned I was a financial planner. The conversation stopped immediately. They all looked at me and started asking financial questions, many related to student loans. Continue reading “When Is Student Loan Refinancing A Bad Idea?”
In addition to writing for the Financial Finesse blog, I also write for Forbes. One of the Forbes staff members, Samantha Sharf, laid her wallet bare and shared her last ten purchases. She then challenged other writers and readers to do the same. One of our financial planners, Scott Spann, took the challenge and shared his last ten purchases. Realizing first with horror that I am older than he is and second the need for people to see that we are not perfect, I took up the challenge to share my last ten purchases over the weekend: Continue reading “The Last 10 Things This 42 Year Old Mom Spent Money On”
I was recently talking to a dear friend of mine who just lost her job due to a layoff. She was shell-shocked, scared and not sure what to do. As I listened to her talk about her plan, I asked her about her workplace benefits and she said that she got the package, saw no value in anything she had and was getting ready to throw the package away. Continue reading “Don’t Leave Any Money On The Way Out”
