MONDAY MONEY TIP PODCAST: Making Savings A Priority
Monday Money Tip Podcast Episode 03 Now Available!
Episode 03 of The Monday Money Tip Podcast is officially LIVE! Hear from me and my co-host, Megan Hibbard, as we give practical answers to real-life money problems.
On this episode, we’ll talk about why saving money is a MUST in your financial plan. I’ll answer the question, “How can I make saving a priority when I’m paying off debt?” With tax season upon us, I’ll tell you how to maximize your refund and talk about the secret weapon to financial freedom – the IWBNIN ladder. I’ll also share my thoughts on the wildly popular bitcoin and cryptocurrency.
It’s our goal at the end of each episode that you gain hope and encouragement in your financial journey, you’re equipped to take a next step, and that you’ve had FUN with us!
Find The Monday Money Tip Podcast HERE. Please let us know what you think by leaving us a rating!
NOW AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD:
iTunes
Stitcher
Soundcloud
Website
Email info@iwbnin.com to submit podcast questions or share success stories.
Show Notes
About the episode:
- We’ll talk about why saving is a MUST in your financial plan.
- Joe answers the question “How can I make savings a priority when I’m paying off debt?”
- Find out how to maximize your tax return.
- Learn about the secret weapon to financial freedom- the IWBNIN Ladder.
- Joe shares his thoughts on the wildly popular bitcoin and cryptocurrency.
Quote of the Day: “You cannot PROSPER if you do not SAVE.”
Links:
How to Maximize Your Tax Refund- Blog
How to Maximize Your Tax Refund- Video
Joe’s recommended banks for online savings
Joe’s Book- “I Was Broke, Now I’m Not”
MONDAY MONEY TIP PODCAST: Budgeting with Irregular Income
Monday Money Tip Podcast Episode 02 Now Available!
Episode 02 of The Monday Money Tip Podcast is officially LIVE! Hear from me, Joe, and my co-host, Megan Hibbard, as we give practical answers to real life money problems.
On this episode, we’ll talk all about how to budget when your income is irregular. I’ll also tell my own success story of how my family overcame the challenges of budgeting with an income that changed month to month. I’ll give my take how to to handle the dreaded Christmas credit card bill and how you can stop living paycheck to paycheck.
It’s our goal at the end of each episode that you gain hope and encouragement in your financial journey, you’re equipped to take a next step, and that you’ve had FUN with us!
Find the Monday Money Tip Podcast HERE. Please let us know what you think by leaving us a rating!
NOW AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD:
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/monday-money-tip/id1331042488?mt=2
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/monday-money-tip?refid=stpr
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/monday-money-tip
Email info@iwbnin.com to submit podcast questions or share success stories.
Show Notes
About the episode:
- We’ll tackle the topic of irregular income and budgeting.
- Joe answers the question “How do we make a budget when we don’t know what our income will be every month?”
- How to tackle the Christmas credit card bill.
- Joe shares his own success story of budgeting and winning with money while having an irregular income.
- Learn about the IWBNIN ladder
- Get tools to help you stop living paycheck to paycheck
Quote of the day- “You can.”
Links:
0% Balance Transfer Credit Cards
Known Upcoming Expenses Calculator
Preparing for Retirement Income
We were recently asked this question, “I’m a few years out from retirement. What are some things I should be considering?”
It was a great question, and one that applies to all of us. With that in mind, we decided to share our answer with everyone.
As you prepare for your retirement, I encourage you to do the following:
- OUTGO: Calculate your “needed” and “desired” retirement income
- “Needed” income is what is absolutely necessary to maintain your life – giving, saving for known, upcoming non-monthly expenses (Christmas, vacations, property taxes, car maintenance/replacement, homeowner’s association fees, insurance deductibles, etc), food, car insurance, etc.
- “Desired” income is what you would like to have in monthly income – it covers your “needed” income plus the extras you would like to be able to do throughout retirement
- INCOME: Visit SSA.gov to determine your options
- Upon establishment of your personal account, you will be able to see all of the available options including early retirement, full retirement, and delaying benefits until sometime past full retirement age.
- INCOME: Determine other sources of income you expect to receive throughout retirement
- Do you have any pensions?
- Do you have any rental income sources?
- Do you have any 401k, 403b, 457, TSP, Roth IRA, IRA, or other similar investments?
- Do you have any assets (property, precious metals, business interest) you expect to sell to help fund retirement?
- Calculate your retirement nest-egg from multiple sources
- You can use the I Was Broke. Now I’m Not. Calculator
- I also like the Voya Retirement Calculator
- The Fidelity Retirement Score is also helpful
It’s NEVER too early to start thinking about and planning for those retirement years!
How to Sustain Good Financial Decisions: AUTOMATE
We’ve all had moments where we have firmly stated our resolve to do something different with our money. Usually the outburst follows a negative financial outcome. Perhaps we’ve overspent on our vacation. Maybe we have the starting realization that there is no money in the college fund for our high school senior. It could be that we’ve dipped into the overdraft account again. Whatever the case may be, it causes us to commit to better financial management.
Here are some common statements people make in these moments:
- “I’m going to start preparing a written budget each month.”
- “I’m increasing my contributions to the retirement plan.”
- “Let’s open a 529 college savings plan and begin making monthly contributions.”
- “I’m cutting up the credit cards.”
There is just one problem with each of these statements: saying it doesn’t make it true.
For every statement and moment where we commit to better financial decisions, one must actually do the work to follow through. And, my friends, we all know that it is truly hard work. Life is so busy. We’re exhausted. Plus, many of these decisions require information and knowledge we may not currently possess. This is a recipe for failure to follow through on really good financial decisions.
And we’ve all been there, haven’t we?
Let’s flip the script, and put in place some “best practices” that can really help us sustain these good financial decisions so that we can reap the benefits they can provide us: fully funded lives, dreams accomplished, and freedom to live generously.
Sustain Good Financial Decisions – Practice #1: AUTOMATE
Many good financial decisions can be followed through with automation! This is perhaps the easiest and best tip possible because it is literally a “set it and forget it” solution that ensures your financial decision is put into practice. If there is any possible way to automate your decision, do it.
Here are some great examples of using automation:
- Committed to save money every month for the annual family vacation? Set up automatic drafts from your bill paying account to your savings account.
- Want to help your child with college expenses? Open a 529 college savings account and establish automatic drafts.
- Ready to up your retirement investments? Log in to your 401k (or similar RSP) account and adjust the automatic contribution.
- Want to ensure your retirement money is put to work right away instead of sitting in a savings or money market account? Establish automatic investment selections.
- Want to ensure all of your bills are paid on time? Automate every single bill payment. As an added bonus, you will spend far less time paying bills!
- Want to ensure your retirement investments become more secure as you approach retirement? Choose a targeted retirement date investment fund that will automatically become less risky as you near retirement.
What good financial decisions have you been making that could leverage the power of automation to ensure they are sustained into the future?
10 Money Lessons Every Parent Should Teach Their Child
One of the great gifts a parent can give their child is to teach and model life skills that will help them live a better life. Transferring excellent money management training and skills to your child will help them have financial confidence as they navigate life.
If you are wondering where to begin, start with the list below!
10 Money Lessons Every Parent Should Teach Their Child
- Monthly Budgeting The power of planning money before it is spent helps maximize each and every dollar.
- Consistent Saving Saved money prevents a lot of financial stress.
- The Power of Compound Interest Use compound interest calculator (like this simple one) to show them how time, rate of return, and amount invested will yield exponential results.
- Waiting Many terrible financial decisions are made impulsively. By learning this important lesson, your child can avoid many financial mistakes.
- Form Good Money Habits Good habits are just as difficult to break as bad ones. Help them “make it their habit” to budget, save, invest, and plan the rest.
- Generosity Generous living can help prevent greed and selfishness and positions your child to be a blessing to all who know them.
- Debt Discuss various types of debt: Installment debt (paying something off – a car, a home, etc) and Revolving debt (continuously accessible debt – a credit card or line of credit). Teach them how interest rates and payment terms affect their ability to pay off debt.
- Investing Show them various types of investments: mutual funds, stocks, bonds, real estate, precious metals, small business, franchise, and intellectual property
- Passive Income Demonstrate ways to generate income without having to work for it (dividends from stock ownership, rental income from commercial property, and business ownership income
- Net Worth Share specific ways to increase assets in a tax-advantaged manner.
I’ve never heard a parent say, “I educated my child too much about money.” However, I’ve heard tens of thousands say, “I wish I had learned this stuff before I entered the real world.”
Recommended Resource
Joseph Sangl’s book: What Everyone Should Know About Money Before They Enter The Real World It is a perfect resource for young people – from high school students to those in their mid-20’s. It has been written with prevention in mind – to help young people become financially confident and avoid common financial mistakes.