AUTHOR:  MADISON HOMAN

Key Summary:
Saving money often starts with changing “spending” habits. Here are some ideas that can help: Get cooperation from your family; Involve your kids; Control living expenses. Want to learn more practical ways to save money? A credit union can help!

When you’re on a mission to save money it might seem like it will take forever for savings to grow. Saving money often starts with changing “spending” habits. Here are some ideas that can help:

Get cooperation from your partner.

Controlling spending starts with you but, if you have a spouse or children, it’s essential to have buy-in from family members to make it work.

Talk with your partner first, then involve your kids in age-appropriate ways. Discuss money management as a couple—get organized, put goals and details in writing, and schedule a money management meeting. Also:

• Develop a spending plan together.
• Agree on who will take responsibility for what.
• Learn more about your finances. Honesty is key. Know details so you know what you’re dealing with.
• Set SMART goals: specific, measurable, attainable, results-oriented, and have set time periods.

Involve your kids.

Once you and your partner are on the same path, involve your children:

• Make it fun — Have a weekly contest to see who can save the most. When grocery shopping, see who can find the best deal on a certain item.
• Be consistent — Make sure you and your partner agree on what you’ll teach your kids about money management and how you’ll do this.
• Stay flexible — Realize that life happens. If you can’t save as much one week or month, that’s OK. Get back on track as soon as you can.
• Be a role model — What you do in front of kids makes more of an impression than what you say.
• Separate wants and needs — Maybe your family would like to take a vacation, but you also need a different car. You don’t have to go without everything, and you can make adjustments to plans. For example, consider a “staycation” where you take day trips around town instead of scheduling a family road trip this year.
• Pay bills together — Let your children watch as you pay bills online or write checks.

Control living expenses.

We often accept expenses as they are without trying to change them. Here are some areas where, with just a little work, you might be able to reduce your bills:

• TV, Internet, and phone — Check with providers to make sure you’re getting the lowest rates. Contact providers before the promotional periods end to find out what future rates will be. Don’t hesitate to contact providers at any time to ask for the best deal. Find out if bundling services can help you save.
• Insurance — Compare policies. Check the National Association of Insurance Commissioners website for price comparisons and the Insurance Information Institute for advice about picking reputable companies. Consider raising deductibles. Ask about discounts for kids away at college and not using vehicles, and about good student discounts for kids in high school.
• Food — If you fall into the routine of going out for dinner or picking up takeout, try cutting back. Stop at the grocery store and buy ingredients for a fun meal—have a taco night or make your own stir fry. Bring leftovers to work or have healthy options at home to use for lunch. Use coupons when grocery shopping. If you don’t get the newspaper, consider downloading the flipp app to your phone or tablet. The app allows you to browse ad flyers for stores in your area and highlights the top deals.

Your credit union can help.

The professionals at your credit union can help you—and your family—get on track with saving:

• Use direct deposit and automatic transfers from checking into savings. Chances are, once you set up transfers to savings you won’t even miss the income—and you’ll establish a great habit.
• Automate anything you can by using online or mobile bill pay and reminders. This will help you make consistent progress on financial goals, and help you avoid late fees.
• Refinance your mortgage or car loans to take advantage of lower rates, if you qualify. Talk to a credit union loan officer about options to reduce your debt load or to retire debts faster.

Give yourself credit for your progress and accept that reducing spending and increasing savings will be a lifelong effort. But it also pays lifelong dividends.

Practical Ways to Save Money. (n.d.). Default. https://www.yourmoneyfurther.com/blog/post/YMF/2022/03/16/practical-ways-to-save-money

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Hey there!

With the first half of the year in the rearview mirror, summertime is a great chance to touch base. A mid-year financial review can help to take stock of your accomplishments and uncover any needs for adjustments. It’s important to regularly evaluate your financial situation, and a small investment of review time can help ensure you’re on track for both short and long-term objectives. Here are a few areas to examine:

Review financial goals. Take stock of your overall financial resolutions and long-term goals to determine whether you are making appropriate progress or if there’s a need for adjustments.

Revisit your budget. Assess any significant life changes that may impact your financial needs such as marriage, the birth of a child, divorce, or job change. Determine if any recurring costs could be eliminated or any spending habits tightened up.

Tackle taxes. Do you only focus on taxes right before tax time, when it may be too late to implement effective tax-saving strategies? Review your investments and tax withholdings to make sure you’re incurring the smallest tax burden possible. Also, look for opportunities to maximize charitable deductions, use an FSA account, or make adjustments that could lighten your tax load.

Assess savings. You should have at least three months of living expenses in your emergency fund. If you’re not there yet, don’t worry! Look to see how you can start building it up and consider setting up automatic deposits. Also, check on your progress toward other savings goals.

Review retirement. Check on retirement savings to assess progress and determine if you need to increase contributions or not. Consider account types, contribution sources, and tax implications.

Check on credit. It’s a good practice to pull a free credit report every year and examine for any discrepancies or suspicious activity and review your score. The three major bureaus offer a free report every 12-months. If needed, adjust where possible to improve your credit score.

Evaluate debt. Debt can be a major expense and a hindrance to making progress on goals. Review outstanding debt and what progress has been made toward eliminating it, adjust any habits to prevent you from incurring more.

The year is still young! Even if your review reveals a diversion from your goals, there is still time to modify and put things back on track. Identify the areas that require a bit of extra attention and make needed changes to improve them by the end of the year.

If you would like to hold a mid-year review together, click the link below to schedule a time that works for you!

SCHEDULE A MID-YEAR REVIEW!

Thanks for being a great client!

Christy

Securities are offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor. Cambridge and Atlantis Wealth are not affiliated. Cambridge does not provide legal or tax advice.

Atlantis Wealth, 302 Vinca Cove, Madison, MS 39110, United States, 615-620-5499

Happy Monday!

For the past few months (years, really) it seems like there’s a 24/7 stream of bad news bombarding us all the time.
Markets, the economy, housing prices, grocery store prices, gas prices, and that whole COVID thing that’s still happening.

It’s a lot.

So, what do we do?

Do we give in to doom-scrolling and negative headlines?

Or do we look for the bright spots in our lives?

Gratitude and optimism always get my vote.

I don’t mean putting our heads in the sand and ignoring what’s happening.

I mean actively taking a look around and appreciating the blessings in our lives.

Our families.

Our friends.

Our neighbors and communities.

Our progress.

Our place in this beautiful world.

I think the pros call that practicing “conscious gratitude.”

What are you grateful for right now? Can you hit “reply” and let me know?

It’s pretty common to hear financial people like me say “focus on your long-term goals” or “stick with the strategy we built together.”

That’s easier for some people. They look to the horizon, take a deep breath, and keep on going.

Other people find the uncertainty of what MIGHT come next challenging.

If that’s you, what if we focus on being present and connecting with what’s going well right now?

So, what’s great in your world? What inspires you right now?

Can you let me know?

I wish I could tell you it was all going to be rainbows and unicorns ahead.

But it won’t be. There will be bumps and rocks and potholes.

But amazing things are coming as well. I’m optimistic about what’s ahead and I’m looking forward to sharing it with you.

As always if you would like to chat about anything going on in your life right now, click here or the button below, and let’s schedule some time together.
I’m grateful to have you in my life! Have a wonderful and grateful week!

Optimistically,

Christy