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Financial Symmetry: Balancing Today with Retirement

When considering retirement, do you wonder what financial opportunities you may be missing? Busy lives take over and years pass without taking advantage. In this retirement podcast, the Financial Symmetry advisors unveil financial opportunities, to help you balance enjoying today so you are ready to retire later. By day, they are fiduciary fee-only financial advisors who answer questions about tax savings, investment decisions, and how to save more. If you’ve been putting off your financial to-do list or are just not sure what you’ve been missing, subscribe to the show and learn more at www.financialsymmetry.com. Financial Symmetry is a Raleigh Financial Advisor. Proudly serving clients in the Triangle of North Carolina for over 20 years.
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Now displaying: Category: Saving Money
Sep 9, 2019

Are you looking for money and/or time-saving tips now that the summer is over and the kids are back to school? Summer can always feel expensive with summer camps, vacations, and then back to school shopping. With fall approaching and the kids back in school, we put together a list of ways you can save time and money to make this year better than the rest.

Time-saving tips

  1. Look at how you spend your time at home and see what you can contract out. Can you hire someone to clean or cut the yard? The more you can hire out the more quality time you’ll have with your family.
  2. Back to school means back to fundraising. If you have a volunteer requirement at your kids’ school get the volunteer hours in early. You could also see if the grandparents would be willing to volunteer. It’s a great way for them to get involved in their grandkids' lives. You can also check if you can donate goods rather than time. 
  3. Online grocery shopping saves lots of time. Oftentimes online shopping will save you money as well since there is less impulse buying. Another bonus is your kids won’t be asking for sugary snacks. Have you tried online shopping?
  4. Try meal planning. Some people use traditional meal planning using pen and paper, but you can also utilize services like Clean Eats or Donavon's Dish. These services will save plenty of time while still managing to feed the family a healthy meal. Have you tried using a meal planning service or a subscription service?
  5. Get the kids to help. Kids can pitch in from a young age. They can help set the table, make a salad, sweep up or wash the dishes. You may get pushback at the beginning, but after making dinner chores a regular habit they will feel proud of their hard work. 
  6. Skip the carpool line. The morning and afternoon carpool line can suck up to an hour out of your day! You can utilize before or after school programs to help you get more out of your time at work. Another idea is to have local grandparents help pick the kids up after school. 
  7. Strategically work from home. You can skip additional time in the car by occasionally working from home. This may not work out for the whole day. But you could come home after lunch and work before having to go pick up the kids for their after school activities. 

Money-saving tips

  1. Think about the holidays now. Consider how much you want to spend and create a budget. Do you want to travel? Plan out the travel in advance so that you know what you are going to spend. You can use an Amazon Wishlist to help you plan the gift-giving. Make sure to start saving for the holidays now.
  2. Reassess your monthly expenses. Fall is a great time to think about your expenses. If you have any decrease in your monthly expenses you can think about increasing your savings. Up your 401K contributions or max out your Roth. It always helps to have an automatic draft to savings. Focus on putting more toward long-term goals rather than short-term. 

What do you do to save time and money at home? Have you started any new routines this school year? What is working for you? Let us know your money and time-saving tricks. Send us an email at aberger@financialsymmetry.com or csmith@financialsymmetry.com.

Outline of This Episode

  • [2:47] Look at how you spend your time at home
  • [4:08] Back to school means back to fundraising
  • [7:37] Meal planning
  • [11:38] Skip the carpool line
  • [13:02] Strategically work from home
  • [15:15] Think about the holidays now
  • [16:27] Reassess your monthly expenses

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DISCLAIMER:

This podcast is property of Financial Symmetry Inc. The hosts and guests of the show do not render or offer to render personalized investment or tax advice through this podcast. This production is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, investment, or legal advice. Listeners should consult with appropriate advisors for advice specific to your situation.

 

Feb 17, 2016

What if you could save an additional $1,500 each year? After 30 years you would have $119,000, assuming the money was invested and you got a 6% return. That $1,500 each year — just $125 a month — can add up to quite a bit of money.

Of course, to save more money each month you likely need to cut your spending. But if you are like most people, you probably don’t want to drastically change your lifestyle. Fortunately, there are smart and simple steps you can take to trim spending without a major overhaul.

Use the 72-hour rule for purchases

How many purchases have you made on Amazon or at the store that you later regretted? Limit your impulse purchases using what personal financial author Carl Richards has called the 72-hour rule. Instead of buying an item you want immediately, wait 72 hours to see whether you still want it. You’ll be surprised at how much less you end up deciding to buy. I find this works all the time with my kids. They think they can’t live without a certain toy, and then after 72 hours they forget it even existed.

Analyze big purchases

Major purchases may have the biggest impact on your spending and ability to save. I’m often amazed that the same person who will drive across town to save money on gas will buy a new expensive car without analyzing the implications. The same goes for housing costs or big-ticket vacations. Here are some tips on how to analyze and save on each of these purchases:

  • Car: The Internet has been a huge help for consumers in finding car deals. With online sales you often can negotiate through email, and sites like TrueCar provide transparency about what other car buyers have paid. But when buying a new car, it’s important to consider the ongoing costs and not just the upfront purchase price. For instance, many people prefer luxury cars, but premium gas and maintenance typically will cost more for these cars. Finally, a simple rule is that the longer you keep the car, the cheaper the cost.
  • House: Housing tends to be the biggest expense for most people. As a financial planner, I’m a fan of homeownership if you plan to live in your home for more than five years. However, the larger and more expensive the home you purchase, the more it limits your ability to spend within the rest of your budget. One family I work with, a couple with one child, decided to downsize because they just didn’t need the space. This was a good move financially because it gives them greater flexibility to save more, spend in other areas or retire sooner.
  • Vacation: Research locations and potential deals on sites like Kayak.com. If you can, be flexible when selecting travel dates to maximize savings. Also, compare multiple locations to determine the best fit for you and your family — and where you can get the most bang for your buck.

Rethink ongoing phone and cable plans

Most people look only at their monthly payments and often are shocked by how much they spend annually on cell phone and cable bills. When shopping for a phone plan, try MyRatePlan.com to compare plans based on the minutes, texts and data you need. Another option is to consider no-contract cell phones. The monthly cost is much lower, but you do have to buy the cell phone upfront.

With cable, the average monthly bill is $100, or $1,200 a year. “Cutting the cord” has become more popular recently as many people decide they don’t need the 100+ channels on cable. If you can do with a limited number of channels, then a streaming device and a good HDTV antenna for local channels may be all you need — and it can save you a lot of money.

Review your insurance policies

Many people are paying too much for property and casualty insurance. Every few years you should shop around your auto insurance and home insurance policies to confirm you are getting a good price. You also can see how your auto and home insurance providers rank based on consumer satisfaction by checking out the yearly report from market research firm J.D. Power.

Additionally, one way to lower premiums for home or auto policies is to raise your deductible if you have cash in the bank and you rarely make any claims. Larger deductibles typically range from $1,000 to $2,500, depending on the type of insurance you have. However, note that this does create risks if you don’t have money available or in an emergency fund if a large claim does occur.

Pick high-quality products that last

Sometimes it makes sense to spend a little more money for items you will use for a long time. A good example is men’s shoes. A high-quality pair of shoes will last almost forever and, though more expensive in the short term, will be a lot cheaper over the long run than repeatedly buying the cheapest pair. Think about the items in your life that you will use for a very long time and are worth the extra expense upfront.

Stick to a budget

First, automate your savings. It’s hard to spend what you don’t see, so automatically transferring money out of your checking account will help you keep spending down. Determine how much you should be contributing to or withdrawing from your accounts, and set up automatic monthly transfers. I like to call this forced scarcity, in that you can spend only what is in your bank account.

If this is not working and you start running up debt, try using online budgeting tools to help you create and monitor your budget. It may be more time-consuming, but you’ll know where every dollar is being spent. And if you are still having issues, consider working with a fee-only financial planner to help you develop and stick to a budget so you can reach your goals.

Hire a professional

Sometimes spending money can save you money. This can be true for home repairs, taxes, college planning and many other areas. For instance, I see many people miss important deductions or credits they could have claimed when they complete their own tax returns instead of working with a professional. And for me, it makes sense to pay someone to help when it comes to house repairs. I can try to fix the problem, but I only make it worse.

So how do you decide whether to hire a professional or go it alone? If the risk of mistake is greater than the cost to hire someone, it is worth the investment. Of course, if you don’t have the time or knowledge to take care of the task at hand, it makes sense to get help, too. If you’re not sure where to look, ask for referrals from friends or co-workers, or check Angie’s List for service providers and the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors for fee-only financial planners.

Spend wisely

Ultimately, the goal is not to disrupt your lifestyle dramatically, but to make sure you spend your money wisely and efficiently. In short, it’s important to think about what you are spending your money on and what you really get out of it.

Perhaps even more important than drastically cutting your spending is thinking about the non-monetary value of your money. In a longitudinal study following 268 men for over 70 years, researchers for the Grant Study found that good relationships are key to leading a long and happy life — not how much money you have, the newest tech gadget or a certain high-profile job, but the people in your life.

Instead of spending money on more stuff, why not spend it on personal experiences with your friends and family?

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