Financial Planning for the Dream Vacation

December 29, 2010

Recently I booked a surprise vacation for my wife and me.  It’s been ten years since we’ve taken a vacation by ourselves, and I thought it was about time for the two of us to get reacquainted.  Now there are a couple of reasons why I’m doing this as a surprise.  The first is simply because I enjoy surprising my wife, and who doesn’t like surprising someone they love.  The second reason I’m surprising her with this trip is because she has trouble spending money on herself.  She spends money every day on the stuff we need, such as food, clothing, and medical bills, but when it comes to spending money on luxury items like a vacation, she just doesn’t have a mind for it.  Continue reading “Financial Planning for the Dream Vacation”

4 Steps to Take Now so Tax Cuts Don’t Affect Your Retirement

December 22, 2010

Have you seen the news lately?  The president has announced his support of an extension of the Bush-era tax cuts, but there are some other tax cuts in the fine print that may hurt your retirement.  The proposed legislation includes a 2% reduction in Social Security taxes.  Say what?!?  Isn’t Social Security in enough trouble?  According to the Congressional Budget Office, Social Security expenditures have EXCEEDED tax revenue for the first time ever this year.  The fund itself is expected to run out of money by the year 2037.  So what can you do in response to this potential derailment in your future Social Security benefits? Continue reading “4 Steps to Take Now so Tax Cuts Don’t Affect Your Retirement”

How to Budget when New Shoes are Needed

December 15, 2010
Photo: planetschwa / Flickr

I have four children, and as anyone with kids old enough to wear shoes will tell you, they don’t make shoes like they used to.  My kids go through shoes as though they were disposable.  My wife includes shoes on her grocery list, which kind of tells you what kind of shoes we usually end up buying.  The price for a new pair of shoes spans a wide range, so here’s what I think they should do to make buying shoes easier.

Continue reading “How to Budget when New Shoes are Needed”

Commit to Save and Retire Early

December 08, 2010

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”

Coupons: Money Saver or Scam?

December 01, 2010

I’ve seen a lot of buzz recently about saving money by cutting coupons, and so I approached my wife with the idea and let me just say it wasn’t quite the reaction that I was expecting.  I mean I figured there would be a little push back, but after 30+ minutes of heated discussion, I felt that I had to defend the holdouts to the coupon revolution (and thus regain my moniker as “The Rebel”).  Now I confess, I don’t know exactly what is involved in “couponing,” but I’m pretty sure it has something to do with saving money, and that is what piqued my original support for the cause.  So here’s how it went down: Continue reading “Coupons: Money Saver or Scam?”

4 Steps to Take if You are the Victim of Identity Theft

November 24, 2010

“Hello, Mr. Ward?  This is your credit card company.  We just wanted to know if you have purchased gas in Terra Haute, Indiana, recently.”

Does this sound familiar?  Every year thousands of debit and credit card numbers are stolen and sold over the internet.  Sometimes your card issuer is able to catch the unauthorized use early, as was the case in my particular instance.  Other times you start receiving strange things in the mail.  One recent caller began receiving merchandise he never ordered.  There are a few steps you should take when you suspect that your card number has been compromised: Continue reading “4 Steps to Take if You are the Victim of Identity Theft”

Have Bags, Will Travel (and Save Money While Doing it)

November 17, 2010

In my line of work you get to see the inside of the airport an awful lot, but over the years I’ve learned how to travel for less.  Here are some ways I’ve learned to save when it comes to flights, hotels, and rental cars.

Flights

When it comes to saving money on flights, sometimes you have to go the extra mile – literally. Continue reading “Have Bags, Will Travel (and Save Money While Doing it)”

Hopping the Hurdles Toward Retirement (the series)

November 10, 2010

When it comes to saving money for retirement, the sooner you can save the better.  But that’s not always possible.  There may be circumstances in your life that prevent you from being able to save when you are younger, and as a result you get a late start.  In this week’s blog I’ll address what things may need to be done when faced with the challenge of a late start.

Hurdle #4: Late Start Continue reading “Hopping the Hurdles Toward Retirement (the series)”

Hopping the Hurdles Toward Retirement (the series)

November 03, 2010

It’s hard enough to plan on retirement for just you, but what happens when you throw others in the mix.  If you are married, your spouse may be part of your plan, but does your retirement plan also include taking care of aging parents?  This week we’ll take a look at how to address this issue when planning for retirement.

Hurdle #3: Taking care of dependent parents Continue reading “Hopping the Hurdles Toward Retirement (the series)”

Hopping the Hurdles Toward Retirement (the series)

October 27, 2010

Whether you like it or not, the government has to spend money.  When the government spends money, it has to get that money from somewhere.  It can either get it from tax revenue, or it can print more money.

To increase tax revenue, the government will sometimes increase income taxes.  In my last blog, I discussed how to overcome the challenge of higher income taxes in retirement by utilizing the Roth IRA.  In today’s blog I’ll tackle the potential problem with printing more money: inflation. Continue reading “Hopping the Hurdles Toward Retirement (the series)”

Hopping the Hurdles Toward Retirement (the series)

October 20, 2010

I’ve been doing a lot of retirement workshops lately, and there’s a part in our workshop where we address the obstacles that stand in the way of you reaching your retirement goals.  I thought I’d offer some suggestions to how you may be able to get over these hurdles, so here’s the first in a series: Continue reading “Hopping the Hurdles Toward Retirement (the series)”

Kids Eat Free Sundays

October 13, 2010

Sunday is my favorite day of the week.  Not only is it a day I get to worship with my family, but it is also the day that kids eat free at the local sub shop.  Now I’ve got four children (the oldest who just turned 12) and as many of you can attest it can be very expensive feeding such a crew.  In fact, my last trip out for lunch cost me over $75, and I didn’t even enjoy an adult beverage.  The truth is dining out can be one of the biggest drains when it comes to the family budget.  When we think about how much we spend each month it’s easy to come up with figures for things like housing, utilities, cell phones, etc., but dining out is one of those expenses that is easy to underestimate.  We might think we have a good handle on it, but let’s test ourselves to be sure.  Continue reading “Kids Eat Free Sundays”

Credit Card Myths

October 06, 2010

According to IndexCreditCards.com the average household in America has nearly $7,400 in credit card debt.  What’s more disturbing is when you take away households that have zero credit card debt that figure jumps to almost $16,000!  We haven’t even considered the other forms of household debt, such as student loans, car loans, and mortgages.  When you consider that the average interest rate on a credit card is somewhere above 14% you start to realize just how easy it is to get over our heads in debt. Continue reading “Credit Card Myths”

The Debit Card Hoax

September 29, 2010

One of my favorite workshops is our Personal Financial Basics workshop.  In this workshop we talk about the fundamental principles of money management, including budgeting, credit and debt, and saving.  No matter where I go or what audience I’m speaking to, there is one part of this workshop that always causes a stir: the debit card.

Now what can be so controversial about the debit card?  Nothing, unless you make it controversial, and here’s how the conversation typically goes: Continue reading “The Debit Card Hoax”

The $1,249 Vacuum Cleaner

September 22, 2010

Recently, our vacuum cleaner broke.  Now normally when something like this happens I like to take it apart and find the broken piece, replace it, and keep using it.  Well, let’s just say this vacuum is beyond the point of no return.  But this presents us with an interesting dilemma.  You see, this is not going to be the first time that we are replacing the vacuum.  We don’t seem to have very good luck with vacuums, and by my count, we are on at least vacuum #3.  So that would mean we are replacing a vacuum about once every five years.  Now I don’t know the life expectancy of the typical vacuum cleaner, but that seems a little frequent to me.  So I plan to take a different approach to the vacuum buying process this go around. Continue reading “The $1,249 Vacuum Cleaner”

The Cost of Necessity

September 15, 2010

Twice a year I have the opportunity to speak at the local crisis pregnancy center to a group of young men and women about managing their finances.  Now I don’t care how old or how young you are; whether you make a lot of money or just a little—we ALL need help when it comes to managing our money.  Most of us learned to manage money watching our parents, and I think many of you would agree that they could probably use some help too.  But among the things we talk about, the one that I often get a kick over is the subject of ‘wants vs. needs’.  Now you might think that wants and needs are fairly easy to determine, and in many cases you’d be right, but there are several instances when it may not be as black and white as it first appears. Continue reading “The Cost of Necessity”

Are You Financially Strong Enough to Accept Charity?

September 08, 2010

Recently, my life group at church went to a local gas station to pump gas and wash windows for the customers, and I learned something very interesting: sometimes it is difficult to receive charity.  Our goal that day was to be nice, and to offer kindness to strangers in the form of service.  We were not asking for donations, we were not raising money for some upcoming event.  We were simply being charitable.  Now in the defense of those we met that day, I will say that in today’s world someone coming up to you at the gas station and offering to pump your gas and wash your windows seems a bit odd, but when we explained that we were simply providing service as an act of kindness, there were many who allowed us to proceed. Continue reading “Are You Financially Strong Enough to Accept Charity?”

A Tale of Two Vacations

September 01, 2010

Recently my family and I went on vacation.  Well, actually it was two vacations; one right after the other.  The first was a working vacation—I worked while my family vacationed.  I travel quite a bit in my line of work so whenever the kids are out of school and I’m going to be away for a few days I like to bring the family along with me.  It gives them something to do, and to be honest with you I really enjoy the company.  It also saves us money.  I have to get a hotel when I travel, and I have to get to and from the hotel, so at least part of the travel expense is covered.  It also gives my children an appreciation of what their dad does for a living, and after a long day of work I enjoy hearing about the fun things they did that day.  And who doesn’t enjoy sitting in a hot tub with their significant other watching the kids jump into the hotel pool? Continue reading “A Tale of Two Vacations”

Why Pay for Education?

August 25, 2010

As some of you may know, I used to be a financial advisor with the brokerage affiliate of a national bank.  As a financial advisor, I made a living by providing advice and selling investment products and services.  Since the only way I would make money is if I sold investment products or services, it did not make much sense for me to spend time helping bank customers that did not have assets to invest or a need for my services.  That, however, did not stop many of the bankers from referring their customers to me when they needed financial help.  Whether it was helping someone to get out of debt, or to simply create a budget, the bankers figured that since I was a financial planner it was my job to help their customers with these issues.  The truth is I loved to help, but the reality was I could not afford to help as much as I wanted to. Continue reading “Why Pay for Education?”

Playing it Safe

August 18, 2010

With talk about a possible “double-dip” recession looming, investors had better take precaution.  I’m not here to say that I think another recession will occur, but at the same time I don’t think the best approach is to bury your head in the sand and hope that everything turns out okay.

There are several things investors can do to prepare for the possibility of another economic downturn: Continue reading “Playing it Safe”