Budgeting

Pexels – CC0 License

With finances being stretched further, it may seem like one of the most difficult things in the world to set aside any amount of money for emergencies. If you don’t know how to do it and you are already on a tight budget, how can you make sure that you do put money aside for a rainy day, regardless of your income? 

Make Saving a Priority

Many people wait to see how much they have leftover at the end of the month before they start saving. Instead, you need to get into the mindset of putting money towards your emergency savings before doing anything else. Once the money is in a savings account, you don’t have the temptation to spend it on anything else.

Don’t Spend Any Windfalls

If you have any extra money that comes in, you would be tempted to spend it on something nice. Instead, put it in an emergency savings fund. Because this money wasn’t factored in as part of your monthly budget, you won’t miss it. As nice as it is to buy something nice for yourself, if you’re trying to get towards your savings goal, you’ve got to make the most of every little windfall. 

Automate Your Savings

This is one of the best ways to make life easier for yourself. Because if you tell yourself you are going to start saving but unforeseen circumstances crop up, it will stop you from putting it into savings. Instead, setting up an automatic transfer from your checking account to your savings accounts will start to build up that fund. Regardless of how much you decide to contribute, this way you won’t forget about it or use it for something else. 

Letting the Money Grow

If you are not able to put much aside, you might wonder if there’s any point, but the fact is that any little fund is going to make a big difference when it adds up over time. Because there are plenty of ways for you to do this, such as a money market account or a high-yield savings account, you can get a big return on your investment. 

Do Top-Ups

Getting started can be one of the biggest challenges, and if you are already limiting your spending in many other aspects of your life, you may find it there’s a little something saved over that you would be tempted to spend on yourself, but similarly to the windfall approach, you can put any little top up into the savings account. You could use an automated savings app like Plum that does a top-up of putting any money aside which can be as little as a few cents. And because the amount is so low you won’t miss it, but you’re still increasing your savings ever so slightly. 

Making Changes to Your Budget

If you are trying to save for retirement, it might be time to start slashing your budget and trimming as much as humanly possible. Because if you’re used to a certain lifestyle just trimming it by 10% or so can make a big difference.

With finances being stretched further, it may seem like one of the most difficult things in the world to set aside any amount of money for emergencies. If you don’t know how to do it and you are already on a tight budget, how can you make sure that you do put money aside for a rainy day, regardless of your income? 

Make Saving a Priority

Many people wait to see how much they have leftover at the end of the month before they start saving. Instead, you need to get into the mindset of putting money towards your emergency savings before doing anything else. Once the money is in a savings account, you don’t have the temptation to spend it on anything else.

Don’t Spend Any Windfalls

If you have any extra money that comes in, you would be tempted to spend it on something nice. Instead, put it in an emergency savings fund. Because this money wasn’t factored in as part of your monthly budget, you won’t miss it. As nice as it is to buy something nice for yourself, if you’re trying to get towards your savings goal, you’ve got to make the most of every little windfall. 

Automate Your Savings

This is one of the best ways to make life easier for yourself. Because if you tell yourself you are going to start saving but unforeseen circumstances crop up, it will stop you from putting it into savings. Instead, setting up an automatic transfer from your checking account to your savings accounts will start to build up that fund. Regardless of how much you decide to contribute, this way you won’t forget about it or use it for something else. 

Letting the Money Grow

If you are not able to put much aside, you might wonder if there’s any point, but the fact is that any little fund is going to make a big difference when it adds up over time. Because there are plenty of ways for you to do this, such as a money market account or a high-yield savings account, you can get a big return on your investment. 

Do Top-Ups

Getting started can be one of the biggest challenges, and if you are already limiting your spending in many other aspects of your life, you may find it there’s a little something saved over that you would be tempted to spend on yourself, but similarly to the windfall approach, you can put any little top up into the savings account. You could use an automated savings app like Plum that does a top-up of putting any money aside which can be as little as a few cents. And because the amount is so low you won’t miss it, but you’re still increasing your savings ever so slightly. 

Making Changes to Your Budget

If you are trying to save for retirement, it might be time to start slashing your budget and trimming as much as humanly possible. Because if you’re used to a certain lifestyle just trimming it by 10% or so can make a big difference.

The retirement age seems to keep going up and up, but with some intelligent savings, many people can retire precisely when they want to. 

When we talk about saving for retirement, the best time to start saving is right now, or more than ten years ago (depending on your age). 

It is estimated that most people don’t know how much they need to have set aside for retirement, and with inflation, it can be tricky to know for sure. 

Photo Source

Typically you are recommended your retirement income should be about 80% of what you earned yearly until your chosen retirement age. So if you have been making a round of $100,000 a year, you’re going to want to set aside $80,000 for each year of your retirement to live at roughly the same standard. 

So how can you prep your finances to make sure you can have an enjoyable retirement? 

Set a Goal

Setting saving goals is something that we need to do throughout life anyway, but when it comes to your retirement, you need to know how much to save – and make it last. The above example is relatively high since the average income in the US in 2019 was around $31,133. 

Something that is worth considering is, do you plan on traveling? Will you sell and downsize your home? Do you have multiple pensions? 

And a factor you might consider for your family is, have you got the proper insurance to take care of you when you die? Protecting your loved ones after you die should be in your goal planning and is possible with term life insurance. 

Once you set your total financial goal, you then need to work out how much of a % of your yearly income should go into your retirement savings. The later in life you begin to save, the higher the percentage is going to be. 

Retirement Account

If you are simply leaving your savings in your regular account, it can be all too easy to eat into them. Instead, it is a good idea to open a retirement account. 

Some accounts are better than others when it comes to retirement accounts, and while you can open a standard savings account, there are some government accounts that are designed for retirement savings. 

These types of special accounts come with some tax advantages, which makes them worth considering. 

Employer-sponsored retirement accounts, such as 401(k)s or individual retirement accounts, are the two basic forms of retirement accounts (IRAs). These regular and Roth versions of both types of accounts are offered. Both provide tax-advantaged growth of your investment funds, but you get to choose whether you want a tax cut now or later.

IRA

You might have access to a retirement account through your work; then, you can either choose from a Roth IRA or a Traditional IRA. 

You must have taxable income for the year in order to contribute to these accounts. Roth IRAs have higher income requirements. 

If you’re single, you must make less than $124,000, and if you’re married and filing jointly, you must make less than $196,000 to contribute the maximum amount to a Roth IRA.

Employer-sponsored retirement accounts 

Some companies offer this benefit to their employees, and most people have heard of the 401(k). You might have access to other plans like the 457(b) or the 403(b), SIMPLE IRA, or the SEP-IRA. 

What makes these accounts so brilliant is that they often have an employer contributions match. So effectively, with these, you can double your money, potentially reducing your time to retirement. 

Automation

There is no doubt about it that saving for years can feel like a lot of effort. So what can you do to help lessen the manual work? 

Automation of your savings means that you will not have to move your money from one account to another. Instead, you can set your saving parameters, and each month or week, the correct amount will be put into your accounts. 

If you like the idea of also having some smaller saving pots, there are automated saving applications too. 

Smaller side savings can be used to top up your retirement accounts at a later date or to cover any emergency expenses, so you don’t need to dip into any other savings. 

Here are some of the most used, reviewed, and ‘best’ savings apps to make automatic savings a snip. 

• Acorns
• Digit
• Chime
• Empower Finance
• Qapital
• B of A Keep The Change
• Plum

Each of these automated saving options has a range of different benefits, so you’ll need to read reviews to deice which is the best option for you. What makes many automated saving apps brilliant is that they work on an algorithm that tracks your income, your average spending, and your upcoming bills. It then only saves what you can afford. 

You can typically hook up your main bank account and enjoy most of the perks on a free account. 

Spend Less Now

While you are looking at your financial future, it is a great time to look at your current financial standing. How much are you spending and where? Could you be trimming some of the expenses each month so that you could save more? 

It is essential that you still enjoy your money, but when it comes to planning for the future, every little bit helps. 

If you are looking for some of the best places to save money from regular bills, this post can help you: 5 Common Bills You Can Make Savings On. 

Start Now

As mentioned at the start of the post, the most critical time to start saving if you haven’t already is right now. Take a look at what you have available right now, and even a few dollars can be the start of a fund that will help you enjoy your retirement to the fullest. 

Keep in mind that not many people can save up thousands in a few short weeks and that every cent that you put into your savings is going towards a healthier financial future. 

Photo Source

A lot is often said about adults needing to learn how to budget. However, it is not just adults that need to learn how to budget the money they earn. Kids need to do so as well.

Helping your teenager to learn how to budget your money is a skill that will be beneficial to them as they go into adulthood. 

If your teenager is currently working at a part-time job or even if they are only getting their allowance, showing them how to manage their money effectively is one of those life skills that have tremendous value. Here are some tips for showing your teenager how to manage their money.

Look at Income

One of the things you need to look at is your child’s income. Determining the income of your child is the first step to helping them to manage their budget. 

After all, you have to know what you are working with to know how to manage the money. If your teenager gets money from a part-time job, an allowance, or money from relatives and friends on their birthday or special holidays all of this can be added up to create their budget. 

You can create a budget for every month of the year if the amount fluctuates.

Note All Expenses

The next thing you need to do is to make a note of all the expenses that they have during the month. If your child is an older teen they will probably have a cell phone bill that they need to pay every month. 

If they have a car they will probably need to put gas in it regularly. They may also have expenses for certain foods they like to buy for themselves. 

Creating a monthly tally of the expenses is essential because it will help them to know their income and expenditure.

You should show your child exactly how to go about subtracting your income from your expenditure. This will allow them to know if they are going over budget and even if they have any money left over for savings. 

If they find that they are spending more than they are earning this is the time when you will look at ways for them to start cutting their expenses.

Discuss Savings

The next thing you need to discuss is how they are going to save money. If your teen is completely over budget they will need to sit down and figure out how they are going to curb their expenses to save more money. 

Maybe they will need to carpool on some days or maybe they need to stop eating so much of their favorite foods. Teaching them how to make sacrifices so that they can save for long-term goals is necessary.

After they’ve done all of this work you can then show them how to create a balanced budget. Show them how to work the numbers until they balance everything. This is a skill that will stay with them for a lifetime.

Budgeting for Recreation

While it is important to teach your teen how to balance money for their expenses. It is also important for you to teach them how to set aside money for those activities that they enjoy. 

Life is about having a balance and teaching them how to save, balance their expenses and also use the money for recreation is essential.

Make sure that you show your child how to prioritize needs and wants. This will help them decide how best to spend their money.

It is important that you also show your teen examples of young people who have managed to make a name for themselves in one way or another and also have a high net worth. 

For example, millennial Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was nicknamed AOC. AOC is currently worth $200,000. This is just one example but you can find others too.

Start Wealth Building Now

Building wealth is something that you need to start teaching children from a very early age. Showing them how to effectively manage their finances from when they are young is something that will be ingrained in them as they become adults. 

This will lead to less frustration when they have to deal with their expenses as adults. It will also help them to start building wealth from they are very young. 

The earlier your child starts building wealth the more likely it is that they will have financial freedom as they get older.

Buying a gift for a loved one is a fun-filled process; you’ll likely enjoy the opportunity to choose something really special. Sometimes no matter how well you know someone, you just can’t think of the perfect idea. To help you out, consider these four sentimental gift ideas for someone special.

1. Photo Album 

A beautiful photo album is a perfect gift for a loved one. First, choose a cute album, and then put all your favorite photographs of the two of you inside. It can be a lovely touch to add descriptions and captions, to talk about the photographs. As well as this, you might like to decorate the photograph edges with crafty touches, (whether ribbons, sequins, or glitter). Let your creative side flow and create a nice homemade album that they’ll look back on for years to come. Sometimes it’s the gifts that we have made ourselves that are the most well-received.

2 . Jewelry 

A gorgeous piece of jewelry is the perfect sentimental gift for someone special. There’s something particularly special and luxurious about receiving jewelry as a gift. Most of the time, we don’t tend to buy ourselves jewelry, and so the offering feels that little bit more precious and unique! This is especially true when it comes to buying for a special man in your life. They may not even think about buying beaded bracelets for men when in truth, they’d actually really appreciate it as part of their ensemble.

The great thing about jewelry gifts is they are made to last. These gifts don’t tend to suffer much wear and tear, (so long as you choose a top-quality piece). It’s essential to consider the style closely, so you can choose something your giftee will just love. If your loved one isn’t a jewelry fan, a fancy watch is a perfect alternative, for example, a nice Audemars Piguet watch.

And if you really want to treat them to a sentimental gift, why not consider taking things to the next level? Take a look at what different moissanite jewelers have to offer when it comes to beautiful engagement rings, and treat your special someone to a gift they will never forget! Of course, make sure you’re looking for quality when it comes to such an important purchase. When looking for a high-quality ring, don’t forget to refer to the 4 C’s – Cut, Carat, Color, and Clarity.

3. Homemade Wall Decoration

Want to get even more creative? It’s simple to make a lovely framed wall decoration for your loved one. All you have to do is print out a line or two of their favorite song lyrics or a poem. Ensure that you choose a pretty font and go for big letters (so it can be seen when hanging on the wall). Choose an arty and bright-colored frame for the print, and then decorate the frame if you wish. You might even have an idea for a nice quote or poem that you can write to yourself?

4. Personalized Story

Looking to get super sentimental? Why not create a personalized story? There are several companies online that will create a cute illustrated story. An example of one company is ‘LoveBook’. You can use the platform to build your story and design the illustrations to look like you!  It might be a story about a memory you share, how you met, or the story of your first vacation together. Whether it’s a Christmas gift or for a birthday, a personalized story is just perfect.

Whether you’re looking to splurge or save, purchase or go-handmade, hopefully, one of these ideas will be just perfect for you! Be sure to set a rough budget in mind first before you get shopping.

Retirement is a time of peace and relaxation, but you need to start preparing for it. You have a lot to do before retirement. It would help if you took care of your finances and your health now, so you’re in a good place when it comes time to retire. Here are some tips and tricks for getting prepared for your retirement now.

Image credit

Look at Retirement Saving Options and Start Saving Now!

There are a few places where you can open a retirement account. One of the most popular is your employer’s 401(k) plan. You can also open an IRA or a Roth IRA if your income is too high for a 401(k). Regardless of which account you choose, you must start saving now. The earlier you start saving, the more money you will have when it comes time to retire.

Not only should you invest in these accounts, but it’s also important that you save on your own outside of retirement accounts. Regularly putting away a little bit of money each month will help save up for your future self.

Invest Wisely for Your Retirement

One of the most important things you can do is invest wisely for your retirement. If you want a good retirement, make sure to take care of your finances now. You should start saving for retirement as early as possible so that you don’t have to worry about money later in life. You should also invest in different accounts to diversify the risk and work towards long-term wealth.

Improve your Health Now for A Healthy Retirement

The healthier you are now, the more active and happy you’ll be during your retirement years.

You should aim to be in good shape before you retire because it will make the transition more manageable and less stressful. You’ll have more energy and feel better about yourself if you take care of yourself now before retirement. Plus, it’s never too late to start a fitness routine! It doesn’t matter how old or out-of-shape you are. 

It would help if you also considered eating healthier foods so that your body is ready to slow down when it comes time to retire from a hectic schedule. A diet high in fruits and vegetables will help with any inflammation caused by illness or stress while providing energy throughout your day. Include healthy fats like avocados, eggs, nuts, and seeds into your diet, as well as lean proteins like fish and chicken breast. Your body needs these nutrients during this stressful time period and vitamins C and D from fruit juice and milk, respectively, which will help with sleep quality at night.

Organize Your Affairs and Put A Will In Place

One of the first things you need to do is organize your affairs. This includes putting a will in place.

Every person should have a will. Even if you don’t own property or have children, you still need to put together a will and look at estate planning. It doesn’t take long to draft one, and it’s an important document to have in case anything happens. If you die without a will, your estate will be distributed according to state laws that may not align with your wishes for who gets what.

Determine Your Retirement Age

The first thing you need to do is determine your retirement age. You can choose any retirement age, but experts say it’s best to have a plan of at least 10 years before you retire so that you can get everything in order. Having a set date in mind will help you stay on track with preparing for your future.

Look At Your Retirement Spending Requirements

Retirement spending requirements are often overlooked. But it’s essential to look at what you’ll need in retirement. You can do this by looking at your budget for the next 6 months to see how much you’ll be spending on essentials like housing, utilities, food, transportation, and health care.

This is an essential step in preparing for your retirement because it will help you understand how much you’ll need to retire comfortably. You may find that you’re able to retire earlier than expected if you make some adjustments now. This will also help if your retirement fund isn’t meeting expectations and needs to be adjusted.

You can also get an estimate of how much money you’ll need for retirement by checking out the Social Security Administration calculator.

The Social Security Administration calculator will give you an estimate of what income level is best for your situation based on your current financial situation and when you want to retire. Knowing how much money to plan for in retirement will help alleviate any surprises when it comes time for you to retire and could help keep your finances stable in the meantime so that they don’t go too low or too high while saving for retirement.

Your business is probably one of the most precious things in your life. You don’t put all of that time and money into it not to want it to succeed, so you are going to need help. You might not need help specifically from whoever you are talking to, but you definitely need help to carry the load. In this article, we are going to be taking a look at some of the things that you need to do to keep your business going. If you would like to find out more about this topic, keep reading down below.

More Funding

The first thing that we are going to recommend is that you find more funding. One of the biggest issues that you could be facing is money, but you don’t want to let this get in your way. Sure, it isn’t easy, but sorting out your money is the best thing that you can do. You set yourself a budget and then work on staying between the lines of this budget so that you aren’t throwing money around like a madman.

If you have the money, then you should put the extra funds up for the business. There are many elements to keeping a business above the water, and money is always going to be one of them. Just make sure that you can afford to do this without putting more financial strain on yourself if you can. If you find yourself needing legal advice, Canyon Legal Group and other companies like it are there to help.

Better Staff

Another thing that you are going to need is better staff. If you want your business to continue, you are going to need people who are willing to go that extra mile for you. Those who are working hard, even when there is nobody watching them ensure they are getting things done. It’s important that you have the best staff possible if you want to keep your business going. A lot of people seem to forget that you are only as weak as the weakest link.

Reputation and Branding

Do you know what is being said about your company? The online world is vast, and as such, there are many ways in which people can be discussing your business. And not all positive either. You can create the best branding for your company and do everything, but if you overlook what is being said about you online, you may as well be wasting your time.

Use social media listening tools and online reputation management to help you get a clever picture of what is being said and give yourself the chance to change the narrative.

Better Research

Finally, if you want to understand the business market, then you need to conduct research. Now, you might be wondering why you need to conduct research and the simple answer is that you will not win without it. You need to understand what the competition is doing so that you know what needs to be done in order to win! This research should give you all the answers that you need.

Trying to find the best insurance policy for your needs is no easy task. The key is to evaluate what you’re willing to pay for and what exactly you’re hoping your insurance will be able to do. So, how can insurance potentially save you money? Insurance is primarily an investment in your future. The premiums you spend today on car, home, and life insurance policies will be able to help you avoid financial situations that could lead to bankruptcy or ruin years down the road.

So, while saving money with insurance might not be the primary purpose of purchasing a policy, it’s still possible.

The benefits of Homeowners’ insurance

To see the potential savings, you can make by insuring your home, it’s important to first understand how insurance works. At the most basic level, you’re paying for the right to be compensated if something goes wrong at some point in the future. For example, the average cost to furnish a house is between $29,550 and a whopping $60,000. A small kitchen fire that is quickly controlled can cause $1,000s of dollars of damage to furnishings and kitchen units.

Fire damage restoration costs

The above example doesn’t take into account the full financial implications of a more serious fire. When you add into the mix the costs of repairing damage to the property itself, the financial burden of being uninsured quickly rises. Fire damage restoration costs for a small fire range between $2,914 and $32,522. However, these costs can rise dramatically. 

Compare those costs with the cost of an insurance policy

The example of a small fire could set you back at least $2,914. Now consider the average cost of homeowners insurance in the US is $1,312 per year for $250,000 in coverage. At this very conservative example, the savings made by the homeowner would be $1,602. In the event of a much larger fire, your savings could be much higher! Companies such as KBD Insurance provide online and telephone quotes on a range of insurance packages.

The example outlined also ignores many other benefits of homeowners’ insurance. For example, not only will you be covered against fire damage, with the right policy, you will also be covered for:

• Damage to the building itself and any detached structures, including detached garages, sheds, workshops, pool houses, and so on.
• Contents and personal belongings are protected against damage or theft
• Additional living expenses (hotel, travel, and food costs if you and your family can’t stay in your home due to a claim)
• Civil liability (damage you or your property may cause to others)

Tenants should consider renters’ insurance

While renters’ insurance in the US is not required in most states, it is something that you should seriously consider taking out if your policy allows it. The general premise of a renters insurance policy is the same as a homeowners’ policy. You will be compensated for damage or theft to your property, and you’ll have coverage against the financial burden of being without a home while repairs are carried out.

In some cases, your landlord will provide buildings cover when he applies for a mortgage to purchase his property. In these situations, it’s important to understand exactly what is covered under this policy.

Whether you are a homeowner or tenant, it’s not difficult to see the potential savings that are available if you have the right insurance policy in place.