The Best Laid Plans…

May 14, 2015

Let’s face it. No matter how perfectly you plan your expenses, life will always throw you those unexpected curveballs that could wreak havoc on even the best of budgets. After all, it’s impossible to account for everything that could possibly happen to your life. I’m not just talking about the real emergencies like a broken car you need to get to work. There are also things like weddings to attend and your kid’s piano lessons…not exactly “emergencies” but not quite frivolous spending either. Here are some ways to prevent these expenses from derailing your financial plans: Continue reading “The Best Laid Plans…”

How New Online Tools Will Save One Woman Tens of Thousands of Dollars Per Year

April 30, 2015

Last week, I wrote about my three favorite online investment services. This week, I’ll show you an example of how a couple of those tools saved a friend’s mother tens of thousands of dollars. When I spoke to my friend, his mother had just retired with a $1 million portfolio and he wanted to know how she should invest it for retirement. Since we can’t provide specific investment advice at Financial Finesse, this was a rare opportunity for me to be more hands-on. Here’s what we did: Continue reading “How New Online Tools Will Save One Woman Tens of Thousands of Dollars Per Year”

3 Tools That Can Make Your Investing Simpler and Cheaper

April 23, 2015

Last week, we discussed the three keys to successful investing being properly diversified, minimizing costs, and re-balancing periodically. Over the last few years, we’ve seen the emergence of online automated investment services (often called “robo-advisors”) that aim to make these steps even easier. After reviewing the various options, there are three in particular that I really like. Here’s a comparison of how each of them can help you with the three steps and what type of person they might each be best suited for: Continue reading “3 Tools That Can Make Your Investing Simpler and Cheaper”

All You Need To Know About Investing In 3 Simple Steps

April 16, 2015

Whenever I talk to people about investing, I find that most people fall into one of two groups. One group feels that investing is too complicated for them so they want to hire a professional to manage their money for them. The other group is make up of active investors who try to time the market with statements like “I think the market is too high to get in right now” or “I’m going to wait for prices to come down before I buy” and/or pick stocks or actively managed funds that they think will outperform the market. The problem is that there’s no evidence that market timing or even actively picking stocks really works (unless monkeys or cats are doing the picking). If the vast majority of professional money managers continue to underperform the market with these methods, do you really think you can in your spare time? Continue reading “All You Need To Know About Investing In 3 Simple Steps”

You Have Less Than a Week to Make These Tax Saving Moves

April 09, 2015

Have you filed your taxes yet? April 15th is largely known as tax day, the deadline for filing and paying our taxes for the previous year. But it’s also the deadline to make 2014 contributions to three types of accounts that can reduce your taxes now, later, or both: Continue reading “You Have Less Than a Week to Make These Tax Saving Moves”

How to Maximize Your Satisfaction

March 19, 2015

How do you make decisions? According to this article, there are two basic approaches. Some people are “satisfiers,” which means that when they see a choice that satisfies them, they take it. Other people are “maximizers,” meaning they want to see and study all the choices to pick the best possible option. Maximizers do tend to make “better” choices (for example, they make more money on average) but they also aren’t as happy with those choices (including with those higher-paying jobs). That’s because maximizers are always wondering if there’s a better choice they could have made. Continue reading “How to Maximize Your Satisfaction”

How to Find Lost Money

March 16, 2015

A few weeks ago, a truck and the trailer attached to it were stolen from a hotel parking lot in the suburbs of Atlanta. Unfortunately, it seems like crimes like this happen on a daily basis. In the case of this particular theft, it is likely the nighttime bandits had no idea what they were actually stealing. Continue reading “How to Find Lost Money”

3 Investment Myths Busted

February 26, 2015

Think you know everything you need to know about investing? I recently read three articles that dispel some conventional wisdom when it comes to your investments. Here are the busted myths along with the implications of what they could mean for you: Continue reading “3 Investment Myths Busted”

Want to Live a Happier Financial Life?

February 19, 2015

Very rarely do I find a personal finance article that resonates me as much as one I recently read called “How to Live a Happier Financial Life.” First, I love the title. When it comes to finances, sometimes we get so caught up in the numbers that we forgot the whole point is is about maximizing happiness not money. Sometimes that means spending more money on certain things but often it actually means spending less. The article’s following points do a good job of differentiating which is which: Continue reading “Want to Live a Happier Financial Life?”

The Gym Rat’s Guide to Investment Terms

February 12, 2015

Investing and the financial world in general can be pretty confusing. There are a lot of terms you may not know and concepts you may not be familiar with. It can even start sounding like another language! Continue reading “The Gym Rat’s Guide to Investment Terms”

My $280 Mistake

February 05, 2015

I admit it. I goofed. Despite being a financial planner who often helps people with their benefits, I made a mistake with my own. As I was looking at my expenses and taxes for last year, I realized that I could have reduced my taxes by $230. That’s the amount I would have saved if I contributed the $817 I spent on eligible vision and dental expenses last year to my company’s limited-purpose FSA (flexible spending account). Continue reading “My $280 Mistake”

How Should You Do Your Taxes?

January 29, 2015

I recently opened my mail and found my first tax documents for 2015. You know what that means…it’s the start of tax season! If you’re wondering if there’s an easier and/or cheaper way of accurately doing your taxes, here are some options: Continue reading “How Should You Do Your Taxes?”

Should You Buy Life Insurance as an Investment?

January 08, 2015

Should you purchase a whole or universal life insurance policy as an investment? We recently received several questions on our Facebook page on this topic so there seems to be a lot of confusion about it. On the one hand, many agents over-sell these policies as a way to earn big commissions. On the other, they can make sense for certain people. Let’s take a look at some guidelines to use to see if it makes sense for you: Continue reading “Should You Buy Life Insurance as an Investment?”

3 Hidden Pitfalls Coming to a 401(k) Statement Near You

December 18, 2014

When you see your 401(k) balance or even a projection of your future balance when you retire, do you really know what that number means for your retirement? If you’re like most people, you probably don’t. A $200k balance may look like the most amount of money you’ve ever had so you can easily think it will be more than sufficient even if it turns out to be nowhere near enough to generate the income you’ll need to retire comfortably. Continue reading “3 Hidden Pitfalls Coming to a 401(k) Statement Near You”

My 5 Favorite Bank Accounts

December 11, 2014

Last week, I wrote about my favorite credit cards for rewards. This week, let’s take on another unpopular financial institution: the bank. With typically poor customer service, rock bottom interest rates, and an endless stream of fees, most people probably look at their bank as a necessary evil. But if you’re willing to look beyond the local branch, there are some good banking accounts out there. Here are my personal favorites: (for the sake of avoiding repetition, all of these banks charge no maintenance or minimum balance fees) Continue reading “My 5 Favorite Bank Accounts”