Saving Money

Beginners’ Guide To Saving Money

February 24, 2018 By Twila Van Leer

Saving money is the keystone principle to financial success. It’s what makes it possible for you to take advantage of opportunities, such as going back to school, starting a business or buying shares of stock when the market crashes.

The logical questions are: How much should I be saving? What is the difference between saving and investing? What are the safest methods for saving?

There is a huge difference between saving and investing. Both should have a place in your financial planning, but they have different roles. It can make a difference in whether you experience a bare-knuckle survival through a recession or depression or sleep soundly knowing you have spare liquidity on hand. Knowing the difference is vital to building wealth and finding financial independence.

Many individuals have lost everything in an economic downturn despite having wonderful portfolios because they failed to appreciate the role of cash in their calculations.

Making money for you is not always the first role of cash.

Knowing the basic differences between saving and investing may help. Saving involves putting cold, hard cash away where it is safe and liquid. Some successful money managers suggest keeping a lot of cash hidden on hand to be a source of quick availability. Savings should be in FDIC-insured accounts, including U.S. treasury bills. Money market accounts are good, but money market funds require a careful look at the holdings and structure. Savings should be immediately accessible so you can deploy them with minimal delay according to circumstances.

During the 2008-09 economic meltdown, some hedge fund managers actually had their spouses getting as much cash as they could from ATMs because it appeared that the entire economy was going to collapse. Not widely publicized, such activity nevertheless showed the depth of the concerns.

The objective in saving is to keep ahead of inflation.

Now, about investing. That’s a process of using your money to earn a return. There is more volatility in the process than in saving, but it is the basis for building wealth. Learning the tricks of investing is a process and many helps are available, including the book, “How to Start Investing.” Professional help is available if you are a real novice. The trick is to start. Learn as you go.

Stocks, bonds and real estate are the most popular avenues for investing.

So, given the differences, how much of your income should you dedicate to each of these money-management techniques? Obviously, the answer is individual, but the bottom line should be: “As much as you can,” even to the extent of sacrificing some of your immediate desires to maximize your savings and investment options.

Put savings before investments (unless you receive a sudden windfall such as an inheritance, etc.) A good savings cushion will fund your investments. The two primary purposes for savings are as a hedge against the loss of income, through a layoff, downturn, illness or for special purposes such as a house down payment, car or other big-tab item. Ideally, you should have six months of coverage for essential living costs. That will give you a sense of security that you can’t get from the market, which can be extremely volatile in the short-run.

You shouldn’t consider investing until your savings program will give you the assurance of being able to take care of emergencies and/or saving for the items that will take more than five years to pay for. Having health insurance should take precedence over investing as well. Without it, a single health incidence could wipe you out.

Savings and investing. Make both a matter for long-term personal financial health. But start with the savings.

Retirement Sneaks Up On You

February 13, 2018 By Twila Van Leer

When you are young and just starting down the employment path, it’s easy to ignore the fact that you’ll face retirement some day. But some day is not as far away as you think. If it arrives and you haven’t prepared, you may face some tight living in your “golden” years.

How much you need to save to be prepared is a personal question. How well do you want to live in retirement and how much do you earn? A rule of thumb is to estimate what you will be earning the year you retire. Subtract your retirement income, such as Social Security, pension, trust accounts, etc.) and then multiply it by the number of years you expect to live after retirement. Not exact, but at least a figure to shoot for.

The answer to how much you should be saving, simply put, is “as much as you can, but not more.” The earning years should not be miserable in order to finance the retirement years. But retirement savings must be high up on your priority list.

You can’t get a loan to finance your retirement. To make the figures more real, make a pie chart with five “slices.” Label them “bills,” “debt,” “spending,” “short-term savings” and “long-term savings.” If the long-term savings (i.e., retirement) is too small, look at the other categories and see where it is possible to make a shift. Possibly you need to trim short-term savings a bit in favor of long-term. Be wise, don’t decimate your emergency funds to make the difference. Be willing to sacrifice a few things, like lunching out, being too free with entertainment expenses, making unnecessary clothing purchases. Focus first on the necessities.

What kind of retirement account should you consider? How long do you have before retirement and how much do you make? Taxes should be a large part of your consideration. Some programs, such as an employee-sponsored 401(k), allows you to defer payment. Optimize your contribution to a company plan, especially if your employer offers a match.

Speak with a professional if you need help understanding your options, how to invest to maximize your returns. He or she can guide you through the maze of possibilities and help you adopt the best plan for your circumstances.

Yes, there are many questions. But the one that can be easily answered is: When do I start? The answer: Now.

When To Quit Saving

February 9, 2018 By Twila Van Leer

Once you have your million, you can sit back, relax and quit saving, right? No way, says self-made multi-millionaire David Bach. Saving should be a lifelong habit, he advises. Learning to ”pay yourself first” is one of the basics he shares in his book, “The Automatic Millionaire.” He also is co-founder of AE Wealth Management.

He and his wife, Michelle, make it a practice to set aside the first 20 percent of their gross income.

“That may sound like a lot, but because we’ve worked up to it gradually over the course of 15 years, it has become our new “normal.”

Bach didn’t become a millionaire overnight, he points out. “When I first heard of this concept (paying yourself first) I was doing what most people do – trying to budget, beating myself up for failing and then scrambling at the end of the year to find some money to put in my retirement and savings accounts, only to find another year had come and gone and I had not made any financial progress,” he writes.

When the idea caught on, he began setting money aside regularly, but it was 1 percent of his paycheck, not 20 percent. After three months, he realized how easy 1 percent was and he kicked up to 3 percent. “I can tell you from personal experience that once you decide to pay yourself first and then make it automatic, it’s done. Within the first three months, you forget that money that is going into savings.”

As he was able he continued to increase his “pay-myself” contribution up to 10 percent, then 15 percent and on up to 20 percent.

Bach doesn’t accept excuses. Anyone, regardless of income, can put money aside and let it accumulate, he insists. A lot depends on one’s mindset. “If you are not paying yourself first now, it’s probably because you think you can’t afford to, but once you decide to do it, and make it automatic, you’d be amazed how effortlessly you can learn to live on a little less.”

If 1 percent seems a reasonable self-pay goal for you, it’s better to start there than not to start at all, he says. It’s a decision that, over time, can assure your personal financial health and set you on the path to wealth.

Make That Windfall Count

February 7, 2018 By Twila Van Leer

An unexpectedly large birthday gift, a cash bonus at work, a bequest from a deceased relative. You just never know when you might find yourself with $1,000 or more that isn’t committed to your current budget.

What to do with it? David Bach, New York Times bestselling author and co-founder of AE Wealth Management, has three suggestions that will make the gift more valuable than it appears on the surface. (Sure, allow yourself a little splurge, but don’t blow the whole amount.)

• Build up your rainy day fund. If you haven’t yet reached a goal of having six months’ living expenses on hand in case of a financial emergency, you can buy another $1,000 (or whatever amount) of mind’s ease. A safety net can spare you a dilemma when life takes a sharp right turn and you lose your job, have a medical emergency, car repairs – any one of those little clinkers that make life interesting. Your emergency fund will grow faster if you put it into a high-yield online savings account, or a money market account that pays reasonable interest.

• Increase your 401(k). The more you set aside in your employer-sponsored retirement account, the better. Use your windfall to increase your contribution to the retirement plan by 2 percent. Especially if your employer matches a set amount of the contribution, you’ll have a deeper cushion when you retire. A 401(k) offers significant tax advantages.

• Open a “dream account”. If you are looking into the future and seeing yourself at a Super Bowl game, signing up for grad school, traveling outside the country – you name it – a bit of unexpected money can give you a jump start. Open an investment account specifically for that dream. Commit yourself to adding to the amount regularly and before you know it, you are en route to the end point of that goal.

Personal Finance For Every Income

January 29, 2018 By Twila Van Leer

Some people hear the phrase “personal finance” and assume that it is meant for people with lots of money. Not so. In fact, it may be that the less money you have, the more important it is to track it and make the best use of it.

Even if you are living paycheck to paycheck, there are usually things you can do to make savings possible.

Start with a budget. Seeing your income and outgo in black and white gives you a good starting point. Then analyze your spending and see where there might be some wiggle room. Having a clear picture of where you are can help to plot out a direction.

Eating out too often? There is something to save if you discipline yourself to make less expensive meals at home. Lower the speed on your Internet. Choose a less expensive cable package, or dump cable altogether. Avoid compulsive purchases. Even if an item of clothing is on sale, it isn’t a good deal if it derails your savings intentions.

If you cut all the corners you can and still aren’t able to put a consistent amount into savings, it may be time to look at more extreme options, such as taking a second job temporarily so you can pay off debt.

Downsizing your living space may be possible. That means saving in several areas, including the housing itself and the cost of the utilities it takes to live there. Making drastic changes for the short haul to come out better over the long term is smart.

Bottom line: Don’t wait until you can easily afford it to begin a savings program. Scrimping a bit now will pay off in the future when your income is likely to be larger. You will have developed the habit so that retirement savings will come natural.