Tag: planning for the future

Money Magic: An Economist’s Secrets to More Money, Less Risk, and a Better

by Advantage One, posted in book review, Budgeting, Lifestyle, Saving, Tips & Best Practices, Uncategorized

Title: Money Magic: An Economist’s Secrets to More Money, Less Risk, and a Better Life 

Author: Laurence Kotlikoff

Hardcover: 320 pages

Publisher: Little, Brown Spark

Publishing date: Jan. 4, 2022

Who is this book for? 

  • Anyone struggling with making financial choices
  • Readers of any age or stage who are looking for the magic path toward financial independence 

What’s inside this book?

  • A framework for a happier and safer financial life 
  • Practical tips for enhancing your standard of living and achieving financial independence 
  • Spellbinding money tricks culled from economic research 

4 lessons you’ll learn from this book:  

  1. How to transform your financial thinking
  2. How to choose a career that will enable you to maximize your lifetime earnings
  3. How to buy a superior education for less and graduate debt-free
  4. Why you may want to cash out your IRA to pay off your mortgage

4 questions this book will answer for you:  

  1. What are the financial ramifications of delaying retirement?
  2. How can I lower my average lifetime tax bracket? 
  3. Does financial planning need to be a tiresome chore?
  4. How can economics and advanced computation help me improve my financial health?

What people are saying about this book: 

“Fact-filled, wisdom-filled, Money Magic is quite probably the best financial advice book ever written.  You can read it for Laurence Kotlikoff’s sage advice, which tells how to manage your finances for a happier, better life.  You can also read it for fun: there is a laugh on almost every page.  You should read it for both.” ―George Akerlof

“Money Magic is a delightful book. With wit and wisdom, Kotlikoff delivers rich economic insights, concrete advice, and hard-nosed, yet soft-hearted guidance on financial planning, all well-grounded in the science of finance.  It will change your financial thinking and improve your financial life. Wherever in the lifecycle, beginning student to beginning retiree, the reader is in for a treat: Bon Appetit!” ―Robert C Merton 

“Full of invaluable guidance, this is a must-read for anyone concerned about their financial future.”―Publisher Weekly

“The best personal finance book you’ll read this year.” ―Terry Savage

“Laurence Kotlikoff, the provocative Boston University economics professor and Social Security expert, has written an excellent new book, Money Magic: An Economist’s Secrets to More Money, Less Risk, and a Better Life In it, he offers counterintuitive and surprising personal finance tips regardless of your age.”―Kerry Hannon

Your Turn: What did you think of Money Magic? Share your opinion in the comments. 

Baby Steps Millionaires: How Ordinary People Built Extraordinary Wealth—and How You Can Too

by Advantage One, posted in book review, Budgeting, Credit, Debit, Lifestyle, Reviews, Saving, Tips & Best Practices, Uncategorized

Title: Baby Steps Millionaires: How Ordinary People Built Extraordinary Wealth—and How You Can Too

Author: Dave Ramsey

Hardcover: 224 pages

Publisher: Ramsey Press

Publishing date: Jan. 11, 2022

Who is this book for? 

  • Anyone looking for straightforward and practical advice on building wealth. 

What’s inside this book?

  • An inside look at how Dave invests and builds wealth. 
  • True stories of people just like you who’ve dug themselves out of deep debt and built wealth. 
  • An extensive look at Dave’s own Baby Step 4 toward becoming a millionaire.

4 lessons you’ll learn from this book:  

  1. How to take baby steps, immediately, toward becoming a millionaire. 
  2. How to break barriers that are holding you back from building true wealth. 
  3. Basic financial concepts written in simple terms. 
  4. Simple steps for getting out of debt. 

4 questions this book will answer for you:  

  1. How can I become a millionaire?
  2. Is there any easy way to build wealth? 
  3. Are financial concepts reserved for the elite?
  4. What can I do — RIGHT NOW — to start getting rid of debt? 

Your Turn: What did you think of Baby Steps Millionaires? Share your opinion in the comments. 

New Year, New Money Habits: How to Stick With It in 2022

by Advantage One, posted in Budgeting, Checking, Credit, Lifestyle, Saving, Tips & Best Practices, Uncategorized

If you’re like most people, you likely start each year with a list of resolutions to help you improve various aspects of your life. The list may include resolutions to help you become more physically fit, further your career growth and improve your personal relationships. Another category of resolutions you may make centers on those that affect your finances. 

If the latter is true, there’s probably a good chance that your list of resolutions for the new year looks the same, year after year … after year. Yes, it’s easy to come up with ways you can improve at year’s end, but seeing those resolutions through and actually making them happen is another story entirely. 

Spend less, save more, pay down debt — how can you make 2022 the year you actually stick to these and other financial resolutions? 

Below, we’ve compiled a list of tips that can help you keep your financial resolutions throughout the new year. 

Set measurable goals

Don’t just resolve to be better with money this year. Set realistic, measurable goals to help you stay on track and to ensure you’re actually making progress. For example, you can resolve to increase your spending by a certain amount by the time you hit the mid-year point, decide to trim your spending in a specific category by a set percentage or promise to pay all your bills on time for the entire year. 

Bonus tip: To make it easier, keep those goals SMART: 

Specific

Measurable

Achievable

Relevant

Time-based

Spend mindfully

Creating a budget can take some time and lots of number crunching, but it’s not the real challenge of financial wellness. The hard part comes when you’ve got to actually stick to that budget and make it part of your life. And one reason many people don’t end up keeping their budget is because they spend money without consciously thinking. 

Resolve to be more mindful about your spending this year, which means actually thinking about what you’re doing when you swipe that card or hand over that cash to the cashier. You can accomplish this by taking a moment to think about what you’re purchasing and how much you’re paying for it. You can also set yourself up for better success by staying off your phone while you complete your in-store transactions.

Bonus tip: To make this easier, use this calculator to determine how much you actually earn in an hour, and to see how much of your work time you’re “spending” when you make a large purchase. Is it really worth the price?

Partner up with a friend

According to MyFitnessPal.com, dieters who share their food diaries with a buddy lose twice as much weight. It’s basic psychology: When we know we have to answer to someone else, we’re more likely to stick to our resolutions — and this works for financial resolutions as well. 

Choose a friend who is in a similar financial bracket as you are and has a comparable relationship with money. Also, it helps if they have similar resolve to set and stick to those financial resolutions together. Set up a weekly time to review progress (or regression) you each have made, and make sure you both come prepared with details and proof to show how you’ve handled your money. 

Bonus tip: To make it even easier, you can use a money management app, like Mint, to help you track your spending, find your weak areas, and stay accountable for your friend. 

Write it down

In an era where some people can go without touching a pen and paper for days, writing down New Year’s resolutions can seem obsolete, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t happen. The act of putting your financial resolutions into writing will help to imprint them on your memory. Plus, you’ll have a list of your resolutions to reference throughout the year to help keep you on track. 

Bonus tip: Writing doesn’t need to be physical in order to count. You can use a resolution-tracking app, like Strides, where you can record, track and reference your New Year’s resolutions at any time with just a few quick clicks. 

Sticking to your financial resolutions isn’t easy. Follow the tips outlined here to make 2022 the year you truly get your finances into shape. 

Your Turn: What are your financial resolutions for 2022? Share them with us in the comments. 

Tips for Empty Nesters Downsizing

by Advantage One, posted in Budgeting, Lifestyle, Saving, Tips & Best Practices, Uncategorized

Quiet. Calm. Clean.

And empty.

These are just a few of the adjectives that may come to mind when you return home after your youngest child leaves the nest. It’s the beginning of a new stage in life and your home may feel completely different.

No longer are you constantly kicking aside stray sneakers and picking up a trail of school papers. No longer are you sharing your living space with soccer gear and your freezer with boxes of frozen pizza and ice pops. You may even get the TV remote to yourself!

Now that the house has emptied out, it’s a great time to sift through the “stuff” that has piled up over the years. Maybe you’ve even decided to move to a new and smaller home. Whether you’re decluttering because your home has grown emptier or you need to get rid of half your belongings before you relocate, downsizing can be a daunting task.

Here are some tips to help you downsize as an empty nester.

Allow yourself to grieve, but stay positive

It isn’t easy to let go of precious mementos, give away the adorable baby outfits your oldest wore as an infant or say goodbye to the home that watched your family grow. Make these goodbyes a little easier by acknowledging your grief but putting a positive spin on your new stage. Yes, you are saying goodbye to playdates and PTA meetings, but you are entering a phase in life that will open up new vistas and opportunities you’ve never had before.

Clear out your closets

If your closets have not been purged since AOL CDs cluttered mailboxes, you might be looking at a mountain of outdated clothing to sort through and organize. Here’s how to make this job easy.

Set up four boxes near your closet. Mark one “giveaways,” one “keepers,” one “sell” and the last “dump.” As you sort through grunge tops from the ‘90s and neon jeans from the ‘80s, consider each item: Can you donate this, keep it, sell it or is it destined for the dump? Place each item in its designated box until you’ve gone through the entire pile.

When you’ve finished sorting through all your clothing, return the items in the “keepers” box to the closet, toss the junk, bring the giveaways to a clothing donation drop-off spot and sell what’s left on Poshmark.

Sell your spare furniture

Whether you’re relocating or staying put for now, your furniture needs will change when the kids have left home. Create space and earn some extra pocket money by hosting a garage sale for your unused furniture pieces. You can also sell spare drawer chests, desks and more on OfferUp or Craigslist.

Sift through your files

In the world before everything was digitized, important papers in a household could pile up like snow in a blizzard. The good news is you likely don’t need most of the papers you’ve been saving all these years. It’s time to clear out the pile!

Each of your files will likely fall into one of three categories.

The important paperwork includes personally identifying info and sensitive documents, such as birth certificates and Social Security cards for each child. Of course, you’ll need to save the original copies of these documents in a safe place.

On the other end of the spectrum are saved files that serve no purpose now, such as electricity bills from 1995 and pay stubs from your first post-college job. These can go straight into the shredder.

Finally, you’ll have documents that fall somewhere in between these two categories, such as medical records, tax returns and your children’s report cards. You can choose to keep some of these, or, if you’re short on space, scan each document and upload it to cloud storage.

Rethink your bedrooms

With all the kids out of the house, you can rethink the way you use your bedrooms. Have you always dreamed of a designated sewing room? How about using the space to indulge in your model train hobby? You can finally have that hobby room you’ve always wanted when the kids were growing up!

If you need to save some sleeping room for the kids when they come home to visit, you can keep a daybed in any converted bedroom for that purpose.

It’s a new stage in life, and it’s time to sift through the piles of junk that have accumulated over the years. Follow our tips for downsizing made easy!

Your Turn: What are your best downsizing tips? Share them with us in the comments.

Learn More:
emptynestblessed.com
smartstopselfstorage.com
fidelity.com
homelight.com

Know Yourself, Know Your Money

by Advantage One, posted in book review, Budgeting, Lifestyle, Reviews, Tips & Best Practices, Uncategorized

Title: Know Yourself, Know Your Money: Discover WHY you handle money the way you do, and WHAT to do about it!

Author: Rachel Cruze

Hardcover: 272 pages

Publisher: Ramsey Press

Publishing date: Jan. 5, 2021

Who is this book for? 

Anyone who’s ever wondered why they make the money choices they do and how they can change them for the better.
Anyone who has ever tried to understand why the people in their lives make the money choices they do.

What’s inside this book?

The introduction and explanation of the 7 Money Tendencies:

1. Saver or Spender

2. Nerd or Free Spirit

3. Experiences or Things

4. Quality or Quantity

5. Safety or Status

6. Abundance or Scarcity

7. Planned Giving or Spontaneous Giving

New ways to understand how your parents, your fears and your beliefs impact your money mindset.

5 lessons you’ll learn from this book: 

  • Where you land on the scale of the Seven Money Tendencies and why it matters.
  • Which of the Four Childhood Money Classrooms shaped your money mindset.
  • How the Six Core Money Fears can drive your most common money mistakes.
  • Why you handle money the way you do, and what to do about it.
  • How to take control of your money to achieve financial freedom.

3 questions this book will answer for you: 

  • How does my childhood impact the money choices I make today?
  • Why do I constantly make money mistakes?
  • How can I change my money mindset for good?

What people are saying about this book: 

  • “Rachel does such a great job of getting to the root of why we make the money decisions (and mistakes) we do. This book is a self-discovery necessity.” — Marcus Buckingham
  • “I have often said if you want to understand someone, look at their checkbook and their calendar. How we spend time and money says a lot about who we are. Rachel goes deep into unraveling that mystery.” — Dr. Henry Cloud
  • “We’re all faced with the responsibility of managing finances. Rachel Cruze dives deep into why we interact with money the way we do… so you can make real progress toward your money goals!” — Candace Cameron Bure
  • “This book will not only change your money habits, it will also improve your relationships — and your life!” — Christine Caine

Your Turn: What did you think of Know Yourself, Know Your Money? Share your opinion in the comments.

Guide to Investing in Your 20s

by Advantage One, posted in Tips & Best Practices

Laying the groundwork for a lifelong investment strategy

Young man in front of a blackboard with financial notes on itYou have finally graduated college and, after finally finding a full-time job, can start paying back those student loans. Retirement seems like it is in the distant future and you are more concerned with living paycheck to paycheck. But it is never too early to start preparing for your future by establishing sound financial footing and taking early investment steps.

Save money
The first step to investing is to align your spending habits with your investment plans by carving out a chunk of every paycheck for savings. While you might not feel that you have the current flexibility to put away any money, the earlier you make saving an uncompromisable habit, the easier it will be to increase your investments long-term.

According to Charles Schwab Foundation president Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz in an interview with Forbes, people in their 20s should be budgeting for and saving at least 10 percent of their annual income. While this may seem excessive, the more you have saved early on, the more it will compound over the next 50 years. Not to mention, it is a solid step to increasing your savings rate to 20 percent in your 30s.

Pay off your debts
Get out from underneath the oppressive thumb of student loan and credit card debt as quickly as possible by establishing an aggressive debt repayment plan. According to Stacy Rapacon of Kiplinger, the longer you let debt linger, the further it will set your finances back in the form of greater interest payments and lower credit scores. The sooner you repay your debts and free yourself from crippling interest payments, the more money you’ll have to invest in your future.

Fund your retirement
It is never too early to start setting aside money in your retirement fund, especially since the years will only compound how much you will have in your account by the time you retire. Rapacon of Kiplinger calculates that if you invest $100 a month as a 25-year-old, assuming an 8 percent return and quarterly compounding, you’ll have around $346,000 by the time you turn 65.

Investing money in a retirement fund now is even more essential because of your employer’s matching program. Arielle O’Shea of NerdWallet highly suggests taking advantage of your employer’s generosity by contributing to any available retirement plan, such as a 401k, especially if your employer offers a matching percentage.

If you don’t have access to a company-based 401k, Forbes’ Samantha Sharf recommends investigating the option of starting a Roth IRA or Roth 401k that taxes your contributions now but lets those contributions grow tax-free for the rest of your lifetime.

Take risks
Those who do invest in their 20s often do so conservatively because they don’t want to see any of their hard-earned money lost, but that also limits the potential for their investments to grow. According to O’Shea, “Many millennial investors make the mistake of avoiding risk even though it helps them over a long timeframe.” Thus, to reach your target retirement financial goals, it is important to allocate much of your portfolio to stocks over bonds. While there may be more short-term drops, Vanguard analyses show that it is the way to get a better lifelong annual return.

Get advice
If you are not sure what the best investment options are for you, or would like additional clarification on what investing involves, it never hurts to ask for advice from an advisor who can help you map out a financial plan that spans. O’Shea of Nerdwallet recommends even opening an account with a robo-advisor that will give you basic insights into your current plan and offer advice on the next steps.

Your gut feeling may be to wait to invest and spend your money elsewhere while you are young, but the more aggressively you save and invest your income now, the better prepared you will be for retirement.

Used with Permission. Published by IMN Bank Adviser Includes copyrighted material of IMakeNews, Inc. and its suppliers.