by Andrea Carson | May 10, 2023 | SAVE MONEY
Getting a job offer is always an exciting time. Whether you’re getting your first job, a promotion, or changing careers, there’s a lot to be happy about. But it’s always wise to consider the financial aspect of any decision; starting a new job is no exception.
Before You Accept the Job
- Negotiate your pay. It never hurts to ask for a little more money. Respectfully asking for more money doesn’t cause any harm. Remember that any salary increase you can get now will only compound your future raises.
- Negotiating is the highest-paying activity you’re likely to take part in. Consider that a minute or two could result in thousands of dollars in additional income for many years. When did you last make that much money for a couple of minutes of work?
- Ask about the benefits. Typically, you’ll be told the general aspects of the company benefits. Be bold and ask for details. For example, some medical insurance plans are much more expensive than others. A job with a slightly lower salary might be much better when you have all the details.
After You Start Your New Job
- Deal with your previous 401(k). Roll the money into an IRA or your new 401(k). Resist the temptation to withdraw the funds; the tax penalties are significant. Ask your new human resources department about your options and make an intelligent choice.
- Keep your lifestyle in check. Just because you get a raise doesn’t mean you have to buy a more expensive house or car. You can save a lot of money if you can maintain your spending level for even one year. If you do increase your lifestyle, then be sure to bank at least part of your raise.
- Getting a raise is an excellent opportunity to save money or aggressively pay down your debt.
- Start paying yourself first. Set up your bank account with automatic savings of part of your increased income so you start saving money immediately. It will be easier to start saving now than later because you won’t miss money you’ve never seen.
- Ensure you’re withholding enough for taxes. It’s not financially wise to get a huge refund every year. On the other hand, it can be economically and psychologically challenging to pay more tax time. Be confident your withholding is enough to guarantee a small refund each year.
- Make benefit choices wisely. Set up your life, health, and disability insurance and other benefits intelligently for your own unique needs. Your life insurance needs will vary depending on your family situation. For example, the most expensive medical plan might not be the option you want if you’re young and in perfect health.
- Have your paycheck deposited into an interest-earning account. Interest rates are so low right now that it might not matter much, but depositing your paycheck into an account that pays interest makes sense. You can always transfer what you need into your checking account later.
Being financially healthy is the result of making wise decisions consistently. A job opportunity is a time for celebration; ensure you’re making positive financial moves to take your best advantage of this occasion.
by Andrea Carson | Apr 26, 2023 | SAVE MONEY
Children can benefit from financial education at an early age. Researchers share it’s crucial to start primary finance education by age 3. A study from the University of Cambridge, “Habit Formation and Learning in Young Children,” found that money habits are formed by age 7.
Children pick up money habits quickly, so giving them the right direction is crucial.
- Start with basic currency literacy. A study from Yale University found that children can recognize and remember coins by age 3.
- Educate your children about the different coins and dollar bills.
- Consider teaching them about foreign currencies during vacations. This will expand their minds and help them learn more about the countries you’re visiting.
- Create money jars. Money jars are a fun and easy way to educate your child.
- You can create three types of money jars for spending, saving, and giving, covering the fundamental lessons of understanding how to use money.
- Teach your children the three jars and why they’re essential.
- Use the jars to separate money after birthday gifts or allowance payments. Children will learn how to save for the future.
- Use the giving jar for charities. Children will learn about giving and understand how they can help others with their money. They can donate the funds to local animal shelters or food pantries.
- Use coupons. Coupons can provide an essential lesson on saving.
- Cut coupons with your children’s help and leave them in charge of handling the papers at the store.
- According to the Children’s Financial Network, kids as young as five can benefit from learning how to use coupons in a store. They will see how to save money and make wiser shopping decisions.
- Set a money goal. Children can set a money goal to purchase a favorite toy or other item.
- Money goals are an easy way to teach children financial patience. They also provide a lesson on how to save money.
- Setting realistic goals is essential, so children will be motivated to stay on a savings plan. If the toy they want is expensive, reaching their goals can take a while. Will they stay interested? Picking smaller and less costly targets is better.
- Go shopping. Let your children use their spend jars at the store to make purchases.
- How will your children spend their money? Will they use their entire jars at one store or spread them out over many shopping trips? Shopping provides an easy lesson setting.
- An outing to the local toy store also lets you discuss comparison shopping. Point out different prices on similar items and teach your children about finding inexpensive options.
- Evaluating the results of the shopping trip will help them understand their choices. How will they restock their spend jars?
- Use yard sales. Yard sales offer another way to educate children about finances.
- Yard sales can help you clean out your children’s rooms and teach them about money at the same time.
- Ask your children if they want to participate in the yard sale by selling their old toys or clothes. Help them select items they no longer use and find reasonable prices. They can use the experience to refill their money jars.
- Older children can help sell items at the sale. They can keep track of change and watch customers. This is also a valuable opportunity to learn about price negotiations with customers.
Finance education can begin before your children are in school. They need to understand basic money rules and form the proper habits.
by Andrea Carson | Apr 19, 2023 | Retirement
You’re aware that it’s essential to save for your retirement. For most of us, 100% employer-funded pensions are long gone, and Social Security is only designed to offset a portion of your pre-retirement income.
Most financial advisors recommend that workers save enough to cover 75 to 85 percent of their annual pre-retirement income. With stagnant incomes and rising expenses such as healthcare, food, and housing, it’s challenging for most of us to save for retirement!
Luckily, you can boost your retirement savings, regardless of your age or how strained your existing budget might be.
Use these steps to increase your retirement savings and secure your financial future:
- Save now. Start now if you still need to contribute to a 401(k) or another employer-defined retirement plan
- Start small if traditional contributions of 10% of your income are too much to handle. Try saving just 1 to 2 percent of your gross income. Boost your savings each year by increasing your contribution rate to match the amount of your annual raise.
- You have a 100% instant return on your investment when your employer matches a percentage of your 401(k) contribution. When you enroll in your employer’s plan, contribute at least the minimum to qualify for any match your employer offers.
- Open a traditional or Roth IRA if your employer doesn’t offer a 401(k) plan. Traditional IRAs can help you lower your annual tax bill, free up hundreds of additional dollars to increase your retirement savings. Resist the urge to spend your savings!
- Work longer and retire later. Delaying retirement will boost the amount of your social security benefits and give your savings extra time to grow.
- Early retirees see a permanent reduction of 20% of their estimated benefits. By delaying retirement, you’ll draw a more considerable benefit from Social Security and shorten the length of time that you’ll need to draw upon your retirement savings.
- As you approach retirement age, look for ways to create additional income streams separate from your primary occupation, such as freelancing or starting a small business. Increasing your revenue streams frees up more funds that you can use to bolster your retirement savings.
- Get out of debt before you retire. Debt payments often comprise a large portion of most budgets. Debt also eats up funds that you could use for retirement savings.
- Create a realistic, workable budget that eliminates your debt over a specific time frame.
- Aim to be out of debt before you retire so that you need to save less for your retirement.
- As you decrease your debt, the challenge is to remain disciplined rather than going into debt again or wasting your retirement savings on other expenses.
- Downsize before retirement. As you create a budget, take a hard look at how much your home is costing you. Is it time to consider downsizing to a smaller place with lower costs?
- Many of us relocate during retirement for a warmer climate or to be closer to children and grandchildren. Consider selecting a smaller home with lower costs for operation and upkeep if you move.
- You can downsize more than just your home. Sell off unused items and use the proceeds to boost your retirement savings.
Finding ways to save money for your later years can be difficult and time-consuming. However, following these tips makes increasing the money you save for retirement easier.
by Andrea Carson | Mar 22, 2023 | SAVE MONEY
Building up a healthy savings account is one of the finest methods to control your finances in today’s unstable economy. Nobody wants to experience the anxiety of being only one or two paychecks away from financial ruin due to a lack of reserves for when “something occurs.” Job loss, disability, car trouble, a sick child or pet, and other financial crises are specific instances. If you want to start small, this post will provide you with some saving tips:
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Establish direct deposits into your savings account.
Setting up a monthly direct debit from your checking account to your savings account can allow you to save money over time without doing any extra work. This strategy can be beneficial when your savings accounts are set aside for specific objectives like creating an emergency fund, taking a vacation, or saving for a down payment on a house.
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Total up your coins and tiny bills.
A more labor-intensive approach is to gather all the pennies and small bills you’ve collected throughout the day and place them in a savings envelope or jar. When you have a sizable sum, you can put it straight into your savings account and see your balance increase.
Using cash instead of credit cards when you want to monitor your spending makes sense because it might be more difficult to part with actual money. Although it takes time to accumulate funds, this method is suitable for steady savings development.
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Be ready for your grocery store trips
You may save a lot of money on groceries by doing some preparation work before shopping.
Make a list of what you need and check your pantry before shopping to prevent impulsive purchases. Shop at supermarkets like Aldi and IGA that provide affordable prices.
Wherever feasible, choose locally farmed and seasonal produce. Flipping through the most recent fliers from your favorite grocer is simple; you could even find a coupon.
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Reduce spending at restaurants and on takeout.
While eating out or ordering takeout is typically more expensive than cooking at home, cutting back on restaurant meals or food delivery is one of the easiest ways to increase your savings.
Aim to prepare breakfast and lunch at the very least if you frequently travel or eat out as part of your profession. You can choose starters or divide a main dish with your dining partner to cut dining costs. Also, skipping dessert and drinks can help you stretch your money.
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Get entertainment discounts
Check your local calendar before splashing on expensive tickets to exclusive events; your neighborhood may offer free concerts and other live or recorded activities. To cut expenditures on entertainment, take advantage of free days at museums and national parks. Moreover, inquire about special savings for seniors, students, members of the military, and more.
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Make substantial purchasing plans
You may save money by planning your purchases of gadgets, cars, appliances, furniture, and more around annual sale events like the end of the fiscal year or Boxing Day. Monitoring price changes over time makes it worthwhile to verify that a deal is indeed a deal.
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Limit online purchases
To stop spending money on items you might not need, you might make it more difficult to purchase online. Choose to manually enter your shipping address and credit card number each time you place an order rather than keeping your billing information. Due to the added work, you’ll probably make fewer impulse purchases.
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Postpone purchases according to the 30-day rule.
Giving yourself time to think before making a purchase is one way to stop yourself from going overboard.
If you’re shopping online, think about adding the item to your cart and leaving the page until you’ve had more time to examine it. (In rare circumstances, the shop may even give you a coupon code after discovering you abandoned the cart.) If 30 days seem excessively long, you might want to try shorter intervals, such as a 24- or 48-hour hold.
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Be inventive with your gifts
With inexpensive gift suggestions like herb gardens and books, you may save money or do it yourself. Making a costly item doesn’t always show how much you care; sometimes, making cookies, creating art, or cooking for someone else does. Offering to accompany someone to a nearby (free) museum or another event is another way to give the gift of your time.
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Reduce your auto expenses
Refinancing your auto loan and taking advantage of lower interest rates could result in significant savings throughout your term. You can save on continuing car maintenance expenditures by driving less, removing heavy objects from your boot, and avoiding needless quick acceleration. Regular comparison shopping for auto insurance can also help you save money compared to letting your current policy automatically renew.
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Lessen your use of gasoline
In addition to using public transportation when possible, there are other things you can do to reduce your gas consumption and save money since you have no influence over gas prices at the pump. To check fuel costs and find the lowest fuel available, try utilizing a mobile app like Fuel Map or Petrol Spy.
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Combine the internet with paid TV.
Consider combining many services under one plan to reduce your internet, pay TV, or streaming bill. For instance, Foxtel’s Broadband + Platinum Plus bundle offers a Foxtel subscription and high-speed internet.
Cutting ties with subscription TV and sticking with cheaper streaming services like Netflix and Stan is an additional choice. It’s worthwhile to consider how frequently you watch each service or downgrade to versions with advertisements if you want to minimize expenditures further.
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Change your mobile plan
Changing your plan is one method to save money on your mobile phone bill, but it’s not the only way.
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Lower your monthly electric bill
You can save hundreds a year on your electric bill by making significant and tiny changes to your energy use. Consider adopting intelligent power strips, replacing older appliances with more energy-efficient models, switching to a smart thermostat, and fixing any insulation gaps in your home. Over time, even small reductions in your monthly electricity usage can result in significant savings.
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Terminate any unused subscriptions
Refinancing could save you several hundred dollars a month if you can get a lower interest rate on your house loan. While some upfront costs are associated with refinancing, they can be recovered over time if you start making lower monthly payments.
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Set financial targets
Establish a precise but doable objective. The goal can be to “pay off my credit card debt quicker” or “contribute $5,000 to my super fund account this year.” Calculate how much you need to save monthly or yearly to achieve your goal.
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Track expenditures
Consider using a budget trackings tool like MoneyBrilliant, GoodBudget, or Frollo. Observe the difference between your monthly revenue and expenses or your cash flow. Furthermore, this step will simplify tracking advancement toward your savings objective.
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Repay debt with a high-interest rate
Debt payments can put a tremendous strain on your overall spending plan. The general interest paid will be reduced if you can pay off high-interest debt more rapidly by making extra payments utilizing the snowball or avalanche methods. You will also be relieved of that load sooner. Start saving the money instead after that.
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Save money in a high-yield savings account
Invest your growing earnings in a high-yield online savings account to get the most out of your money while you work toward your financial objectives. Interest rates at some of the top neobanks and digital banks can be greater than those at traditional central banks.
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Following a budget, which entails establishing goals for your spending, is one wise method to manage your money and ideally retain more of it.
The future is incredibly unpredictable, making it challenging to foresee the circumstances we may encounter in the days and years to come. Because of this, it becomes crucial and vitally necessary to invest and save money intelligently and sensibly.
by Andrea Carson | Mar 1, 2023 | Retirement
You’re probably well aware that saving for retirement is essential. For most of us, 100% employer-funded pensions are long gone, and Social Security is only designed to offset a portion of your pre-retirement income.
Most financial advisors recommend that workers save enough to cover 75 to 85 percent of their annual pre-retirement income. With stagnant incomes and rising expenses such as healthcare, food, and housing, it’s challenging for most of us to save for retirement!
You can boost your retirement savings, regardless of your age or how strained your existing budget might be.
Use these steps to increase your retirement savings and secure your financial future:
- Save now. If you aren’t already contributing to a 401(k) or other employer-defined retirement plan, start now.
- Start small if traditional contributions of 10% of your income are too much to handle. Try saving just 1 to 2 percent of your gross income. Boost your savings each year by increasing your contribution rate to match the amount of your annual raise.
- You have a 100% instant return on your investment when your employer matches a percentage of your 401(k) contribution. When you enroll in your employer’s plan, contribute at least the minimum to qualify for any match your employer offers.
- Open a traditional or Roth IRA if your employer doesn’t offer a 401(k) plan. Traditional IRAs can help you lower your annual tax bill, free up hundreds of additional dollars to increase your retirement savings. Resist the urge to spend your savings!
- Work longer and retire later. Delaying retirement will boost the amount of your social security benefits and give your savings extra time to grow.
- Early retirees see a permanent reduction of 20% of their estimated benefits. By delaying retirement, you’ll draw a more significant benefit from Social Security and shorten the length of time that you’ll need to draw upon your retirement savings.
- As you approach retirement age, look for ways to create additional income streams separate from your primary occupation, such as freelancing or starting a small business. Increasing your revenue streams frees up more funds that you can use to bolster your retirement savings.
- Get out of debt before you retire. Debt payments often comprise a large portion of most budgets. Debt also eats up funds that you could use for retirement savings.
- Create a realistic, workable budget that eliminates your debt over a specific time frame.
- Aim to be out of debt before you retire so that you need to save less for your retirement.
- As you decrease your debt, the challenge is to remain disciplined rather than going into debt again or wasting your retirement savings on other expenses.
- Downsize before retirement. As you create a budget, take a hard look at how much your home is costing you. Is it time to consider downsizing to a smaller place with lower costs?
- Many of us relocate during retirement for a warmer climate or to be closer to children and grandchildren. Consider selecting a smaller home with lower costs for operation and upkeep if you move.
- You can downsize more than just your home. Sell off unused items and use the proceeds to boost your retirement savings.
Finding ways to save money for your later years can be a difficult and time-consuming chore. However, following these tips makes it easier to increase the money you save for retirement.
