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

Is your money really working for you?

Today on the minute – what’s your biggest money worry?

According to a survey from BMO Group, 31 percent of Americans cite debt repayment as their top financial priority, followed by saving more at 26 percent and investing efficiently at 21 percent.

Today on the minute – what’s your biggest money worry?

According to a survey from BMO Group, 31 percent of Americans cite debt repayment as their top financial priority, followed by saving more at 26 percent and investing efficiently at 21 percent.

The major concern is that if you can’t get a handle on your debt now, it could hurt your chances of ever becoming financially free. And, that makes total sense when you stop and think about it. If I’m spending hundreds of dollars each month on debt repayments that may not leave me much to put towards investing for the future. So what’s the answer? A first step would be to minimize debt. If you are already in it – make a plan to get out and if you are contemplating adding debt, be sure that you have explored all other options first.

This might include things like saving the money so you can pay for all or most of new purchases or even looking at ways to decrease your other expenses so you have extra money to pay for any added debt.

Finally, don’t forget that there is a real cost to debt. For example, the $100 jeans you charge today keeps getting interest added on each month until you pay them off – making your jeans cost a lot more than the $100 you thought you were paying.

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!

It's Monday and I have a question. Is your money really working for you?

It’s Labor Day and our topic is – how hard is your money working?

You work hard for your money but is it doing the same for you?

It's Monday and I have a question. Is your money really working for you?

It’s Labor Day and our topic is – how hard is your money working?

You work hard for your money but is it doing the same for you? In other words, is it working hard or is it hardly working?

I ask this question because so many people I talk with don’t have a good answer to this question. In some cases, the answer is a definite no because they have not put their money to work either in the form of investing in the market or investing in themselves. While in other cases, they do have some investments but they aren’t sure how they’re doing. In both cases, they’re doing themselves and their money a disservice.

Last week in the news there was a man in the news, I believe he was a janitor who left an $8 million estate. He was able to accomplish that feat by picking great stocks and holding on to them. But you don’t have to be a great stock picker to make your fortune, there are so many routes to get there – but you do have to take action – and you do have to really put your money to work so that it can eventually take care of you. If you’re a worker, this is your day. Happy Labor Day!

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!

Word of the Week: IRAs

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

I chose IRA because it is a great tool to help your build a retirement nest egg. Anyone who has earned income is eligible to put money into an IRA and the money you put in grows tax-deferred so you don’t pay taxes...

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

I chose IRA because it is a great tool to help your build a retirement nest egg. Anyone who has earned income is eligible to put money into an IRA and the money you put in grows tax-deferred so you don’t pay taxes on it until you take it out. There are now three types of IRAs and there are pros and cons to each one.

There is the Roth IRA which is one of the greatest inventions. You put after tax money in it and when you take it out in retirement, it’s tax-free. However, be aware that there are some income limitations to put money in a Roth IRA.

Then there is the Traditional IRA. There are no income limitations here and depending on your income you may even be able to deduct your contributions.

Finally, there’s myRA. myRA is a Roth IRA retirement savings account with no start-up cost and no fees. myRA has no minimum contribution requirement, so people can contribute the amount that best fits their budget.*

Contributions to myRA accounts are invested in a new United States Treasury security, which safely earns interest at the same variable rate as investments in the government securities fund for federal employees. This investment is backed by the United States Treasury and the account carries no risk of losing money. But there is a caveat – the maximum you can have in the account is $15,000 then you have to roll it over into a standard IRA account.

Our word of the week: IRAs. You now have three options and no excuses for not getting started.

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!

Are you taking advantage of tax-deferred options?

Today on the Minute – Are You Taking Advantage of Tax-Deferred Options?

 If you want to save for retirement and save on your taxes – you can often accomplish both by taking advantage of tax deferred options.

Today on the Minute – Are You Taking Advantage of Tax-Deferred Options?

 If you want to save for retirement and save on your taxes – you can often accomplish both by taking advantage of tax deferred options. What are tax-deferred options? Well, your 401(k) is one example and IRAs are another.

I want to talk about IRAs for a moment because I got a question from Eddie and he was asking what kind of investments were inside of an IRA. And, I want to see if I could clarify some things for him. Like a 401(k) there is nothing inside of an IRA – you have to put investments in it. It’s up to you to choose the investments that you put inside and you have lots of options. Everything from stocks, bonds, mutual funds and ETFs to real estate. Yes, real estate but be sure you understand the rules because you cannot benefit from it in any way such rental property income. But you have a lot of latitude in the types of investments you can choose.

Now back to tax advantages of accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs – you can often see the effects because 401(k) contributions are deduction from your income which lowers your taxable income and in turn taxes. As far as IRAs, that might not be so evident unless you meet certain income and other requirements – if you do you may be eligible to deduct all or a portion of your contributions on your taxes. However, in either case, they grow tax-deferred which means as they grow each year you do not have to pay taxes on the growth – but never fear, Sam will be waiting for his cut when you take the money out in retirement or before.

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!

How would you invest an extra $1,000?

Today on the Minute, How Would You Invest an Extra $1000?

If you’re like so many people when it comes to investing – it’s not that you don’t know the basics, it’s just the idea of doing it – because it seems like such a daunting task and that in and of itself can be paralyzing.

Today on the Minute, How Would You Invest an Extra $1000?

If you’re like so many people when it comes to investing – it’s not that you don’t know the basics, it’s just the idea of doing it – because it seems like such a daunting task and that in and of itself can be paralyzing.

In a GoBankingRates.com article by Jim Wang, he asked 25 money experts including certified financial advisors, bloggers, university professors and professional investors, how he should invest an extra $1,000. As you might guess, there were a variety of answers from paying down debt, to building an emergency fund, to investing in ETFs and index funds to investing in yourself.

There were almost as many answers as there were experts. So bottom line, there is no right answer. The answer depends on what you want to accomplish with the money. Are you going to slate it for a specific goal such as buying a house or would it be better spent on educating yourself to earn more income?

One answer that caught my eye was from J.D. Roth of Money Boss. He says, “Decide to become your own best financial adviser. A lot of new investors are timid. They don’t want to make mistakes. They believe they need to pay somebody to help them, that the stock market is complicated or that they can pick winning stocks. None of this is true."

"Go to the library," he continued. "Borrow some books on smart investing. I recommend anything by William Bernstein. Learn what stocks and bonds are and how the markets work. Teach yourself to invest in low-cost index funds. Ask questions. Be willing to make a few early mistakes. Take charge of your financial future."

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!