Minding Your Money 360 - Quick tips to manage your money for success

Today on the minute – Getting Financial Advice When Major Life Events Occur

But first, I want to take a moment and share something with you. I love doing the ‘Minute’ but I really need your help. I need to know that you’re there. There’s tons more info to share but if we are going to keep going

Today on the minute – Getting Financial Advice When Major Life Events Occur

But first, I want to take a moment and share something with you. I love doing the ‘Minute’ but I really need your help. I need to know that you’re there. There’s tons more info to share but if we are going to keep going, I need a sign, like leaving us a review on iTunes or if that’s not possible, sending me an email at [email protected] with a comment or a like. In other words, let me know that you are out there and you care about the ‘Minute.’ So that we can keep going at full steam. Thank you in advance for your help.

Now today’s topic – Getting Financial Advice When Major Life Events Occur. Life happens – you get your first job, you get married, you have a child, you retire, you want to leave a legacy. These are all times to consider getting financial advice. But it’s important to know what kind of advice you want to know if a general advisor is okay or if it’s better to work with a specialist.

For example spending some time with a general fee-only planner:

Might help you get off to a great start when you get your first job especially if you want to retire early

When you get married and are combining two households

When you have a child so that you can be sure that you have proper insurances in place

However, when it comes to retirement – you might want to look for a specialist because the decisions you make around this time are critical. So understanding what you need will not only help you choose the right person to help you but also help ensure that you get the right info.

And that’s the minute for today. I love helping people with all aspects of their financial lives. If you have a question, send it to me at [email protected].

Thanks for listening and as always remember that minding your money really is the path to a richer life!

Today on the Minute – When Should You Seek Professional Financial Advice?

I know a lot of you are DIY’ers when it comes to your financial life but there are times when it makes sense to consider getting advice either from a financial and/or legal professional even if it’s just for a second opinion.

Today on the Minute – When Should You Seek Professional Financial Advice?

I know a lot of you are DIY’ers when it comes to your financial life but there are times when it makes sense to consider getting advice either from a financial and/or legal professional even if it’s just for a second opinion. Some things are so important that it merits making sure you are on the right track. And, this week we’ll be discussing some of those times.

Today, it’s retirement. According to a 2016 American Investor Report by Scottrade, retirement is the top reason people seek professional retirement advice. So who, what, where, when and how? Here are three times you might want to consider getting some professional help:

If you’re just starting to think about retirement – maybe its 10 or 15 years out – is a good time to build a retirement plan so you know if you’re on track. A professional can look at where you’re at and make recommendations so that when you‘re ready the money will be there.

Another time is just before you retire to decide what to do with your stuff like pensions and 401(k)s, insurances, Social Security, etc. A misstep in any of these areas can cost you big – much more than the cost of a few hours of professional advice.

And, finally if you really want to get ahead of the curve or you want to retire early, an advisor can help you make that happen. Don’t forget about the power of compounding. The sooner you know what you want, the sooner you can create a plan and get started.

And, that’s the minute for today. I want say a big thank you to our premium members. And if you’re not one yet, visit www.mindingyourmoneyminute.com to find out more.

Thanks for listening and as always remember that minding your money really is the path to a richer life!

Word of the Week: Wells Fargo

It’s Friday and time for the Word of the Week! Our word this week is Wells Fargo.

I chose Wells Fargo because as everyone now knows they have been messing with people’s money and they got caught with their hand in the proverbial cookie jar. But if you bank somewhere else...

It’s Friday and time for the Word of the Week! Our word this week is Wells Fargo.

I chose Wells Fargo because as everyone now knows they have been messing with people’s money and they got caught with their hand in the proverbial cookie jar. But if you bank somewhere else – don’t get smug and think that this and other things aren’t going on with other banks as well – Wells Fargo got just got caught.

So what should you do if you bank at Wells Fargo? Well, even though they have been fined and have to pay back money – you still need to be proactive because that they may not take time to track you down to give you money so here are 3 things to do immediately:

Check your accounts – specifically look at all of the accounts that are open in your name. You can all them, stop by a branch or do this online. I’m the once burned twice shy kind of person so I would probably check two sources just in case something is missed on the first pass. Look for any unusual transactions or fees, employees were transferring money between accounts without permission from customers so it may be easy to miss. If you didn't get a refund you feel you deserve, report the issue to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) on at consumerfinance.gov/complaints  or call 855-411-2372.  And, this also applies to private student loans as well.

This next step applies to everyone no matter where you bank. Check your credit reports – specifically look for any unauthorized credit cards that may have been opened or unpaid fees that may have been reported to the credit agencies. For Wells Fargo customers, look for inquiries made by Wells Fargo for new credit cards. Those inquiries can stay on credit reports for 24 months and can impact your credit scores for a year. If you spot any Wells Fargo-related problems on your credit reports, ask the bank and the credit agencies to fix them.

According to bank, Wells Fargo employees applied for about 565,000 credit cards that consumers may not have authorized. Wells Fargo said it will contact those people to see if they want to keep the credit card accounts open. And, this is where it can get tricky. So if you have a credit card that you never used, it can actually boost your credit score because you have more unused credit available so closing the account could lower your score. On the other hand, if now that you know you have more credit means that you will use it for non-emergency stuff – you might want to close it and take the hit to your credit score vs taking the hit to your wallet. In either case, if other bank accounts were opened in your name, you can close those because they have no effect on your credit score.

Our word this week --Wells Fargo. Banks know how money works – theirs and yours so it’s up to you to be vigilant and track not only what’s coming in but what’s going out.

And, that’s the minute for today. See you on Monday!

Thanks for listening and as always remember that minding your money really is the path to a richer life!

Are you sweating the small stuff too much?

Today on the Minute – Are You Sweating the Small Stuff Too Much?

But first, we’re deep in working on the shift that is coming to the Minute and we are struggling a bit because the new programming is going to most likely be longer than a minute and we’re adding resources like worksheets...

Today on the Minute – Are You Sweating the Small Stuff Too Much?

But first, we’re deep in working on the shift that is coming to the Minute and we are struggling a bit because the new programming is going to most likely be longer than a minute and we’re adding resources like worksheets and other things to really help you get to where you want to go. We have already added a series of calculators to the website and more tools are coming. But are people going to be upset if we go longer than a minute? That’s the big question we’re struggling with so let me know if that would be a problem for you. Again, if you missed it, Minding Your Money will continue to be here on Mondays but will be offered as a premium service Tues - Fri at www.mindingyourmoneyminute.com. So stop by and learn more about what’s coming next week.

Now back to the Minute and sweating the small stuff. Sometimes we get so laser focused on the small stuff that we forget about the big picture. And, I think we actually have two big pictures. We have the big picture of the future and that’s easy to relate to – we can understand that but we also have the big picture of today – the present – being present and enjoying life every day. So at best we have to always be mindful of both. And in the present, to avoid being pennywise and pound foolish.

What does that mean? Basically, it means saving money in the short term but losing more in the long term. So here’s my example. People often suggest that you skip that morning latte because of the expense – that instead, you save that money. But if it is more about the experience – if stopping for the latte gets your day off to a great start – makes you happy and more productive and without it things are ho-hum – what have you really saved? Remember, we have two big pictures – today and tomorrow. Honor them both by not always sweating the small stuff.

And, that’s the minute for today.

Thanks for listening and as always remember that minding your money really is the path to a richer life!

What makes you happy?

Building wealth from the ground up

Today on the Minute – What Makes You Happy?

But first, big changes are in the works for the Minding Your Money Minute. We are still going to be published every day but only the Monday Minute will be available on iTunes and other directories.

Today on the Minute – What Makes You Happy?

But first, big changes are in the works for the Minding Your Money Minute. We are still going to be published every day but only the Monday Minute will be available on iTunes and other directories. Tuesday – Friday episodes will be available through our premium services. For some people the Monday Minute will be enough but if you want more of the Minute, Join us and get the Minute Monday – Friday plus more. You can learn all about it at www.mindingyourmoneyminute.com. We have special pricing available for a limited time and, it all starts, Monday, Oct 3rd.

Now back to the Minute and what makes you happy: When imagining the sort of wealth you want to create, consider how much money you'd be happy with. It’s important to know that it fits with who you are and where you want to go. Sometimes we pull a number out of the air that is too small or too big for our dreams and that can lead to serious consequences — jeopardizing your relationships, health and happiness.

So what’s the answer? Well, since it’s a proven fact that being happy brings success, not the other way around, the answer is to start with what makes you happy and then calculate the costs to stay in that state. However, in order to do that, you may need to take some steps backward and redefine what happiness means to you at the present moment — and realize you can be happy now so you don’t have to keep chasing it or planning to be happy in the future.

According to Shawn Achor, author of the book The Happiness Advantage, "Guys especially get the formula for happiness wrong. We think, “If I can work harder right now, I’ll be more successful, and then I’m going to be happier." And it turns out, that’s not true—partly because every time we hit a goal, our brain changes what success looks like, so happiness is on the opposite side of a moving target, and we never get there. But if guys can create happiness in the present, they can actually dramatically improve their success rates long-term." But unlike Shawn, I don’t think that’s just a guy thing, I think it’s a women thing too and many women are still in pursuit of the illusiveness thing called happiness.

And, that’s the minute for today. Don’t forget to sign up for upcoming webinars. Go to   mindingyourmoneyminute.com. and click on the pink button at the top right hand side.

Thanks for listening and as always remember that minding your money really is the path to a richer life!

Could you use an extra $500 for Xmas?