One of the first steps I help clients focus on is building or maintaining an emergency fund. As basic as it is, it can be a hard thing for some folks to commit to. I often feel like I’m being Debbie Downer when I have to focus on negative “what if” scenarios in life, but that’s part of helping people be financially prepared. I think the difficulty that comes in committing to an emergency fund boils down to a few key … Read More
Financial issues in a relationship can be complex and challenging. It’s likely you’ll encounter some point in time where you want one thing and your partner wants another. In such situations, wouldn’t you prefer to avoid a money argument? But how do you keep the peace without giving up what’s important to you? Use these strategies to avoid an argument and negotiate your position effectively: 1. Refrain from taking offense. When you see your partner is getting “hot … Read More
The best way to teach your child good money skills is through examples and daily life experiences. A good age to start teaching your child about the value of money is when they are around seven years old. At this age, real-life examples can help children to understand why certain things have greater monetary value than other things. A trip to the supermarket is a great opportunity to open this discussion. For example, start by … Read More
It’s tricky. How do you draw the line so you can protect your finances from relationship debt without creating a confrontational situation? Start by being aware of what it is and how it can creep into your life. Relationship debt is the situation when one person in a relationship becomes liable for the debts incurred by an ex-partner. I’m raising the issue for discussion because I have started to see more relation debt fallout … Read More
Driving home yesterday evening, this is what I heard on the radio… Host leads with great emphasis in her voice, “The stock market was hammered today with The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping over 326 points. Stocks fell sharply after a disappointing report on U.S. manufacturing and ahead of a busy week for economic indicators.” Then in a more matter-of-fact, by-the-way-tone, she went on to say, “The S&P was down 40.7 and the Nasdaq was down … Read More
Whenever I’m helping clients get clear about their spending we start by breaking their expenses down into two core categories: needs and wants. It seems pretty simple. Needs are things we must have to survive, such as food, water, shelter. Wants are things that we would like to have, but could live without. In theory, it’s an easy concept to understand. But in practice, it’s not so straightforward because people categorize spending based on … Read More
Over the last few months, I have talked with quite a few people that are thinking about buying or selling a home in the coming months. They want an idea of what they should do to prepare for it. Beyond my financial “dollar and cents” guidance, I like to layout the home buying/home selling process so they are prepared for the different steps that need to be cleared. If you have never gone through … Read More
I hope your 2014 is off to a good start! Based on my goal setting post from last year, some of you may know I have a great resistance to being another source of “New Year’s Resolution Noise.” Quite a few of you, though, contacted me to ask for coaching support as you work through the outline of my goal planning process that I shared last year. So I’ve waited to dust off that … Read More
Question: ” Is my student loan interest deductible?” Answer: Assuming you meet certain requirements, you may be able to claim all or part of the student loan interest that you’ve incurred during the year. Generally, a qualified education loan is a debt you incur to pay qualified higher education (undergraduate and graduate) expenses for yourself, your spouse, or a dependent at an eligible educational institution in a program that leads to a degree. The IRS … Read More
Question: “Can I take my life insurance policy with me when I leave my employer?” Answer: Quite often you can transfer your group life insurance coverage to an individual policy with the same insurance company when you leave your employer. You should check with your employer to see if your group life insurance contract offers a conversion privilege available to all employees who are insured under the employer’s group plan. A conversion privilege will be … Read More