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Save for the Unexpected

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You’ve probably heard it before a million times. You need an emergency fund of 3 to 6 months. Maybe you brushed it off as not urgent or maybe even unimportant. And then the world came to a screeching halt in 2020.

Now here we are in 2022 and maybe you’ve fully adapted to the world post-COVID-19. So what are you doing to be ready to bounce back from the next global event? Did you use that stimulus to start your emergency fund?

It really isn’t a question on whether or not you need an emergency fund.

(You do.) It’s the first line of defense when unexpected expenses show up (and they will—have kids?). Unforeseen emergencies threaten to undo your hard work and careful financial planning.

But what exactly is an emergency fund? What should it look like? And how do you start building one if you don’t have a sack of cash lying around?

What’s an emergency fund… and why do you need one? 

An emergency fund is a dedicated amount of money to cover unplanned, unavoidable expenses. Establishing one is an important milestone on your journey to achieving financial independence! But why is it such a big deal?

Emergencies are a part of life. Nobody schedules a busted transmission or a broken arm, but you’ll need a way to pay for them when they happen. Who would have guessed that a global pandemic would force most of us to stay at home and cost millions of Americans their jobs? So it’s not a question of if you’ll need to cover something unexpected but how you’ll cover it. Without an emergency fund, you’ll be forced to either dip into your long-term savings (assuming you have them) or go into debt. For most people, either option can seriously throw off long-term financial plans. An emergency fund gives you the power to overcome sudden obstacles without sacrificing your retirement or piling up credit card bills.

Emergency fund ins and outs  One critical thing to grasp is that an emergency fund isn’t the same as your savings. Establishing a solid emergency fund is not a long-term goal that’s built over years or decades. Once the emergency fund is full, then you move on to other money milestones like conquering debt and saving for the future.

So how do you know you have enough in your fund? That depends on how much you make. A good rule of thumb is that an emergency fund should cover 3 to 6 months of income. That provides a buffer if you have an unexpected car repair, medical emergency, or if you’re temporarily unemployed due to an unprecedented global pandemic!

But what if you don’t have that much cash just lying around?  3 to 6 months of income might seem like a lot of money to set aside, especially if you’re currently living paycheck to paycheck. Building an emergency fund will take time and budgeting. Start with a goal of saving 2 weeks of pay. Then shoot for 1 month, then 2 months, etc., until you reach your goal.

The 2 Rules of Emergency Funds

Rule 1: An emergency fund is only, ONLY to be used in case of actual emergencies. It’s not for last minute getaways, much needed spa days, or killer video game sales. If those kinds of things come along, you can use a “fun fund”, which of course is part of your regular budget! (We’ll talk more about your “fun fund” in a later post.)

Rule 2: The emergency fund needs to be easily accessible. Make sure it’s in an account where you won’t incur fees for withdrawals when your car breaks down or you suddenly need a new AC unit. That’s why it’s there. Just remember to refill it as soon as the emergency has passed.

Once you’ve built your emergency fund and know the rules, you’re ready to move on to the next stages of building wealth.🎉Congratulations! You’re officially not broke and in the perfect position to chase your financial future!

If you’re ready to start your savings journey but not sure where to begin, check out these 7 Steps to Start Your Savings Journey from AmericaSaves.org.

Or if you prefer some help, meet with a financial advisor for a free consultation to figure it out. 

Lifestyles

What we’ve been doing on our hiatus – pt 2

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What we’ve been doing on our hiatus – pt 2
How the new office started Yes we've been on hiatus & you haven't been getting your 3 weekly posts in March, but here's why

The same images but with the word descriptions that were supposed to be displayed in part 1.

And now for part 2 photos…

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What we’ve been doing on our hiatus – pt 2
How the new bedroom started... did you want the director of content sleeping on the floor?

Millennials, want to catch a 🆓 version of the personal finance class your Boomer parents should have made sure was available to you when you were a kid? Click here to register for the class happening Thursday, July 1sy at 8 PM EST.

Millennials only!!! (born between 1980 and 1995)

Financial, Lifestyles

Furnish Your Home Without Breaking Your Bank

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Furnishing your house can be pricey.

One interior decoration blog estimated that decorating a living room from scratch could cost between $14,400 to almost $50,000!(1) The numbers for the dining room, bedrooms, and kitchen are similarly high. Furnishing an apartment averages about $6,000.(2) But is there a better way? How can you save some cash if you’re trying to furnish your home? Here are a few helpful tips to guide your decorating process!

Photo by Negative Space on Pexels.com

Plan and prioritize
Start by taking stock of what furniture you have that can be used in your new home. Some of it might work in your new home, some of it might not. Try to get an idea of what existing furniture will go where and make note of new items you’ll need.

Arrange your list of new items in order of importance and buy those first. Mattresses for your bedroom? Top of the list. Abstract modern art to hang in your bathroom? Maybe hold off on that until you’ve taken care of the essentials!

Paint
Concerned that your kitchen is a little drab? Worried that your table cloth doesn’t match your dining room? You might be surprised how far a new paint job will get you! It might be a more budget-friendly way to spice up your living situation than tossing all your old furniture out the door, especially if you do it yourself. Things like tables and wooden chairs are all potential candidates for a new coat of paint, as are the walls of your home.

Photo by Breakingpic on Pexels.com

Shop smart
But there’s no doubt that at some point you’ll need to get a new piece of furniture. What then? Cough up and pay a ridiculous price? You might be surprised by the resources available to acquire furniture at a bargain. Local thrift stores can be treasure troves for things like chairs, coffee tables, and bookcases. Craigslist and eBay are also worth investigating, as are estate and garage sales. And you can always scour the curbs for a free sofa if you’re feeling bold!

Furnishing your new house can be fun. It’s a chance to unleash your creativity and make your home a special place. Just make sure you follow these budget-friendly tips before you start indulging!

(1) https://www.kathykuohome.com/blog/budget-breakdown-how-much-does-it-cost-decorate-a-room/

(2) https://medium.com/@ColonialVanLinesInc/how-much-does-the-average-person-spend-on-furniture-8a0a6ba179ca

Financial, Health and Fitness

Tax Season Cometh – Pt 2

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You read Pt 1 and came back for Pt 2. We salute you. So now without further ado the tax tips you’re looking for…

Photo by Austin on Pexels.com
  1. Start saving for a down payment on a house.
    Maybe you’ve already paid down your debt with past refunds, have an emergency fund and are a regular retirement saver. Is it your dream to own a home? Then apply your refund to that savings bucket. If you’re ready to pull the trigger on your purchase or bought in 2020 with the historically low interest rates we’re seeing right now, don’t forget that your points can be deductible as can home mortgage interest and real estate taxes.
  2. Maximize HSA contribution to decrease taxable income.
    Similar to the dependent care FSA mentioned in Part 1, health savings account contributions decrease the amount of taxes you pay in the year you make contributions. The trick is that HSAs aren’t available to everyone as they are meant for people with high deductible health insurance plans. However if you do have access to one, not only can you stash money pre-tax to cover your medical expenses like eyeglasses, prescriptions and doctor visits, but the account can earn interest and rolls over from year to year and from employer to employer.
    If you don’t qualify for an HSA perhaps your employer provides access to a Medical FSA. You can elect how much to contribute from your pre-tax income and use the funds on medical expenses. Here’s where this account gets tricky. The funds are a use-it or lose-it deal so you need to be really good at estimating how much you’re going to spend in a calendar year or risk losing some cash. This didn’t used to be a big deal years ago because you could use up whatever was left at the end of the year buying OTC products, think 🩹💊 . Thanks to coronavirus (bet you thought you’d never see those words used in a non-sarcastic manner 🙂) you can do this again. However, stay alert to hear if the government switches this feature back off again. Honestly we hope they never do, but if it does happen just know that it’ll mean getting a prescription for things like Tylenol just to use your money.
  3. Take advantage of catch up retirement contributions if you’re 50+.
    Didn’t start saving for retirement with that first job? While you might be behind in your savings you don’t have to stay that way. The limits on contributions are actually $1000 higher if you’re 50 or older. So find a way to minimize other expenses so you can max out your contributions.
Randy Glasbergen
  1. Defer retirement to help grow savings.
    This one might not seem like a great tip if you’re nearing retirement age. Unless you’re facing the reality from the comic above that you didn’t save enough and will either need to significantly downsize your life to try to stretch your limited savings or continue working. If you continue working, you can still contribute to an IRA and as the previous tip stated, contribute more.
  1. Take all RMDs to avoid 50% penalty.
    First of all RMD stands for Required Minimum Distribution. The IRS wants to collect taxes on all of that money you saved for retirement throughout the years without paying them a piece. So once you hit 70.5 years old, they force you to start taking money out whether you need it or not. The catch? If you don’t withdraw all that they tell you to take out they hit you with a 50% penalty. So to avoid losing money to useless penalties, just go ahead and take out the full RMD.
  2. Make estimated payments to avoid underpayment penalties.
    Did you take our advice from our Divorce Your Job series or our posts on starting your own side hustle? Well watch out for an increased tax liability since you’re now considered self-employed. Make estimated tax payments throughout the year to avoid wasting money on penalties.
Benita Epstein for Six Chix
  1. Document your business expenses to lower tax liability including up to 100% of health insurance costs.
    And we don’t mean document like in the comic above. Need tips on how to keep track of all of your business expenses? While Quicken is a software we’ve used in the past and Quickbooks is always a great go-to, maybe you’re not ready to learn a new program.
    Join us on February 13th at 2:30 PM EST for our free Entrepreneurship class and ask about other tracking options.
  2. Subcontract and deduct non-core administrative expenses.
    Getting bogged down with administrative tasks instead of focusing on the key activities of your business? Hire somebody else to do it for you and deduct the cost from your taxes. Looking for a virtual assistant to handle calendar management, social media and other admin tasks for you? Allow us to provide those business services for you by the hour. You don’t have to file any tax paperwork until you reach $600 paid for services. The form that you’d end up filing is the 1099-NEC.

Did you find any of these tips helpful? Talk back to us in the comments.

Financial, Health and Fitness

Tax Season Cometh – Pt 1

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FoxTrot Comics

Was this you last year? Granted you had until July in 2020 because…well you already know. But did you still procrastinate?

Regardless of when you actually file your return, we’ve long recommend preparing for tax season throughout the year to try and relieve some of the stress (see our post from over six years ago below 🔽).

Prep for Tax Time All Year Long

April 12, 2014
In “Financial”

Here are some other tips to get you prepped for the dreaded tax season and to keep more money in your pocket. We’ve tried to arrange them in order for those Gen Zers filing for what may be the first time this year on up through the older, wiser generations.

Zits
  1. Reduce taxable income by saving for retirement through an employer-sponsored plan.
    As soon as you’re eligible (it varies from job to job), start making contributions to your retirement plan through your employer. YES, we mean you Gen Z kid that just started your first job out of high school or college. Even though retirement seems a lifetime away, it’s not only cheaper to start doing it now (you can get away with stashing $100/month) but you also end up having less federal income tax taken out of your check because you’re saving for retirement. Oh and there’s another benefit…
  2. Get paid to save for retirement with the Saver’s Credit based on contributions up to $2000.
    Yes, you read that right! The IRS will actually credit you up to $1000 ($2000 if married filing jointly) if you’re saving for retirement.
    Here’s how it works: be 18 or older, not a dependent and not a student. Save up to $2000 for retirement through your employer or your IRA (that’s an Individual Retirement Account). After some adjustments to your income on the first couple of lines on your tax return you get your AGI (Adjusted Gross Income) which is what your actual tax bill is based on and determines how much credit you can get for saving. The max credit is 50% of what you saved, hence potentially up to $1000 if you saved $2000. You won’t see $1000 in the form of a refund but it will be subtracted from whatever your tax bill is based on your AGI.
  3. Take advantage of education credits.
    Did you go back to school and eliminate yourself from being able to qualify for the Saver’s Credit we just mentioned? Don’t worry because there are education credits up to $2000 that you may be eligible for, namely, the American Opportunity Credit or the Lifetime Learning Credit. The qualifications are different for each credit but regardless make sure to keep track of your expenses like tuition, enrollment fees, course-related books, supplies and equipment as both are based on how much you spent on these items.
Baloo Cartoons
  1. Claim tax benefits for qualifying relatives.
    Most people are aware that you can claim children on your taxes. But did you know that if you became the primary provider for a parent or grandchild with all of the turmoil of last year, you may qualify for additional tax benefits. It’s worth checking with your tax professional so start adding up those expenses now.
  2. Optimize your withholdings to meet your financial needs.
    Feel like too much was taken out of your check throughout the year? Or maybe you had taxes due last year and you’d like to try to avoid that going forward? In either scenario you might want to take a look at your withholdings. The IRS not only provides a tool to estimate your withholdings, but it also walks you through the steps to change them with your employer.
  3. Reduce out of pocket childcare costs if your employer offers dependent care benefits.
    If you have a tax deduction, oh um a child, and your employer offers you dependent care benefits, make sure you’re using them. This allows you to pay for daycare and extended day with pre-tax dollars. Back in the day when Ms. ME used a dependent care FSA (flexible spending account) for extended day the cost ranged from $50 to $150 a month depending on whether you needed care in the AM, PM or both. So if she needed both, the bill for the year was $1500 with about $58 being taken out of each paycheck before taxes. The pesky part was getting reimbursed from the dependent care account, but your employer could have a better system set up.
  4. Plan ahead for college expenses by saving with a 529 plan.
    Have those tax dedu- children and concerned about paying for them to go to college? Start saving now. This isn’t a tax deduction for your current return but the earnings made in the plan are exempt from income tax as long as those little buggers go to college and the money is used for those expenses. In some cases you can even use up to $10,000 a year without being taxed to send them to a private K-12 school. The plans vary from state to state so it’s best to check and see what’s available where you live.
  5. Put your tax refund to work by paying off high interest debt, creating an emergency fund, or saving for retirement.
    We see it year after year, a surge in used car sales and electronics purchases. But thankfully in an early 2020 survey, most U.S. adults were planning to save their tax refund. The trick is to not save it in a low interest rate savings account like Clark below is doing.
    Schedule your free consultation to learn what higher interest rate options might be best for you.
Clark is stuck on the Sucker Cycle…Don’t be like Clark. Change your financial literacy & change your life.

The second highest response to what people planned to do with their tax refund was pay down debt. This is always a great choice and it seems to be one that a lot of people did last year. The third highest response was covering everyday expenses. Our advice here would be to make sure that those expenses are as low as they possibly can be. Make sure you’re not paying for unused subscriptions or overpaying for auto and home insurance.

We’ve got eight more tax tips coming up in part 2, so check back later today to read them! And as always tell us what you think in the comments or on social media…