Manage Your Financial Life

Starting a Family

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Take an honest, comprehensive view of your expenses before making big changes in your life, like starting a family.  Explore the blog articles below for helpful advice during this exciting stage of life.

Tackling Your Credit Card Debts

Analyze Finances

There are different approaches to tackling your credit card debts. The best approach for you depends on your individual situation. Start by listing the outstanding balance for each debt, along with the minimum payment due and available credit line. For each outstanding debt, you must pay the minimum balance due every month. To achieve your goal of digging out of debt, you must find additional cash every month – by cutting back on day-to-day expenses or finding ways to earn extra income – and apply that cash toward your debts. The main difference between these approaches is the order in which you tackle your various debts. Start with the Smallest Debt Balance Some recommend that you focus first on the smallest outstanding balance (Debt A). After paying the minimum balance due on each of your debts, apply any extra money to Debt A until it’s paid off. Once that debt…

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Evaluating Risk: How to Underwrite Yourself

Analyze Finances

Underwriting is what banks or insurance companies do when they evaluate risks associated with lending money or providing an insurance policy. To underwrite yourself, you need to take a close and honest look at your finances, ask yourself some questions, consider uncertainties and exposures, and evaluate your risk profile on many fronts. Analyze Your Sources of Income The first consideration is your income. Ask yourself these questions: Is your salary steady or variable? Do you rely on commissions or bonuses? Do you work in a cyclical industry? If your compensation is variable, you should not carry a lot of debt. Likewise, you should make sure to have an ample cash reserve. Evaluate Your Debt When you are thinking of buying a big item, consider if you can actually afford the item, not just whether or not you can afford the payment. Commit to paying off your credit card balances every…

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Strategies to Stay Out of Debt

Analyze Finances

Establishing sound personal finance practices while you are young is essential. For those just starting out who are new to money management, you need to consider your financial future. Discipline and having the right mindset will help you stay out of debt and achieve your financial goals. Track and Analyze Your Spending The first step is to analyze your spending to see where your money is going. Limit yourself to one or two credit cards, using one for most day-to-day purchases. This makes it easier to track spending and your total credit card balances. Having multiple credit card accounts is a major reason that card debts grow. As credit card balances climb, it also hurts your credit score. Even if you can pay off your balance every month, using more than 30% of your credit line has a negative impact on your credit score. Peer-to-peer (P2P) networks offer convenience and…

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How to Dig Out of Debt

Analyze Finances

Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, the US economy was doing quite well. The unemployment rate was near record lows. Housing values nationwide were climbing, as was the stock market. Despite these favorable economic conditions, Americans continued to take on debt. According to the Federal Reserve, aggregate household debt totaled more than $14 trillion as of March 31, 2020. This amount exceeds the prior peak, which occurred in the third quarter of 2008. Because there is a short delay in reporting individual credit figures, The Federal Reserve cautions that these figures do not fully reflect the impact of the COVID-19 shutdown that began during the last two weeks of March. There is economic uncertainty ahead, so people must analyze their finances and work to strengthen their situation. Getting out of debt must become a high priority. There are different approaches to dig out of debt. The best method for you depends…

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Strategies to Stay Out of Debt

Analyze Finances

Establishing sound personal finance practices while you are young is essential. For those just starting out who are new to money management, you need to consider your financial future. Discipline and having the right mindset will help you stay out of debt and achieve your financial goals. Track and Analyze Your Spending The first step is to analyze your spending to see where your money is going. Limit yourself to one or two credit cards, using one for most day-to-day purchases. This makes it easier to track spending and your total credit card balances. Having multiple credit card accounts is a major reason that card debts grow. As credit card balances climb, it also hurts your credit score. Even if you can pay off your balance every month, using more than 30% of your credit line has a negative impact on your credit score. Peer-to-peer (P2P) networks offer convenience and…

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In Case of Emergency Plan

Get Organized

My In Case of Emergency (ICE) Plan will be very helpful if someone needs to step in and help you manage your financial affairs in the event of an emergency. At the same time, going through the exercise of preparing an ICE Plan also helps you be more organized and engaged in managing your financial life on an day-to-day basis. Attached is an example of an ICE Plan. Click on the link below. ICE Plan Example

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Strategies to Dig Out of Debt

Analyze Finances

Want to dig out of debt, but not sure of where to start?  In this post, I’ll fill you in on everything you need to know to create your own strategy to dig out of debt, effectively. First the good news: The unemployment rate is near an 18-year low. Housing values nationwide continue to climb as does the stock market. Now for the bad news: According to the Federal Reserve, total household debt has risen for the 15th straight quarter. This may appear counterintuitive. If the economy, housing values, and stock market are strong, why do consumer debt levels continue to rise? I think there are two reasons. First, upbeat consumer confidence often leads to higher spending and a greater comfort level with taking on debt. Second, as we all make more purchases online and through mobile applications, it is harder to track overall spending. If not monitored closely, spending…

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Rent or Buy? How to Decide

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Congratulations to the Class of 2018! As many college graduates prepare to enter the workforce, they often face high—and in some cases sky-high—housing costs. The decision to rent or buy is a question many of you may be asking right now. What’s happening in housing The demand for rental properties has risen, and it is reflected in escalating rents. This is especially true in major markets such as New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago. Across the U.S., rents are rising faster than the rate of inflation. As of April 2018 The CPI (all items) rose 2.5% over the prior 12-month period. The CPI (all items) less food and energy rose 2.1% over the prior 12-month period. The CPI Shelter Index rose 3.4% over the prior 12-month period. Who is (and isn’t) buying real estate Not surprisingly, the rate of homeownership in major metropolitan areas has declined from 2005 to…

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