When was the last time someone asked you if you thought they were saving too much? Someone recently asked me this question and at first I was taken aback. How is it that anyone could have money to save, let alone enough to wonder if they were saving too much? Didn’t we just go through a recession? Aren’t we all just swimming in debt, living paycheck to paycheck, desperately trying to make ends meet? Continue reading “Are You Saving Too Much?”
Retirement is not simply ceasing to work but rather a step toward something – a whole new phase in life. Many people don’t realize that until it is too late. A friend of mine was discussing this with me over the weekend. He works for a utility company in upstate New York as a project manager. He was exclaiming that these guys who recently retired are coming back to work for him as part-time retirees. Continue reading “Retirement Preparedness: Move Toward Retirement Not “Away” from Working”
Over the past several months, I have observed quite a few common misconceptions that employees have voiced while we discussed their financial situation during a worksite financial coaching session. The first, and most surprising, is how unaware employees are regarding how their benefits compare to other companies, and that many think that the grass would be greener if they switched employers for a new job offer. Simply benchmarking your level of benefits to your specific industry can be a real eye-opener for your workforce and can be easily accomplished by communicating this information during open enrollment or at a benefits planning workshop. Continue reading “Benefits Planning: Employee Misconceptions”
There is information that is nice to know and information that you need to know but what you really need to know is — the difference. For example, my husband is a history buff with an avid interest in politics. When we have friends over and we are discussing politics or world affairs, he often pops up with not just the year a politician won a race but who ran against him. I am always amazed at his memory and wonder, “How does he remember that?” It’s crazy! Even though I am always impressed, I do know that is the kind of information that is nice to know but in our work and in our lives, this is not vital information that we need to know. Continue reading “Retirement Preparedness: What Employees Need to Know About Investing”
One of my neighbors was telling me about the car he was thinking about buying. It’s not a flashy car, and he is very happy that he’s making a “frugal choice.” Because it’s winter, he is concerned about driving in the snow and ice that is all too frequent in the Northeast, so he is buying a Subaru wagon with all wheel drive. The car is a few years old and has roughly 50,000 miles on it. The mega-store that has a no-haggling price structure is selling this particular car for ~$20,000. Continue reading “Car Buying: A Way to Save a Fortune”
There are 8760 hours in a year – 730 in a month with about 240 of them spent sleeping. That leaves about 490 hours to do what we want. We spend quite a few of those at work and it probably seems like we spend the rest of them waiting in line or being on hold. We can put a few of those hours to good use with some actions that might not be very urgent but are very important none the less. Here are a couple of important insurance check-ups to do this week that take about an hour each. Continue reading “Financial Education: 3 Important Check Ups to Do in an Hour”
I recently spent a few cold, snowy days meeting with employees in the Midwest counseling each of them regarding their retirement goals. I was surprised to hear quite a few employees were planning on early retirement, especially since we hear the trend is just the opposite because of our current economy. Continue reading “Financial Education in the Workplace: What a Difference a Few Years Make”
I just got back from a business trip where I sat down with employees to do some one-on-one financial planning. The main focus for the majority of the participants was retirement planning. I met with some employees who were just a few months out of college, and others who were a few months from retirement, so I’d like to share some of the perspective I gained during the trip. Continue reading “Commit to Save and Retire Early”
The other day I was flying back home from Tennessee when it came to my attention that my flight was being delayed due to a maintenance issue. Now while I find this aggravating, I certainly would prefer getting home in one piece. Amongst the ramblings (and choice “words”) that I overheard, was this statement: “Plane has been sitting here all night and they wait until morning to find this maintenance issue?” I chuckled to myself as I gave the person a polite smile, but then I got to thinking… Continue reading “Do You Have a Retirement Maintenance Issue?”
