Monthly Articles

The goal for your saving plan is up to you. Some people enjoy travel or the latest electronics. Others may save for school or a home purchase. While there are a thousand ways to spend your money, there’s only one way to save it — stick to the plan.

Sometimes simple is best. Many of us tend to complicate our financial situation; overthinking our options while ignoring the basics.

But like anything else, the simplest rules are often the most important ones; and the ones most likely to be ignored. How many of these rules do you follow?

• ALWAYS spend less money than you make. This may be the cornerstone of financial rules and it’s certainly the one that lends itself more to common sense. But as a society that thrives on material items and keeping up with our neighbors, it’s also one of the rules that is most frequently broken. That’s why the average credit card debt carried in U.S. households is up to $5,700. Stop worrying about what the neighbors have and start buying only what makes you happy.
• START saving. This includes saving for an emergency as well as saving for retirement, because you need both. You need access to cash in the short term should you or your spouse have their job eliminated. You also need to start saving for retirement as early as possible, which gives your money the time it needs to grow. Start both today.
• ELIMINATE all high-interest debt before you start to invest. Any money you invest will be immediately offset by carrying high-interest debt, so aggressively paying you’re your debt will do more for your long-term financial health than investing will.
• BUILD a budget and use it. There are so many budget tools available that can be used on a smart phone or tablet that can help you keep track of your monthly income and expenditures. But using an Excel spreadsheet will work just as well. The important thing isn’t to just create the budget, but to actually use the budget. For instance, knowing how much you’ve spent eating out for the month will allow you to curtail any future plans if you’re close to exceeding your budgeting amount. It takes some time and effort to actually use a budget, but you’ll be surprised at how quickly it can make a difference.
• PURCHASE a fuel-efficient vehicle. While many North American auto makers are shifting their attention away from sedans to SUV’s and trucks, (which I think is a mistake) remember that just because gas prices are low now does not mean that they will remain low. Gas prices always go up. Do you really want to drive a truck that gets 11 miles to the gallon, when you can drive a mid-sized vehicle that can get up to 30 MPG? Unless you need a truck for work, or have a large family that needs to be driven around, a mid-sized car should be sufficient.
• STOP listening to product advertising. Watching a kid’s cable channel opened my eyes to just how manipulative and sometimes false, advertising can be. Like anything else, advertisers work on emotion, and they do an excellent job of convincing us in 30 seconds that we absolutely need the product that they’re selling. Just stop listening and you won’t be tempted to buy something you have no need for.

In light of recent security breaches at Facebook and Yahoo, it’s vital that we do a better job ensuring that our personal data remains hidden from criminals and hackers. In fact, Facebook and Yahoo were just two of the over 1,500 data breaches that occurred in 2017.

For many early 20-somethings that are freshly graduated and are now facing credit card and loan bills, the last thing on their mind is investments.

The Trump administration’s new tax reform bill was signed into law in December of 2017, representing the first major tax change in over 30 years. The changes are significant and are likely to affect nearly everyone in some measure; some positively, while others may find themselves with a higher tax bill in 2018.

Started in 1996, 529 plans provide tax incentives for those saving for post-secondary education. The plan allows funds saved to be used at any eligible education institution, which typically includes colleges, universities, vocational schools or any post-secondary educational institute that is currently eligible to participate in U.S. Department of Education student aid programs.

Another massive data breach has reminded us how vulnerable we are to cyber attacks. Credit monitoring company Equifax announced that a “Cybersecurity Incident” had exposed names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some cases, driver’s license and credit card numbers, from a whopping 143 million Americans.

Smart-phones are less of an option these days and more of an extension of everyday life. Your phone is there for you when you need to know the weather, connect with your friends and colleagues, and when you just have to post that perfect Instagram of yesterday’s brunch.