Financial

Financial planners have different opinions about what you should do with your money, but there are essential money saving tips they all agree on. So, what do financial planners say are the best money saving tips you should never ignore?

21 Money Saving Tips Never to Ignore

1.Have some savings

One tip all financial planners agree on is that you should have a savings plan. They advise that you save a certain amount every month, at least five or ten percent of your salary. It’s best to have the money automatically deposited into your savings account from your paycheck. Experts recommend you save at least one month’s funds to cover an emergency.

2. Don’t spend everything you make

This advice seems simple enough, but if you are living paycheck to paycheck, it is challenging to do. If you have a small salary with debt, you must consider this as you make financial decisions. This time may not be right to purchase a car or eat out every evening.  Making wise choices on big or small purchases helps you live within your means.

3. Ask for a raise

If you need an increase to make ends meet at home, ask for it. You need to know what your job is worth in the marketplace. Think about your education, training, job experience, and what you’ve done for your company-all these things contribute to your overall job worth.

Get paid what you’re worth, being underpaid is money you need for bills, savings, and investments. You’ll never be able to get ahead if you are underpaid. If your current job can’t pay you what you’re worth, it may be time to find another job.

4. Pay down credit cards

If you have several credit cards, pay down the credit cards with the highest amount of interest first. Pay off the smallest amount required on your other credits cards to avoid a penalty. After paying off the high-interest credit card, close that one out using only the low-interest cards.

5. Have a budget

Another money savings tip recommended by all financial planners is to have a budget. It gives you a good understanding of where you’re spending your money. Figure out what your total income is after taxes. Choose what kind of budget plan you want to use to keep track of your expenses. You can use banking apps that automatically break down your spending or a spreadsheet to keep track of costs. Pick the plan that works best for you. Then decide what your costs are. The National Institutes of Health offers a list of money-saving tips for food budgeting.

Besides food, your budget includes

• Other groceries
• Rent
• Household expenses
• Insurance
• Car
• Child care
• Entertainment
• Perscriptions
• Pet care
• Parking
• Clothing
• Work wardrobe
• Gifts
• Banking fees
• Loan payments/credit card payments
• Travel
• Gym memberships
• Subscriptions

6. Prepare for retirement

Saving for retirement doesn’t seem important when you are just getting started, but it’s one money savings tips all financial planners suggest.  They say you should contribute something to your retirement savings, even if it’s a slight amount. Your employer may offer you a 401(K) retirement plan, and it’s a good idea to add to it.  Some plans match what you add with interest.  Saving for retirement is essential, and if you begin early, you’ll be nicely situated when you’re older.

Remember, too. Your overall expenses will go down once you hit retirement age. By the time you reach 65  or 70, your house mortgage will be paid off. Plus, your children will be out of the house, so you’ll be spending less on supporting their needs.

7. Pay down other debts

Most financial planners suggest you pay down your student loans and mortgage

slowly. Many mortgages have a penalty if you pay off the loan early. Also, this kind of debt isn’t as high in interest as other kinds of debt. And the interest on student loans and mortgages are tax-deductible. Use for money for other things, like investments or savings.

8. Keep your savings and check account separate

Your checking account has available money you need for your regular monthly expenses and bills. It’s the place where your paycheck will be automatically sent, minus monies you’re putting into your savings account.  A checking account gives you access to your money right when you need it.  A savings account should be left alone. Depending upon your bank, they will offer an interest rate on your savings.

9. Get rid of your subscriptions

Dump your subscriptions. They eat away at your income. It’s easy to forget if you have them. You often get one or two months free, and then the fees kick in. You may forget you have it.

10. Buy life insurance

If you’re young, you may not think you need life insurance. But if you have dependents or people who depend upon your financial contributions, then you need life insurance.

These people will become financially responsible after you die, so it’s a necessary part of your fiscal money-saving plan. This life insurance will be used to pay off debts after you die. Even if you’re young, buy life insurance since it’s cheaper when you’re young and healthy.

11. Review your budget every year

Every year, review your income, budget, savings, and debt. Life changes, you get a new job, or you have a baby, you realize these changes mean you need to adjust your budget or taxes since you now have a little tax exemption. Other things that affect your financial assessment include;

• Rent changes
• Health insurance premiums rise
• The cost of living goes up-food, clothing, etc.
• Inheritance
• Auto-insurance goes up
• Property taxes rise
• Water or electric costs rise

Doing an annual review is like a health checkup.  You keep a pulse on how you’re doing financially and can adjust things if needed at this point rather than in a moment of panicked realization of some unexpected costs.

12. Write down all your expenses

This concept is simple enough, but many people don’t do it. Keeping a record of how you spend your money may be revealing. You may be shocked to find you’re spending lots of money on subscriptions or memberships you don’t even use.

13. Check your credit score

Your credit score is the number that shows lenders your borrowing practices. Knowing your credit score will help

• Keep your loan interest rates lower when you borrow money
• Helps you know your overall financial health
• Make sure your score hasn’t been compromised
• Determines if you can spend money on a house or car
• You may not be able to rent an apartment if you have a bad credit score

Having a good credit score is like taking care of your body. Keep it healthy, and you’ll be able to do more things with fewer problems.

14. Use bank apps

Downloading your bank apps on our phone is excellent for keeping tabs on your spending habits. You’re more apt to check your phone since you carry it around. Plus, you’ll get notifications when your account gets hit, so it’s more secure, too.

15. Start saving for holiday costs in January

How many days till the holidays? The best time to save for the next holiday season is as soon as the season is over. Holiday gifts, parties, and travel all add up. When you save early, you won’t be hit with huge expenditures around the holidays.

Financial planners suggest you put aside $50 every month starting in January for your holiday fund. By the time you get to the holidays, you’ll be ready to pay for everything without going into debt.

16. Invest if possible

Most financial planners suggest you invest, even if it’s just a little bit of money. You could invest in

• the stock market
• real estate
• Your employer’s retirement plan
• 401(K)
• mutual funds

17. Learn to say no

It’s easy to spend money because of others. If your extended family wants you to join in on a beach house rental for a week, it’s tough to tell them you can’t afford it. It’s hard to admit to your co-workers you can’t go out for drinks with them on Fridays. It takes strength to just say no, but it’s the best choice when you’re trying to get yourself financially stable.

18. Cut out things you don’t need

It’s easy to spend on unnecessary things. Whether it’s purchasing a large coffee every morning at a coffee shop or buying snacks at the snack machine every day, these things add up. Go over your daily, weekly, and monthly expenses. Stop spending money on these little habits. It’s a simple way to save money.

19. Save extra money

If you get a big tax refund, stow it away in your savings account as soon as possible. Things like a bonus at work, an inheritance are perfect for your savings. They weren’t part of your budget, so it’s money you didn’t expect to save.

20. Wait a day before buy

Financial planners would agree that giving yourself a good twenty-four hours before you make a purchase. This waiting period helps offset impulsive purchases. If you’re shopping online, see if you can put your items on a wish list, then go back a few days and see if you want to buy them.

21. Make a cash-only rule

Some financial planners suggest this money saving tip of spending only cash for a brief period. They recommend this so you can get control of your overspending. It’s an abrupt way to get your spending under control, but it might be worth a try.

Final Thoughts on Implementing These Money Saving Tips

These money saving tips will help you get your finances in order. With careful planning, you can lead a satisfying and secure financial life.

Top Financial Tips Young Investors Must Remember

Did you know that the Social Security Retirement age keeps increasing and will rise to age 67 for those born 1960 or later? It’s important to invest young so you can retire when you want no matter the age! Young investors have certain tips and tricks they abide by which will lead to higher returns.

You can be a young investor, and have all of your dreams and goals come true for your savings. In this article, you’ll learn all about investing the right way and tips for investing young. Read on to discover these tips and be sure to implement them! 

1. Young Investors

Dreaming of investing and building your savings? The first and most important thing to do is to start! If you’re feeling overwhelmed, just know that you can learn by doing. When you’re a young investor you have time on your side, you’re young so have plenty of time to study the market and strengthen your strategies.

2. Compounding

Investing young you can take advantage of what’s called compounding. Compounding is a return earned on your principal and past returns. If you have your money in an investment account, it’s the percentage you earn on top of the original investment and previous earnings. 

If it’s a traditional bank account it’s the interest on that amount plus past interest earned over time. As you see here, the sooner you begin investing the more compounding can happen! 

3. Hold a Diversified Portfolio and Risk Take 

Investing is also about taking risks to build. One of the best ways to invest money in your 20’s is to build a diversified portfolio. It’s great to have your savings, but you’ll want to invest as well to build up your savings and never to put your eggs in one basket. 

It’s important to use stocks, bonds, and assets because the more places you have your money, the lower the chances of losing a lot of money. 

Would you like to be a rich and young investor? Check out Ari Rastegar.

4. Make Regular Contributions 

When you’re investing young, you’ll want to make regular contributions in your investment accounts. You’ll want to come up with a certain % that comes out of your paychecks and into your investment accounts.

When done well this not only will set you up for the future but will make sure it’s a steady amount that won’t hurt the bank. 

5. Save More as You Age 

When you’re in your 20’s you might have more goals such as buying a home, paying off student loans, or purchasing a car. It’s great to have those goals, but also make sure you’re saving and investing. 

As you age, you’ll want to invest more. When you’re young, you can invest and still go after your goals, once you reach those goals, you can increase your investing percentage. Along with raises, you might not even notice the increase! 

6. Avoid the Seven Layer Dip of Fees 

When investing, the choices can be overwhelming and confusing about what’s considered smart investments young adults. You’ll want to seek guidance from a financial advisor or broker to avoid large fees and losses. 

Watch out for these fees:

• Mutual Fund Surrender Penalties 
• Mutual Fund Fees
• Brokerage Trading Commissions
• Wrap Management Fees
• Internal Mutual Fund Operating Costs
• Markups on New Issue Securities and Bonds
• 12b-1 Fees

Always speak with your advisor about these fees and avoiding them! 

7. Never Withdraw Early from Your 401-K

 Your 401(K) is used for retirement and if you take money out too soon you can receive hefty fees. There’s a 10% tax penalty for withdrawing early from the IRS. 

It’s a good idea to have an emergency fund in case of a job loss, unexpected expenses such as work needed for your home, etc. This emergency fund is important so you won’t have to withdraw from your 401(K) and suffer from taxes!

8. Ignore Competition

Healthy competition is fine, but if you’re seeing celebrities on tv or people you know who are wealthy, avoid trying to keep up with them. If you’re not at that point yet financially, it’s best not to rush it, and better to keep your goals in mind. 

Remember, you want to be young investing, but also smart about it so you don’t wind up bankrupt! Don’t go investing with money you don’t have and wrack up the bills because you can’t pay off your student loans. 

If you’re looking at your friends traveling and their lush lives, keep in mind they might have just put that on a credit card, and might not be saving for the future. Focus on yourself and your life. Educate yourself on investing and bettering yourself with reading as many books and researching as much as possible! 

9. Automate Investments 

One of the best things you can do for your investments and saving time is automating your investments as much as possible. This will teach you to save over time and remember that you’ll have money for yourself plus for investing. A 401(K) is one way to do just that!

From your job sign up for your 401(K) and have them take your pay automatically out of your check. You can also automate your high-yield savings account and a brokerage account.

Next Steps

In this article, you learned all about young investors, and the tips they use for the biggest profits. Remember to come up with a goal and plan, and then make it happen.

You can invest as you learn, don’t worry about learning as much as possible at first. As you learn while investing, you’ll be able to see what works and what doesn’t. Before you know it you’ll be compounding and so glad you invested young! 

Would you like to learn more for everything from content strategy to inbound marketing? Check out our articles!

7 Key Tips for Finding the Perfect Financial Advisor

You want to grow your wealth and the easiest way to do that is by working with a financial advisor. And there are plenty to choose from.

Believe it or not, there are more than 200,000 financial advisors in the United States. And with so many, finding the perfect financial advisor can feel like a challenge.

It doesn’t have to be. Read on for a few simple tips to help you find the best advisor for your financial goals.

1. Think About Your Goals

Financial advisors help you build wealth over a long period of time. But they’re better able to do this if they understand your goals.

Think about what you want to accomplish with your investments.

Are you looking to increase your monthly income? Do you want to aggressively save for retirement? Or are you planning for your future to give your family the life you’ve always imagined?

Once you know what your goals are, write them down. It’s okay if they change over time, but this will give your advisor a starting point. And with that starting point, they’ll be able to create a strategy to help you meet those goals.

2. Know How Much You Can Invest

Unfortunately, some financial advisors require that their clients have a minimum amount of investable assets. If you don’t have enough, you won’t be able to work with them.

Think about how much you have on-hand to invest. If it’s just a few hundred dollars, you’re probably better off waiting or finding an alternative. But if you’ve saved up and are ready to get serious about your future, a financial adviser is the smart choice.

That said, it’s okay to start out on your own, especially if you don’t have much to invest. Robo-advisors offer a low-cost alternative to traditional financial advisors. And many investment platforms allow you to directly make trades on your own.

Keep in mind that if you go this route, you’ll want to be careful. Remember, investing on your own means you’re relying on your own experience and knowledge of the industry.

For most people, this means slower growth and less return on investments. And sometimes, it can mean catastrophic losses.

The last thing you want to do is lose all of your hard-earned money on investments that weren’t the right choice for your needs.

3. Get Referrals from People You Know

The best place to start looking for the perfect financial advisor is by talking to your friends, family, and coworkers. Online reviews and internet searches can only tell you so much.

But the people you know are likely the people you trust to recommend products and services anyway. Ask if they have any financial advisors they’ve worked with in the past. And don’t be afraid to ask what they thought about their services.

If they’re comfortable working with them and had positive experiences in the past, you’ll likely receive the same quality service.

And don’t be afraid to ask the people you know if they have any advisors they didn’t like. This will help you narrow down your choices.

4. Look at Their Credentials

Experience does matter when it comes to managing your investments and growing your wealth.

When researching advisors in the area, pay close attention to their credentials. Look for distinguishing certifications like the Certified Financial Planner distinction or fiduciary status.

These help ensure that you’re able to work with an advisor that’s out to help you, not just make a fast buck. You’ll also want to pay attention to their educational background. Remember, you’re paying them to help you make sound financial decisions.

5. Schedule Several Consultations

Remember, you’re looking for an advisor that you can work with for many years to come. And that means you’ll need to interview several advisors before you can find the one that fits your needs best.

Schedule consultations with at least three advisors and see which one you feel most comfortable with.

They should be willing to listen to your concerns and able to answer your questions in a way that you understand.

If at any point you feel uncomfortable, don’t agree to work with them. It’s okay to leave the office feeling like you need to keep looking. Don’t give up. You’ll find the perfect financial advisor eventually.

6. Make Sure Your Comfortable with Their Fees

Financial advisors charge for their services in different ways. Some expect a flat fee each quarter while others charge commission on each trade or investment.

There’s no right or wrong method, but you need to make sure you’re comfortable with how they charge for their services. And you need to be able to afford what they charge for their services.

Before leaving the consultation, make sure they explain their fee structure in detail. If you have any questions or concerns, ask them during the appointment. And if the advisor can’t explain things in a way that makes sense to you, keep searching.

7. Check Online for Complaints

Online reviews are not the best way to judge a financial advisor’s skills or reputation. In fact, most are anonymous and those complaints may not even be real.

Instead of relying on sites like Yelp and Google, dig a little deeper. Sites like FINRA’s BrokerCheck allow you to research individual financial advisors and firms to assess their reputations.

If anyone filed complaints against the broker, you’ll know what they were and what, if anything, happened to resolve the issue.

And if there are no problems, their record will be clean.

Final Thoughts on Finding the Perfect Financial Advisor

Finding the perfect financial advisor takes time and effort. You need to meet with advisors in order to know if they’re the right choice for your needs.

Be patient, do your research, and choose an advisor that you’re comfortable with. This way, you’ll have someone in your corner for the long-run.

Looking for more helpful tips and advice to grow your wealth? Check out our latest posts.

5 Top Tips to Help You Become a Financial Writer Online

Investing and finances are complex topics. Most schools don’t teach about stocks or compound interest. This lack of financial knowledge has been impactful for all generations.

Most people are in charge of their own financial decisions. But many have no idea where and how to get started.

Did you know that median age workers have saved only $5,000 towards retirement?

This knowledge gap is a prime opportunity for a financial writer. As a writer, you can provide useful financial content.

Keep reading for 5 useful tips for becoming a successful finance writer.

1. Write Relatable Content

Finances and investing aren’t the most exciting topics to read about. As a financial writer, you’ll need to find ways to bring life to these topics.

When writing, ensure your content is relatable. Use real-life stories from real people. This allows readers to understand and connect to the information.

To make your content more personal, consider:

• Revealing money challenges that you have overcome
• Talk about your own experiences with retirement investing
• Interview a source who is willing to share his/her personal experiences.

The key is to not just have words on a screen. The words you provide need to be impactful.

2. Avoid Finance Jargon

Finance is already a difficult topic. Don’t make it even harder by using finance jargon in your content.

Not only does this make the content boring, it makes it more difficult to digest.

Keep it simple! Write your content using the plainest English possible.

3. Provide Resources

Writing about retirement investing or creating a budget is one thing. Boost your content’s usefulness by providing resources to your readers.

Creating a blog about Triple Net? Ensure your content has a link to Triple Net Gateway. This site provides more in-depth information for readers to further their knowledge.

Looking to educate readers on home equity? Include a resource that talks about home equity and home equity loans.

4. Be Knowledgeable

To be a finance writer, you’ll want to understand a variety of finance topics. But you don’t need to be a certified financial planner.

Don’t get intimidated by the idea that you aren’t a finance expert.

As a writer, you’re able to approach difficult topics from a layperson’s view. This is a huge asset for companies looking for easy-to-understand content.

5. Build Your Portfolio

Once you’ve gained experience, now is the time to build your portfolio. This will distinguish you from other financial writers.

Your portfolio should include your best work.

Was your content referenced by a reputable financial institution? Has your work been used in other finance content?

The more impressive your portfolio is, the more likely you’ll be able to snag a high-visibility writing position.

A Successful Financial Writer Needs Quality Content

As a finance writer, you’ll need to drive traffic to the content you create. As a finance guru, chances are you don’t know much about marketing. This is where we can help!

Our experts at ArticleCity know how to drive more traffic to your content. We understand the topics you need to cover to get the results you want.

With our expertise, your content will get the readership it needs.

Sign up for a free account to get started.