Twila Van Leer

Watch Out For These Money Drains

April 28, 2015 By Twila Van Leer

Save money on things you can easily do yourself.

Many Americans feel they can’t build savings because there simply isn’t money left after the essentials are covered. But with a little creative effort, you can find a bit here and a bit there to stash away.

With personal saving at its lowest level since 2001 (expected to fall below 1 percent by the end of this year) there must be some creative thinking to get things turned around. Experts at bankrate.com have identified the following popular items as 10 of the “ biggest money drains,” that leave too many families broke and without a savings cushion:

Coffee. At an average price of $1.38 per cup (or more, depending on whom you buy it from) your daily cuppa can cost you at least $3.60 per year, money that could be building your savings account.

Cigarettes. The average price-per-pack in the United States is $4.54, adding up to about $1,660 each year.

Alcohol. Costs vary widely, depending on your choice of beverage, where you live and your favorite watering hole. But, with tip, the average cost of one beer is $5. If you indulge in two per day, the cost could mount to $3,650 per year. If your spirit of camaraderie leads you to “treat,” friends, the cost goes up commensurately.

Bottled water. A liter is, on average, $1.50, multiplying to $540 a year if you stop at one per day. The habit not only costs you, but is a detriment to the environment as the plastic containers stack up.

Manicures. It’s a feel-good luxury you can’t afford if you haven’t any savings. A $20-per-week visit to the manicurist robs your savings of $1,068 in a year. A bottle of nail polish is approximately $5.

Car washes: The average cost is $58 with detailing thrown in. But if you take the option every two months, that’s $348 per year.

Buying lunch every day. The daily cost of eating lunch out every workday is about $9 – $2,350 per year. Making a lunch at home is a nuisance, but the sacrifice will seem worth it as you watch your financial safety net grow stronger.

Vending machine snacks. Each little visit to the machine costs about a dollar, about $260 per year if you succumb every working day to the lure of chips and chocolate.

Interest on credit card bills. The median amount of credit card debt in America is $6,600. The average credit interest rate is 13.44 percent. Making just the minimum payment, it will take you 21 years to ride yourself of that debt – if you resist the urge to perpetuate it. Make real effort to whittle the amount down faster by making additional payments on the principal.

Unused memberships. If you have a $40-per-month membership in a spa or gym or any other type of activity that requires a regular fee and fail to use it, you’ve lost $40 per month. Use it or get rid of it.

You can’t just change your appetite. You have to change your point of view. But with a little self-discipline, you can find the wherewithal to help your savings grow. You’ll be happy that you did.

Retirement Planning Should Begin When You Are Young

April 25, 2015 By Twila Van Leer

Begin thinking about retirement plans when you first start earning money.

Waiting until retirement is around the corner to get serious about preparing for it is a serious mistake. The ideal time to start thinking about post-employment issues is when you are still in your 20s or 30s.

Consistently setting aside money and then monitoring it to see that it is earning the best possible returns is your best bet for being financially secure when the front porch swing beckons., according to financial planners.

In fact, the Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust, which tracks trends, has reported that a growing number of workers aged 18 to 39 are participating in employer-sponsored programs aimed at retirement. The percentage taking advantage of their company 401(k) opportunities has risen from 43.9 percent three years ago to 50.4 percent, the trust reported.

Part of that increase can be related to a rise in the use of automatic enrollment in such plans in recent years. However, although the number of participants is increasing, the rate of average deferrals has dipped slightly, from 5.2 percent three years ago to 5.1 percent now. Some employers automatically enroll their workers initially at low deferral rates, such as 3 percent.

Merrill Lynch analysts say that savings trends are encouraging. In the first half of 2014, the number of first-time contributors rose 37 percent. In the so-called millennial generation, the figure went up to 55 percent. That age group makes up 20 percent more of the total working force then it did in mid-2013, the analyst said.

Some forward-thinking people just entering the workforce are making retirement part of their thinking. College students are increasingly asking for advice before they being their careers. Today’s “beginners” are more savvy about financial matters and more apt to be aware of how much they must save now to enjoy retirement later. They are willing to sacrifice a little over the term of their working lives for the sake of a worry-free retirement. Those who are familiar with the data assure younger workers that they don’t have to give up all of life’s pleasures for the sake of retirement security. There is room for both careful, consistent savings and the occasional splurge, they say.

Some younger workers are taking more careful note of how their parents are faring as they leave the job market. They are listening to the nagging concerns that Social Security may not be able to cover all the Americans who will be eligible in the upcoming years.

Consulting with a financial planner at the outset of a career is a smart move. In general, the advice is to invest in safe, tax-deferred plans such as 401(k)s or investment portfolios heavy on stocks.

Including retirement issues in your financial planning may have an effect on your lifestyle, the experts say. Some young people are not including home ownership in their plans. Frugal living through the work years may mean a comfortable future, with more gold in the golden years.

Watch Bank Statements For Fuel Fraud

April 1, 2015 By Twila Van Leer

Watch your bank statements to make sure there are no fraudulent charges.

The price of gasoline is lower than it has been for a while. Still, nobody wants to pay for gas someone else pumped into their vehicle and charged on your debit card. It happens more frequently than you’d think. In some areas of Florida it has become epidemic.

How does it happen and how do you avoid it? First and foremost, check bank statements regularly to spot any unexplained charges.

Suspicious charges on your card for gas tend to be in large amounts, often higher than the amount you could possibly put in your vehicle. In the industry, they call the unlawful activity “skimmer tampering.”

Thieves can get your card number in several ways, according to an industry spokesperson. They are skillful and inventive in lifting your numbers and putting them on a new card, she said. They use them frequently in gas stations or convenience stores. Often, they will purchase large amounts of diesel fuel that they can quickly unload for cash.

How to protect yourself? Check your bank statement weekly, watching for anything that seems unusual or out of place. A charge made in a neighborhood or at a gas station you don’t frequent or in an amount that is unusual is a dead give-away.

Stop using the card and alert the vendor immediately.

Job Hunting At 60 Plus

March 31, 2015 By Twila Van Leer

Older job hunters will find it’s different from the same process when they were younger. There are some common mistakes that can be easily fixed. Among them:

You can’t both sit back and relax as if you were fully retired and look for work. Actively be seeking a job if that’s what you really want. Employers can spot the self-starters. Consult or do blogging in your field to raise your profile. And use the resources you have gained during your career. Network. Finding a job through an old associate or family member is the most likely route to a new position.

Don’t boast that no one can find you online. You want connections. Tweet, friend and otherwise connect. LinkedIn cited by 94 percent of recruiters in a group of 1,885 as their primary source for recruiting. Don’t confuse privacy with invisibility. Use social media.

Pay can be an issue. If you insist on making a job change and receiving the same salary, you may find your options limited. To balance the scales, negotiate for more flextime, vacation and other perks so you don’t feel the difference as much.

Don’t assume that you are bothering people by making your wishes for a job known. Use every resource you can call on, including those who associate with your children, church or social acquaintances, even store clerks or those who go to the same gym. Never pass up an opportunity (without being pushy, of course.) Even if the person you approach does not have a job to offer, he or she may know of someone who does. Facebook may be useful.

Don’t expect a long resume to impress a prospective employer. A two-page limit should allow you plenty of space to recap your work experience. A human resources representative is likely to spend only 20 to 30 seconds scanning it. Briefly highlight those accomplishments you feel were most beneficial to your previous employer. Don’t go back more than 10 years. And be sure your resume is neat and edited.

Apply even if your experience does not match the job description in every particular. The posting should be considered the ideal, but may not be requisite in every detail. A willingness to learn and a healthy work history are likely to weigh more in the mind of the hirer.

If you assume that patience alone will reward you with the perfect job, forget it. Don’t assume you can hold out for the absolutely ideal fit. If you try to recreate the job you had before, you will only be unhappy with anything new. Identify what part of your work experience is transferable and then develop an attitude that learning something new will be fun and exciting.

Amazon Home Services Marketplace

March 30, 2015 By Twila Van Leer

Amazon has launched its Home Services (formerly Amazon Local Services). If you are looking for voice lessons, yoga classes, furniture assemble, mounting wall televisions, setting up baby gates, house keeping or even assembling those products you buy at Ikea, now you can order them directly on Amazon. You can list your services on Amazon if you are a service provider or you can look for services close to you. Using geo based technology, Amazon matches your queries with your zip code. How will this impact your lifestyle? Hopefully it will make it much easier for you to get help with simple to expert projects.

Amazon Home Services competes directly with Angie’s List and other online local services. The number of Amazon’s service categories and the number of cities in which they are offered are both ballooning. It will take some time for the public to get used to ordering local services this way and time for merchants to list their services on Amazon.

As of March 30, Amazon Home Services was available in Miami, San Francisco, New York, Houston, Seattle, Chicago, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Boston, Dallas, Atlanta, Phoenix, San Diego, San Jose, Portland, Minneapolis, Detroit, Denver, Riverside, Tampa, Orlando, Austin, Sacramento, Pittsburgh, Nashville, Cincinnati, Charlotte and St. Louis. Other locations are being added regularly.

Quietly introduced in late 2014, the service initially featured service providers whose businesses could help Amazon shoppers with additional needs related to purchases, such as installers who could put up a new TV. The expanded program goes well beyond that concept.

Now the list includes such things as plumbers, home improvement sources, lawn and garden, auto mechanics, computer and electronics aids and yoga instructors. There is a “more” category for items that jibe with those listings. It includes such exotica as “goat grazing” and “singing performances.” The goal is to have a list for anything a customer is likely to need, including housecleaning and babysitting.

The introduction of the expanded service is a big step toward competing effectively in the on-demand economy. Amazon is partnering with some of the on-demand service startups, but not trying to replace them entirely. The approach is consistent with what Amazon has done with other initiatives, such as its online art store or the Amazon Sellers program. Experimentation has proved that the relationships can increase sales for small retailers of physical goods.

Amazon hand-picks the businesses it includes at its sites and ensures that they are licensed, insured and background-checked. The mega company had taken a 20 percent cut of services costing under $1,000 and 15 percent of those over that amount. But in conjunction with the new launch, service fees have been readjusted in three categories with varying fees. The company also has built in safeguards to assure the authenticity of user reviews and prevent spurious reviews by those who want to cause trouble for a competitor. Amazon shoppers buy services by putting them in an online cart so reviews can be authenticated.

The Amazon website says that prices quoted in the service are the same as those prospective customers would receive if they called the service provider direct. That answers some complaints from customers who sought services in the earlier phase of the program. Amazon also offers to match prices if the customer can find them cheaper elsewhere.