14 Ways To Improve Your Financial Future

Feeling Overwhelmed With Debt? Here Are 14 Ways To Improve Your Financial Future

Gabrielle Olya   Tue, November 9, 2021

Change Your Mindset

"Making the decision to get out of debt is the first step, but also the most difficult," said Cory Chapman, personal finance coach and CEO of EFC Wealth Management. "Actually changing your mind and accepting that you need to make life changes is the hardest part. The process of getting out of debt is going to take discipline, but it starts with the mindset that you want to be debt-free."

Get a Clear Picture of How Much Debt You Actually Have

To get rid of debt, you first have to be aware of how much you actually have, said Michael Gerstman, ChFC, CLU, CEO of the Dallas-based retirement planning firm Gerstman Financial Group.

"List all of your debts, current balances and what the interest rate is on each debt," he said.

Consider Consolidating Your Debt

Debt consolidation might be a good option for those who have various high-interest debts and want to just make a single monthly payment that works toward paying down all your debts at once. If you go this route, taking out a personal loan could help you achieve your financial goals in a more manageable and affordable way.

Don't let your debt overwhelm you more than it should -- take advantage of smarter ways to pay it off.

Track Your Monthly Spending

Now that you know how much you owe, get a clear picture of where your money is going, whether it's on your morning coffee, tech, shopping, dining out or planning for your dream wedding.

"Most people don't even know what they are buying on a monthly basis," said Chapman. "The miscellaneous items and little purchases eventually add up. Use an app or program to help you keep track of your spending habits."

Eliminate Any Subscription Services You Don't Really Use

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/feeling-overwhelmed-debt-14-ways-202434618.html

Everything You Need to Know About Cultivating a 'Wealth Mindset'

Everything You Need to Know About Cultivating a 'Wealth Mindset'

Jacqui Hathaway Levin   Tue, November 9, 2021

Have you ever been told by, say, an Instagram influencer that the only barricade between you and endless financial wealth was your supposed negative mindset? Have you, too, been urged that if you would only sign up for said influencer's course today, you'd be able to tap into cosmic wisdom, "take the leap," and never have to worry about finances again? Don't fall for the trap, folks. Sure, cultivating wealth does take a fair amount of critical thinking, but there's (obviously) much more to it than that.

Some Insta-famous so-called money coaches (of course, not all) promise big changes—and fast. Who wouldn't be attracted to quitting their day job and following an off-the-beaten-path means to financial success and freedom?

But let's take a step back towards reality. According to National Women's Law Center analysis, 2.4 million U.S. women were obligated to quit the labor force from 2020-2021. So a quick-fix financial course catches the light a bit differently for those seeking actual, necessary financial refuge. It certainly sounds attractive, but what can a mindset actually achieve?

There's nothing wrong with wanting to learn more about our relationships to money—and seeking out an (accredited) financial advisor is a stellar first step to doing so. But knowing what to realistically expect is important too, so let's iron out a few terms and find out exactly what a wealth mindset is—and how to get there in reality.

Wealth Mindset (or 'Abundant Thinking') vs. Scarcity Mindset

What is a wealth mindset?

Wealth mindset—or abundant thinking—is less about what we have and more about what we believe is available to us.

Kristen Euretig, CFP, founder and CEO of Brooklyn Plans, LLC, explains wealth mindset as the idea that the universe is plentiful and our potential is unlimited. "It involves defeating self-limiting beliefs that come up around money or life goals in general to break past self-imposed barriers to a better way of living," says Euretig.

What is scarcity mindset?

Scarcity mindset tells us there will never be enough—even if our bank account is stable and our bills are paid. This "not enough" feeling can result in toxic money habits or spending to feel good.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/everything-know-cultivating-wealth-mindset-192710108.html

5 Wise Money Moves Before the Fed Starts Raising Interest Rates Again

5 Wise Money Moves Before the Fed Starts Raising Interest Rates Again

Sigrid Forberg  Tue, November 9, 2021

Chairman Jerome Powell (pictured) and the other policymakers at the Federal Reserve just said again, after their recent November meeting, that they'll keep holding a key interest rate near zero. Though the economy has been making gains, the officials want to sit tight a little longer.

But rates won’t stay low forever. As the economy recovers from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation is rising and more people are getting back to work. So, the Fed has indicated a rate hike could come as soon as next year — moved up from previous plans to wait all the way until 2024.

For consumers, that means now may be the time to splurge on something fun or take out a loan for something necessary, like a new car to replace an old pile of junk that won't start anymore.

Here are five money moves you should make before rates rise.

1. Refinance your home loan

Mortgage rates fell to record-breaking lows during the pandemic, but they’re slowly creeping up as the economy comes back from COVID-19.

While 30-year mortgage rates are still at historically low levels around 3%, the Mortgage Bankers Association is predicting they'll rise to 4% next year — which means it's time to stop procrastinating if you’ve been mulling a refinance.

Chances are you're still due for a refi. More than three-quarters of homeowners never refinanced at the low rates available during the first year of the pandemic, a Zillow survey found.

The same study revealed that nearly half those who did take out new and cheaper loans are now saving $300 or more each month.

2. Consolidate your debt

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/5-wise-money-moves-fed-005900963.html

4,000+ Years Later And They Still Haven’t Figured It Out

4,000+ Years Later And They Still Haven’t Figured It Out

November 8, 2021  Notes From The Field By Simon Black

More than four thousand years ago around 2112 BC, King Ur-Nammu of ancient Sumeria gathered his scribes together to dictate a series of royal decrees, all of which were chiseled onto cuneiform tablets.  A handful of these tablets were discovered and translated in the 20th century, making the Code of Ur-Nammu the oldest known set of laws in the world.

While most of the King’s laws dealt with criminal matters (i.e. requiring the death penalty for both murder and robbery), some of the rules were actually a very early form of price controls.

Hundreds of years later, King Hammurabi of Babylon created his own set of laws, known to history as the Code of Hammurabi.

And while his code is famously known for its principle of ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth’, much of Hammurabi’s code also fixed wages, prices, finance, and commerce.

For example, the King decreed that any man who defaults on his debts could pay off his creditors by subjecting his wife, son, or daughter to forced labor for three years… regardless of the size of the loan.

Hammurabi also fixed the price of wholesale grain storage, shipping, divorce, livestock, and even drinks at the local tavern.

There are also several sections devoted to wage controls; Hammurabi saw fit, for example, that a home builder be paid a certain fee that depended only on the size of the house.

Similarly, occupations ranging from farm laborers, ox drivers, shipbuilders, herdsmen, skilled artisans, etc. all had their wages fixed by the Code.

There is also strong historical evidence of price controls in ancient Egypt. The ancient Indian philosopher Vishnugupta advised kings to not only fix prices, but fix the maximum profit for traders and businesses.

And the Roman Emperor Diocletian’s infamous Edict on Wages and Prices in the early 300s AD was a complete disaster.

Wage controls, price controls, financial controls, and commercial controls have been vainly imposed by governments for thousands of years. We’ve learned from history that they simply do not work.

And yet, rather insanely, politicians keep trying these same tactics over and over again, expecting a different result.

Recently I was visited by a close friend of mine from Argentina who often tells me the grim economic tales of his home country.

Argentina is in a perennial state of economic chaos; like Venezuela, it went from being one of the most prosperous countries in the world in the 20th century, to one of the most chaotic.

They’ve confiscated assets, imposed wealth taxes, defaulted on their debt, banned exports, and utterly destroyed their currency. 

In local currency terms, inflation in Argentina is 50%… though no one in their right minds actually holds their savings in Argentine pesos.

Inflation is now so bad in Argentina that the government recently imposed a set of price controls.

And my friend informed me that a number of producers, especially in the agricultural sector, have stopped delivering because the government’s price mandate is below their cost of production.

Last but not least, my friend told me that Argentina’s government is also planning to forbid businesses from laying off workers.

Even when a company cannot afford to keep employees because the economic situation is so pitiful, they somehow have to keep paying workers with money they don’t have.

It’s like that old Soviet adage-- “we pretend to work, they pretend to pay us.”

These types of measures would almost be comical if they didn’t cause such widespread suffering.

And yet even rich, advanced nations are susceptible to this way of thinking. In fact we’ve seen so much of it over the past 18 months, disguised as public health protocols.

They spent hundreds of billions of dollars to give businesses free “PPP” loans so that workers could continue to be paid to NOT work.

Then the government simply took on that responsibility themselves, paying people directly to stay home and NOT work.

Now they’re trying to force businesses to fire tens of millions of people, even in critical sectors like healthcare and transportation, because of their vaccine status.

Each of these measures is a way for the government to direct the supply and free flow of labor. In other words, they’re essentially wage controls.

We’ve also seen endless examples of other controls.

They forced certain places to close (churches, bars) but allowed others to operate (liquor stores, marijuana dispensaries, social justice riots).

They unilaterally suspended evictions and foreclosures, creating incentives for people to stop paying rent/interest.

And through the central bank, they’ve pumped hundreds of billions of dollars into financial markets, inflating stocks, bonds, housing, etc. to essentially create asset price controls.

The specific tactics are different. But conceptually, this idea of imposing extreme control over economic resources is quite similar to what Argentina has been doing… and what Hammurabihttps://www.sovereignman.com/trends/4000-years-later-and-they-still-havent-figured-it-out-33955/, Ur-Nammu, and Diocletian tried thousands of years ago.

This isn’t rocket science, it’s basic high school economics. Price controls don’t work. Central planning doesn’t work. There’s a reason the Soviet Union doesn’t exist anymore. 

Price controls create shortages and inefficiencies. Everyone loses.

Inflation and supply chain dysfunction didn’t happen by accident. They’re the result of fanatical crusaders who never bothered to perform an objective cost/benefit analysis of their wage, price, and commercial controls.

And the more these people try to save the world, the more likely they are to keep wrecking it.

To your freedom,  Simon Black,  Founder, SovereignMan.com

 https://www.sovereignman.com/trends/4000-years-later-and-they-still-havent-figured-it-out-33955/

How To Plan For a Financially Secure Life in the Event of a Partner’s Death

How To Plan For a Financially Secure Life in the Event of a Partner’s Death

Gabrielle Olya   Sat, November 6, 2021

Today’s “Financially Savvy Female” column was inspired by one of our readers who asked, “Knowing that the life expectancy of women is greater than men, how do wives plan financially for a life without her husband in the later years of her life?” To help this reader out, we spoke with Hilary Fiorella, executive director of the Center for Women in Financial Services at The American College of Financial Services, and she shared her insights about how women can plan for a financially secure life in the event of a partner’s death.

Develop Relationships With Financial Professionals

If your partner is usually the only one who meets with the various financial professionals who he/she may consult with, start sitting in on these conversations now, and consider bringing more professionals into the mix if it suits your specific situation.

“Depending on the complexity of your situation, [these professionals can include] a financial planner or advisor, a CPA and an attorney,” Fiorella said. “You really should have those relationships, and you should be active in these relationships. When you have your quarterly, bi-annual or annual meeting with your professionals, make sure that both of you in the relationship are there.”

Having these professional relationships established ahead of time can be very helpful in the event of your partner’s passing.

“That goes a long way to reducing stress,” Fiorella said. “You don’t want to meet somebody across the table when you’re at your worst, when you’ve just experienced the loss of a partner.”

Have a Clear Understanding of Your Total Financial Picture

“Understand all of the elements of your financial [situation] beyond the day-to-day, because that will impact assets and liabilities,” Fiorella said. “[This includes] your investments and your retirement plan, and knowing how to access any of those elements from the retirement plan should the worst happen.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/plan-financially-secure-life-event-160009771.html

The Nothingness of Money

The Nothingness of Money

By Lawrence Yeo

When I was in junior high school, I heard a riddle that blew my mind.

It went something like this:

Rich people need it. Poor people have it. If you eat it, you die. And when you die, you take it with you. What is it?   Feel free to sit with the question for a moment.

Okay.  Ready?  The answer is…   NOTHING!!

Even today, this riddle puts a smile on my face. But when I first heard it, I remember being floored after hearing the answer and funneling it through each statement.

Back then, I enjoyed the riddle for its cleverness.

But today, I enjoy it for its simple profundity.

The claim that “rich people need nothing” is not a literal one, but it points to how the pursuit of money is the unifying struggle of the modern era. We can opt out of the stories of religion or politics, but we cannot opt out of the story of money. It is so interwoven into the fabric of society that even our physical health depends upon how abstract numbers on a screen can be converted into tangible meals.

At the same time, however, the riddle states another truth: Nothing passes through the great wall of death. Whether you’re a billionaire or a homeless person, everything goes to null in the face of the great equalizer. The only thing you may be able to preserve is a legacy, but that legacy is for other conscious minds to perceive, which is no longer a luxury you have upon hitting that wall.

So herein lies the Great Tension:

Money is a required pursuit for life, but a pointless pursuit upon death.

If I were to illustrate what this tension looks like for your average person, it would look something like this:

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://moretothat.com/the-nothingness-of-money/

Why Money Is Hard

Why Money Is Hard

March 4, 2021 Financial Independence

Struggling with money?   Join the club.

As a personal finance blogger with nearly two years of writing and almost two decades of investing experience under my belt, I would expect to have it all figured out by now.  The reality is, I am just scratching the surface – and so is the vast majority of us.  Here are some of my musings on the reasons that make money so ** hard.

Because no one talks about it

These days, people will spill the beans on almost any subject, no matter how personal it is.  With the notable exception of how much money they make.  Now, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Early on my career as an investment banker, I quickly learned that sharing bonus numbers is not a good idea.  The person who makes less is bound to be disappointed. The person who makes more can also walk away upset for having disappointed the other person.

There’s simply no upside.  This lack of communication, however, gives rise to a different problem: lack of context.   Securing a $50k salary can feel like winning a lottery to someone who is just starting out or wrapping up their career.  Not so much for the person in their “sandwich” years, with the dual task of supporting young kids and aging parents.

Equally, a $200k salary will mean different things to someone with no debt versus a physician who has hundreds of thousands in student loans and is finally starting to earn proper money in their late 30s.

And that’s before you take into account cost of living, marital status, and a multitude of other factors that impact our purchasing decisions.

When we do talk about money, we focus on the wrong things

That is, we focus on spending, not saving.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://bankeronfire.com/why-money-is-hard

You Shouldn’t Feel Bad About Spending Money — Here’s How To Avoid the Guilt

You Shouldn’t Feel Bad About Spending Money — Here’s How To Avoid the Guilt

Last updated: Oct. 19, 2021   By Gabrielle Olya

You’ve worked hard for your money — so you should enjoy it. In today’s “Financially Savvy Female” column, we’re chatting with Dani Pascarella, CFP, co-founder of the financial wellness platform OneEleven, about how you can avoid feeling guilty when spending money.

Do a Spending Evaluation

“Start by understanding how previous purchases make you feel and why,” Pascarella said. “This is key to building your financial foundation.”

For her clients who struggle with budgeting, Pascarella recommends that they review everything they spend money on over the course of a week and rate how happy each purchase makes them.

“The goal here is to identify the types of purchases that cause guilt, unhappiness or any other negative feelings, and then understand why,” she said. “Once you have this knowledge, it’s much easier to eliminate these types of purchases and focus on spending your dollars in an intentional way that makes you happy.”

Plan Future Purchases and Avoid Random Spending

“When you plan to buy something and then do, it feels different than when you make an impulse purchase,” Pascarella said.

Impulse purchases often cause guilt because you may be buying something that doesn’t align with your values.

“The reason why impulse spending is so dangerous is that we buy before we ask ourselves, ‘How does this relate to the person I want to be?'” Pascarella said. “So what should you do? Know your triggers. People tend to impulse spend in certain situations and on certain things. When we take a deep dive into a client’s impulse spending, we typically notice strong behavioral patterns (example — a stressful day at work [leads to] online shopping).”

Pascarella recommends replacing your responses to known triggers with healthier habits that are better for you long term.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.gobankingrates.com/money/financial-planning/how-to-avoid-feeling-guilty-about-spending-money/

4 Steps To Improve Your Financial Wellness

The Other Form of Self-Care: 4 Steps To Improve Your Financial Wellness

Gabrielle Olya   Wed, November 3, 2021,

A recent Ellevest study found that financial stress is actually making women sick. Nearly half of women (49%) say that money stress has affected their mental and emotional health, and nearly 40% have become physically ill due to money stress. That’s why it’s so important to practice financial self-care. To find out how to actually do this, we spoke with Kerry Keihn, financial advisor and director of operations of Earth Equity Advisors. Here’s what she recommends for improving your financial wellness.

The most important thing to know is that you are not alone in your struggle to understand your finances. It has nothing to do with your intelligence — the financial industry has basically crafted its own language to make things more difficult to understand.

If you like to handle your finances yourself, there are a growing number of resources that help make it easier. Don’t burn yourself out trying to decipher financial jargon when you can go to sources like Investopedia or GOBankingRates. These resources have different articles and calculators to help guide you through anything from what is the best credit card for your needs to whether or not it makes sense to refinance (and what refinancing means). Your local cooperative extension office may also offer free or low-cost financial education courses, which can be very helpful.

If you are working with a financial professional and they are not making things clearer for you, it’s probably time to find a new advisor. Look for someone whose values align with yours and who speaks clearly and transparently, so you don’t leave your conversations with them feeling more confused than when you started.

Another important step is setting yourself up for financial success. This can greatly help alleviate worries. What are some ways to do this?

When it comes to setting yourself up for success, one of the most helpful things is to know what you’re spending versus what you’re earning. While you can make your own budget in a spreadsheet or on a piece of paper, there are a lot of free budgeting tools available, like Mint, which can automatically categorize your spending and draft a budget for you to adjust. For most of us, there are so many expenses, it can be incredibly difficult to mentally track all of them, which can lead to feelings of anxiety and stress.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://news.yahoo.com/other-form-self-care-4-120054409.html

IRS Sends 430,000 Refunds for Unemployment Tax Compensation

IRS Sends 430,000 Refunds for Unemployment Tax Compensation

Georgina Tzanetos   Tue, November 2, 2021

Who Will Receive Roughly $1,189?

In its most recent press release, the Internal Revenue Service announced it sent approximately 430,000 refunds to those who paid taxes on unemployment compensation that is now excluded for the income tax year 2020 under the stimulus relief bill.  The new provision, which falls under the American Rescue Plan of 2021, was signed into law in March and excludes the first $10,200 in unemployment compensation per taxpayer in 2020.

This amount is excluded when calculating one’s adjusted gross income — it is not the amount of the refund, the IRS stressed. The exclusion is available to individuals and married couples whose modified adjusted gross income is less than $150,000.

The IRS estimates that the amount of the refunds sent out totals $510 million to taxpayers. The agency states that the effort to correct unemployment compensation overpayments will help most of the affected taxpayers to avoid filing an amended tax return.

The IRS has identified over 16 million people who may be eligible for the adjustment. If you are eligible, you will either receive a refund, or have the overpayment applied to taxes due or other debts to the government.

The $10,200 exclusion applies only to federal taxes. Most states do not apply their own tax on unemployment benefits, but each state has their own provisions, so it’s crucial to make sure whether or not your state taxes them separately. The exclusion means that the first $10,200 is not subject to federal income tax this year — anything above that amount, however, can still be qualified as taxable income.

The IRS said that the latest batch of corrections resulted in refunds averaging about $1,189.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/irs-sends-430-000-refunds-205815644.html

Got a Fat Inheritance? Here’s What to Do With It.

Got a Fat Inheritance? Here’s What to Do With It.

Patrick Villanova OCT 30, 2021

Receiving an inheritance from a family member can create a large windfall of cash, and with it, new financial opportunities. What you do with the money will depend on the size of the inheritance, your financial situation and level of experience managing investments. But having a defined plan for the inheritance is vital.

A frequently cited study conducted by The Williams Group of San Clemente, California, found that 70% of wealthy families lose their fortune by the second generation and 90% squander it by the third generation. A financial advisor can help you make the most of your inheritance by taking stock of your financial circumstances and creating a plan for the future.

Are You Ready to Invest?

The first question to ask yourself upon receiving an inheritance is whether or not you’re truly ready to invest. If you have debt, especially high-interest loans or credit card bills, you probably aren’t in position to begin investing.

While it may not be as exciting as picking mutual funds, exchange-traded funds or individual stocks, paying off debt is a logical and responsible way to use the money. Think of it as an investment in your future. By wiping out your student loan or credit card debt, you’ll free up hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars each month to use in some other way.

If you’re already debt-free or have money left over after paying off your debt, it’s time to examine your savings. Experts recommend having three to six months’ worth of expenses saved in an emergency fund. Not only is it a prudent financial move, but building an emergency fund can give you the sense of security and confidence you need to start investing. You’ll know that no matter what happens to the money you invest in the future, you have a security blanket in the form of your emergency fund.

Save It for Retirement

Like paying off debt or building an emergency fund, putting your inheritance toward retirement may not get your juices flowing, but it’s a sound investment. A recent Schwab Retirement Plan Services survey found that 401(k) plan participants across the country now believe they must save $1.9 million for retirement. Yet, one in four Americans have nothing at all saved for retirement, according to a PwC report.

If you choose to save the money for retirement, you can do so in several ways.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://smartasset.com/financial-advisor/what-to-do-with-inheritance