Over the past few years, our home offices have taken on greater importance. Having a functional, organized home office makes our professional lives and our financial lives easier to navigate. If your home office needs attention, it is time to get started. Financial Spring Cleaning Just like when you go through your closet or food pantry to determine what to keep, what to donate, and what to toss, you need to do the same with your financial life. Perhaps even more important than what you keep is what you can shred, recycle, or delete. Keeping unnecessary documents and statements makes it harder to locate vital personal finance information in a hurry. Most of us waste a lot of time trying to find things on our computer and amidst our papers. Getting rid of unnecessary documents frees up precious space in your file cabinet and in your filing system on your hard…
An Email Hack – What to Do
It all started when I received the dreaded text message …”I received a strange email from you”… My friend shared a copy of the fraudulent email content. Within minutes, I received notifications from dozens of friends, through email, text, DMs, and phone calls. Whether it was someone from one of my two non-profit boards, parents of my kids’ former teammates or classmates, members of my book club or old paddle tennis teams, or friends from high school, college, or the neighborhood, I heard from a lot of people on my contact list. I appreciate everyone looking out for me. After I took a deep breath, my first thought was, “what should I do now?” Fortunately, a neighbor who helps me with IT consulting texted me as soon as he received the fraudulent email. He walked me through the first steps: Update your password on your email account. Let friends know…
Get Your Home Office in Shape
Over the past 18 months, our home offices have taken on greater importance. Having a functional, organized home office makes our professional lives and our financial lives easier to navigate. If your home office needs attention, it is time to get started. Financial Spring Cleaning Just like when you go through your closet or food pantry to determine what to keep, what to donate, and what to toss, you need to do the same with your financial life. Perhaps even more important than what you keep is what you can shred, recycle, or delete. Keeping unnecessary documents and statements makes it harder to locate vital personal finance information in a hurry. Most of us waste a lot of time trying to find things on our computer and amidst our papers. Getting rid of unnecessary documents frees up precious space in your file cabinet and on in your filing system on your hard drive. Keep both a recycle bin…
Email Hacks: What to Do
Numerous schemes have emerged to take advantage of people’s vulnerability due to COVID-19. Examples include phishing emails referring to urgent pandemic updates, robocalls from the Department of Public Health, texts related to unemployment claims, phony DocuSign requests, and, of course, email hacks. Most experts anticipate that the incidence of fraud will continue to escalate. For the past six years, I have written and spoken extensively about getting one’s financial house in order. Passwords, security, and identity theft protection are all topics that I address. I am well versed in the subject, but despite this I discovered that my personal email was hacked. Data breaches are unfortunately common – we have all seen the headlines. As surprised as I was that this happened, I was equally surprised at how little help I received from my provider to address the issue. While I took some steps right away, there were also others…
When In Doubt, Throw It Out Or Maybe Not?
We all feel better after we clean out our closet or our pantry. The same is true for your financial life. Most people save far more financial information than necessary. An essential part of clearing out your home office is figuring out what you should keep and what you should not. Here are some general guidelines that I follow to get organized: What to Keep Keep tax returns and all supporting documents for seven years from the date that you file your taxes, not seven years from December 31st for a particular tax year. Keep all bank statements and credit card annual statements and summaries for the same seven-year window. Keep receipts for any major purchases and all insured things as long as you have the item. Keep student loan, car loan, and mortgage documents (including payoff notices) and documentation for any other loans indefinitely. If you own your home…
An Email Hack – What to Do
Since the beginning of 2020, the Federal Trade Commission reports that there have been more than 150,000 fraud, phishing scams, and identity theft occurrences. Security experts, Risk Based Security, see various schemes emerging to take advantage of people’s vulnerability due to COVID-19. Examples include phishing emails referring to urgent pandemic updates, robocalls from the Department of Public Health, texts related to unemployment claims, and of course email hacks. Like most experts, Risk Based Security anticipates that the incidence of fraud will continue to escalate. For the past six years, I have written and spoken extensively about getting one’s financial house in order. Passwords, security, and identity theft protection are all topics that I address. I am well versed in the subject, but despite this I discovered that my personal email was hacked a few weeks ago. Data breaches are unfortunately common – we have all seen the headlines. As surprised as…
What to Keep? What to Shred? What to Recycle?
An essential part of clearing out your home office is figuring out what you should keep and what you should not. Here are some general guidelines that I follow to get organized: What to Keep Keep tax returns and all supporting documents for seven years from the date that you file your taxes, not seven years from December 31st for a particular tax year. Keep all bank statements and credit card annual statements and summaries for the same seven-year window. Keep receipts for any major purchases and all insured things as long as you have the item. Keep student loan, car loan, and mortgage documents (including payoff notices) and documentation for any other loans indefinitely. If you own your home or condo, keep records related to the purchase or sale and any improvements that affect the home’s value indefinitely. Keep a record of the purchase or the confirmation for every…
Tackle Your Home Office: How to Organize Finances
As most of us stay close to home, we address projects on the “to do” list. Now is the perfect time to clear out home offices and review the integral aspects of our financial lives. If you have not done so yet, it is time to get started. Financial Spring Cleaning Just like when you go through your closet or food pantry to determine what to keep, what to donate, and what to toss, you need to do the same with your financial life. Perhaps even more important than what you keep is what you can shred, recycle, or delete. Keeping unnecessary documents and statements makes it harder to locate vital personal finance information in a hurry. Most of us waste a lot of time trying to find things on our computer and amidst our papers. Getting rid of unnecessary documents frees up precious space in your file cabinet and on in your filing system on your hard drive.…