Financial advice for the masses may not be right for you; Look for individual counseling and advice
May 14, 2009
Giving financial advice has become almost a celebrity business in the television world. There are plenty of financial experts who have achieved not only fame from offering advice about money and investing, they’ve pretty much gained a dedicated following of fans who cling to their every word.
Many of these famous financial experts (like Suze Orman and Dave Ramsey) offer good, solid advice. However, not all of that advice is a good idea for every person who watches them on television.
Liz Pulliam Weston recently wrote an article about why she doesn’t always agree with the advice Orman gives. The main point of the article was that Orman’s advice doesn’t make sense for everyone.
This is true of nearly anyone who is talking about personal finance to a very, very broad audience. It’s important to do your own research and get one-on-one help and advice from someone who understands your individual situation.
If you are facing unmanageable debt, a credit counseling session is a great place to start. A certified counselor will sit down with you and take a detailed look at all of your income and expenses. From there the counselor will help you create a budget and an action plan to reduce your debt.
If you have questions about investing, you should find a reputable financial planner to advise you. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that financial planners are only for the wealthy. They can be of great value to anyone with a 401k, an IRA or anyone who wants to start investing for the future, but isn’t sure how to start.
While celebrity financial advisors do offer up useful advice, it’s important to make sure that you glean the information that will be helpful to you and to learn to leave behind what won’t work for your situation.
Make better use of your freezer to save money and save time
May 8, 2009
How many times have you gone grocery shopping, bought food anticipating cooking every night for a week, and then wound up not using what you bought?
I think it happens to many of us. We have good intentions of eating everything we purchase, but life gets in the way. Someone invites you out to dinner. You get held up at work and are too tired or grumpy to make dinner, so you order pizza. You decide you’re not in the mood for fish and rice after all.
Whatever the case, we end up tossing what started out as perfectly good, and probably expensive, food. It’s an awful feeling to throw away squishy cucumbers, moldy bread or meat that just sat for too long uncooked and uneaten.
I saw an article in the New York Times that points out how your freezer can save you time and money when it comes to food. It’s a solution to the problem of throwing away food that’s so simple, so right there in front of our face, that we don’t see it.
As I read the article, I thought, “Hello! Why didn’t I think of that?”
Writer Mark Bittman describes how to properly freeze foods and organize your freezer to avoid throwing away perfectly good food. His ideas range from freezing fresh vegetables to creating your own frozen TV dinners.
If you have ever found yourself buying too much food, or having your dinner plans derailed, only to have a refrigerator full of spoiling goods, I suggest you read the article.
Please feel free to share any tips you have for using food quickly or preserving food so it doesn’t spoil.
New graduates living without health insurance
May 5, 2009
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a story today about new college graduates struggling because they don’t have health insurance.
My first thought as I read this article was, “What’s new?”
I graduated from college 10 years ago. School was finished in early May. As of graduation day, I was no longer covered under my parents’ health insurance. I didn’t find a job until almost the end of July. Once I did get that job, I had to work for several months with no insurance. My benefits didn’t kick in until I had made it through a probationary period.
I have always viewed this as a rite of passage. I assumed that most college graduates went through this, with the exception of those lucky few who were able to secure a job before graduation.
According to the P-G article, some universities, like Point Park in Pittsburgh, are offering short-term medical insurance for new graduates. The plan does not cover routine visits, but the premiums are decent, the deductible is manageable, and those on the plan are covered in case of an injury or the need for hospitalization.
The story also details some other health insurance options for new graduates. If these options were around when I was graduating, I didn’t know about them. I’m quite sure my university didn’t offer a plan.
One thing that has changed since the time I graduated is that the job market is much more difficult right now. Chances are good that graduating seniors are having more trouble finding a job, therefore they are going longer without health insurance. That is certainly a concern.
Life without health insurance is always a gamble, so I would urge graduating seniors (or those of you who know graduating seniors) to look into options that would provide insurance coverage in at least emergency situations.
What do you think about new graduates who are without insurance? Is it a rite of passage, or is it a serious problem? Maybe it’s a combination of both? Please share your thoughts.
Too much tax credit? You’ll have to pay it back to the government
May 1, 2009
Many people have gotten a bit of an increase in their paycheck because of the president’s “Making Work Pay” tax credit.
The tax credit is supposed to supply up to an additional $400 a year for working single people and up to $800 for working spouses.
Some people have complained that the increase they get each paycheck is so small that it hardly matters. I figured extra money in the paycheck is extra money, even if it’s not a lot, so I’ll be grateful.
Except that now it’s turning out that many people are getting too much money through the tax credit and are going to end up owing the government money come next tax season.
Yahoo carried this story today about the various types of people who are getting too much extra money in their paychecks. From the sounds of the article, there are a lot of people who are going to have to pay back Uncle Sam next year.
Most people who received too much money this year will simply see a smaller refund check next year, but people who owe money will owe more still.
The IRS is aware of this, according to the Yahoo story, yet it’s not really an issue that’s been made public.
You can read IRS information about the tax credit at this page on the IRS website.
If you’re concerned that you’re receiving too much money through the tax credit, what can you do?
The Yahoo story says, “Check your federal withholding to make sure sufficient taxes are being taken out of your pay. If you are married and both spouses work, you might consider having taxes withheld at the higher rate for single filers. If you have multiple jobs, you might consider having extra taxes withheld by one of your employers. You can make that request with a Form W-4.”
The IRS page I linked to above includes calculators to help you.
Shop slowly, save money
April 16, 2009
Some people are staying out of restaurants and making an effort to prepare more meals at home to save money.
I think there are many benefits to eating at home besides the cost savings. (Though, if I’m completely honest, my husband and I end up eating out more than we should.)
Of course if you’re going to cook at home that means you need to go do some grocery shopping. It turns out — according to an opinion piece in the New York Times — that many shoppers are making costly errors when they head to the grocery store, and one is not the error that you might expect.
I always knew that going grocery shopping without a list was a recipe for a supermarket disaster. The best way to save money is to make sure you only buy what you need and also to plan meals ahead based on what items are on sale or in season. Having a list keeps you on task and saves money if can stop your hands from wandering towards things you really don’t need.
I always thought that shopping in a hurry was a big no-no. Apparently shopping slowly is what can really throw you off.
The writer of the New York Time’s piece, Kate Stein, worked last summer as a researcher for the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab. Her task was to observe the habits of thousands of shoppers at a variety of different grocery stores. What the research uncovered was that the shoppers who spent a long time mulling their purchases were the shoppers more likely to stray and buy items that were unnecessary and/or unhealthy.
The piece didn’t offer any reasoning behind this. I would like to see some more information about the study, because I think it’s very interesting. My theory is that the longer you take to shop, the more chance you have to notice unnecessary products in the store. If you are moving quickly, you’ll be focused on getting only what’s on your list and getting out.
So, if you want to manage your time, keep your costs down and your food healthier, make the list and get through it quickly.
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