Do you remember when you started your first savings account? I know I must have been pretty young when I first deposited money because I didn't quite understand how a savings account worked, and I was disappointed when I couldn't "withdraw" my Buffalo Nickel that I had deposited. That disappointment notwithstanding, I was a lucky child to have a savings account early in my life. Research by William Elliott from Kansas University...
The holidays are coming up… and with it is the ability to overspend. Whether you're shopping for a few or many, having a plan for the holidays can help. Below are my top 3 holiday spending tips! 1. Use a budget within a budget. Although this seems tedious, having a budget within a budget will help to keep your spending in check. In a normal spending period, you have all of your expenses allocated. Why not try allocating a dollar amount for the holidays and then keep a budget inside of that! You...
Who gets your IRA when you pass away – assuming there's still money in it? Who will get your house? Your life insurance payout? Your 401(k)? The answer could be different from what you think. An Example Your will says that your daughter gets all these things. That's how you want all your worldly good to be distributed, so you think everything is fine. What you forgot is that, twenty years ago when you were still married, you named your (now) ex-husband as the beneficiary of...
I bet you've named a beneficiary on something: maybe an IRA, a life insurance policy, or your 401(k). It's quick and easy to do. And being named as a beneficiary makes it quicker and easier for your heirs to receive what you've left to them, compared to the costs and delays of probate. But that doesn't mean beneficiaries are fool proof. Check out these stories. Have you made any of these mistakes? Frank was a young, single guy when he got his first job with benefits, so he listed his parents as...
With the class of 2016 graduating from college, I reminisced about my own graduation from my alma mater. Below are my top 3 financial planning tips for college graduates (and a bonus for those who have student loans!) Congrats graduates, and enjoy! Create an Emergency Fund No matter if you just graduated with your undergraduate, graduate or PhD degree, you need to have an emergency fund. Some experts say to save $1,000, while others say to save three to six month worth of...
During the holidays I had an amazing opportunity to travel to Maui. As I walked along the beach, listening to the surf and marveling at the full rainbow over the ocean, I thought about where I am in my life and what I'd like to do in 2016. I believe in the value of reflecting on what we've done as well as setting goals for the future. In this mood, let's take a quick look at the Plan Well Retire Well blog in 2015, before we jump into blogging for this coming year. We had 55 blog posts...
One year ago I bought my house with my husband, along the way I documented all that I had learned. We started off asking tons of questions! Asking ourselves we were ready to buy or continue to rent? We then found our realtor and then asked were asked...
Put a little fun into your savings! To celebrate the America Saves Week, America Saves launched the #imsavingfor contest. It's easy to enter. Just share a picture of you and what you are saving for and then enter to win $500 at AmericaSavesWeek.org/imsavingfor. Get creative with your pictures! You can take a picture in front of the item your savings for – like a new car or house Photoshop yourself with your goal –...
Valentine's Day is just around the corner. It is said that Valentine's Day came about because of an Italian bishop who married couples in secret. At the time Roman Emperor Claudius II was fighting a war and believed that married men were not good soldiers. He thought they would rather be at home with their families then off to war on behalf of their countries. So, he abolished marriage. Bishop Valentine would invite couples to his home where he married them. When Claudius II found out, he had...
Do you have a fledgling entrepreneur in the house? Talking about money with kids is important as is giving them opportunities to practice with finances. Families tend to find different ways for their kids to practice money: some give allowances, some provide opportunities to earn money around the household, and in some families entrepreneurship is encouraged. Earning money can help youth understand the value of items. For example, one useful activity is to challenge kids to calculate how many...
I celebrate my friendships and family at this time of year! I love to choose gifts that I think will make them happy, and I'm thankful that I can afford to shop without worrying about each dollar. While I'm celebrating, however, I'm very aware that for many times are tough. Part of my giving each year is to organizations that help others; sharing is part of money management, in my opinion. People tend to help each other. I'm always struck when examining data from the...
Are you planning to attend college between July 1, 2017 and June 30, 2018, or do you know someone who is? The FAFSA is available earlier this year! The FAFSA online form (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) went live on October 1st. Completing the FAFSA is necessary to apply for federal student aid, as well as other aid and scholarships. Good news: you will use income data from 2015. No more waiting until you complete...
You work. Let EITC work for you! For the last 40 years, Earned Income Tax Credit made life better for millions of workers. You may have extra money waiting for you. If you qualify and claim the credit, it could be as much as $6,242 from the IRS for some workers. Don't be the one in five that misses this credit. If you or someone you know earned less than $53,267 from wages, running a business or farm or from Form 1099 MISC, check it out. It's easy to find out if you qualify. Use the...
"The only thing that is constant is change."-Heraclitus Life seems to move faster and faster as we age. I know from experience that when I started working for Extension I was a single person, then engaged, then married. Our readers have followed me along in my home buying series and now I'm excited to share that we've had a baby! Considering the change I've experienced, below I want to discuss preparing for all life...
If you haven't guessed it by now, I am a Millennial. The idea of being 65+ is a concept that I can't completely grasp yet. I do worry about retirement and wonder if I am saving enough for my future self. Retirement will come, even if you say you won't "retire" one day you may need a nest egg! No matter what age you are, it's important to save for retirement. In one of my graduate classes a few years ago, a professor showed us a really cool website. It was designed so that people could get a...
In your daily life, what questions are you asked? I suppose philosophers ponder questions like, ""If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" As a financial educator, I've been asked questions lately like: Does a Subscription Box save people money? Should I pay someone to mow my lawn or clean my house? Can you actually save money by growing your own vegetables? These might seem like totally unrelated questions but they actually all relate to,...
What started out as a fun hashtag, #FirstSevenJobs, has led to a discussion about our country's major shift in employment trends for teens and young adults. While many of us list jobs starting in our teens (babysitting, lawn mowing, cooking hamburgers, etc.), in 2014 only one in four teens had a job. What will the other 75% of teens #FirstSevenJobs list look like in 20 years? In "Worrying...