Evan Vitale

Evan Vitale – Planning For Retirement

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By Evan Vitale

No matter your age, you should never put off thinking about – and planning for – your retirement. For many, the idea can become too overwhelming that many people put it off until a later time.

However, instead of a delay, now is definitely the time to make some decisions that will help ensure that you have a nice nest egg so you’ll be able to live comfortably down the road.

When you retire will have an impact on how long you’ll need to plan on living on your savings. In addition, how much you’ll spend has a greater impact on how much money you will need to save. For example, will you have your mortgage paid off by the time you retire? If you don’t have to worry about a mortgage payment, that will be a huge financial weight off your shoulders. If you won’t have your mortgage paid off, then you may have to consider selling your house for more income.

Of course, many people decide to sell their home because they want to move to a warmer environment (i.e. Florida) or live closer to children and grandchildren. If that’s the case, you’ll need to consider the cost of living at your new location.

In addition, some people like to travel when they retire. If that’s the case, you’ll need to factor in vacations; hotels and meals away from home.

Other considerations include gifts for the grandchildren, eating out, club memberships – all of these are things we would probably enjoy when we reach retirement age, but can we afford them? Are we currently good at setting up a budget and sticking to it?

In order to reach your retirement goals, you’ll definitely need a strong financial plan. Talk to your banker and meet with a financial planner to begin investigating what needs to happen in order for you to plan for your retirement and reach your retirement financial goals.

Evan Vitale – Rebuilding Your Credit

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By Evan Vitale

Bad credit can happen to anyone. Loss of a job, medical bills and other circumstances can make it difficult to make ends meet.

Unfortunately, as we all know, bad credit follows us for the rest of our life. It will make it difficult to buy a home, a car or rent an apartment. Bad credit can also mean higher auto insurance premiums or higher interest rates and other problems.

Never fear. You can work to rebuild your credit score by following some simple steps along the way:

– Apply for a secured credit card. While it’s “secured” by a deposit equal to the card’s credit limit, it’s a good way to get started in rebuilding your credit as your payments here will be reflected on your personal credit report.

– Consider applying for another credit card. Don’t go crazy and apply for many; just one. You may find a financial institution will give you a credit card with a small limit ($300 for example) and a high interest rate and annual fee. Only use the card one or two times per month to make small purchases. These would be for things you would normal need to purchase such as groceries or gasoline. Make your payments on time and pay off the balance due each month. After a while, the card will increase your spending limit, but continue to follow the plan.

– Check your credit report and dispute any outstanding debts you are unsure of on your report. Try to get older negative credit information removed from your report. Anything you can get removed from your report will help boost your credit score.

The process may seem slow at times, but you will steady start to improve your credit score and get back on the road to good credit.

Evan Vitale – Working Full-Time AND Part-Time

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By Evan Vitale

Even with a full-time job (and sometimes with benefits), individuals and couples still have a tough time paying off old debt, keeping up with current expenses and making ends meet.

At some point, you might want to consider finding a part-time job to bring in some extra income.

While finding a part-time retail or restaurant job might be easy to find, there are a few things you should keep in mind before you flood the market with applications and resumes. Here are a few pointers:

  • Check your current employee manual or have a discussion with your human resources manager to see if working a part-time job violates any company guidelines. In some cases, companies discourage “moonlighting” because it may interfere with your current position. It’s not that your current employer is worried about you working at the mall during the holiday rush, but sometimes when employees are working two jobs, they become tired and less productive.
  • Be well aware of the hours that you will be asked to work with your part-time job. Mostly likely, you’ll be working nights and weekends so there will be little time left for yourself, your family, special events, parties, etc.
  • If you are working evenings, make sure you have allowed enough travel time from your full-time job to your part-time job. Always allow for a little extra time in case your boss asks you to work a little extra time one evening or bad weather is causing a traffic headache on the highway.
  • In many cases, your part-time job will require you to stand a lot. Make sure you are wearing comfortable shoes, which might be different than your business dress shoes for the office.
  • Juggling two jobs, family and other responsibilities will require you to be organized. You’ll need to use your “free” time to run errands, pay bills, go grocery shopping, etc. Plan accordingly.
  • While it might be difficult, it’s important to eat well, take your vitamins and get a good night’s sleep. By working more hours, your body and immune system will be at risk.

Set your financial goals when considering a part-time job. Perhaps, you’ll work part-time until a certain bill is paid off or until you’ve saved enough money for a down payment on an automobile or you’ll looking for extra money for the holidays.

Evan Vitale – Saving Money in 2016

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By Evan Vitale

Saving up more cash is the trend for 2016, but so many people often procrastinate in their efforts when it comes to cutting everyday costs. Listed below are ten tips to do today to keep more cash in your bank account and lessen debt risk.

  1. Make “Dining In” your norm and “Dining Out” as just a special treat. Our fast-paced workplaces have helped us justify a daily fast food lifestyle that is eating away at our savings goals.
  1. Brew your own grinds. Fancy coffee-to-go can run $4 or more a cup and unpredictable lines for a barista can cut into an efficient work day. Acquire an inexpensive grinder and a coffee maker that is easy to use or a cheerful color to brew a thermos-to-go of that magical brown elixir for only pennies a cup.
  1. Get rid of high-priced gym memberships. In the event you want the incentive that is part of the fitness center social scene, join a community-based running, biking, hiking club or a small yoga group. You’ll be able to casually socialize afterwards without a monthly credit card gouge.
  1. Rethink your entertainment options. Rather than going out for the movies, hit the library and check out movies for a week for free. You won’t have to listen to ringing cell phones in a theatre and you can enjoy your own homemade cookies and snacks. Limit your evening out “clubbing” to quarterly or once a month, and have close friends over on Friday nights instead for a cookout.  
  1. Rethink your driving style. Make an effort to drive only if you really need to in order to cut back on gas. Don’t let your car idle more than 1 minute. Look into a park and ride commuter lot for the trip to work and seriously evaluate the need for those last minute trips to the store and fast food.
  1. Always keep your automobile maintained. Appropriately inflated tires as well as a tuned-up engine can enhance your gas mileage favorably.
  1. Design your own dream “staycation.” If you take time to invest in exploring more localized travel options, you can save the travel money for some finer dining options closer to home or splurge on your favorite hobby supplies guilt free.  Not to mention, saving you hundreds of dollars on hotels and gas.
  1. Cut those utility expenses. Swap out furnace filters often. Add weather stripping around doors and windows. Repair leaky faucets and running toilets. Wear sweaters and reduce your thermostat in the winter and try to use your ceiling fan rather than the A/C in summer.
  1. Get fresh quotes for your insurance coverage expenses. Insurance rates, particularly auto insurance coverage prices, can differ a great deal from between competing firms.   By acquiring at least three various comparison quotes, you may lower your premiums by hundreds. An easy strategy to do this is on the internet at an insurance coverage comparison site as your first analysis and then talking to a locally based firm rather than a national brand name.  Driving less and taking benefit of discounts can reduced your prices at the same time. Also, consider raising the deductibles on both auto and property or tenants insurance to lower premiums. Just make sure that if you need to make a claim for a loss that you have enough cash on hand to pay the deductible.
  1. Be careful with “cash back” added on to debit card transactions.  The cash is usually quickly spent without a recollection of where it was spent.  It is also hard to remember to write the transaction down which can make it too easy for a checking account to become overdrawn.

Evan Vitale – Tips on Frugal Living

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By Evan Vitale

There’s nothing wrong with cutting back on expenses, saving money and becoming a little more frugal.

Frugality is all about changing your lifestyle. It has nothing to do with being a cheapskate or a miser. By following a few simple tips, we can still enjoy life, but we’ll also have a better handle on our spending decisions.

Here are some frugal tips you might want to consider:

Buy in bulk when you can. Then, divide the bulk buying into smaller packages making sure that you have proper storage. Buying meat in bulk, for example, is a great idea if you have a big, chest freezer.

Eat at home and make your own meals. You’ll save more money by making your own meals.

Visit farmers’ markets and farm shops. These are not only a great way to buy cheap and healthy fruits and vegetables for your family, but you’ll also be helping a local farmer. In some cases, you’ll be able to purchase local honey, jams and baked goods at great prices.

Cut back on eating out. This is a tough one for everyone as we all love to go out for breakfast, lunch, dinners, etc. Be more frugal by cutting back to once a week or once or twice a month. Give preference to eating establishments offering coupons. Some even offer “kids eat free on Wednesday” specials.

Use the library. Instead of buying new books, DVDs and music, the library is a great, free resource in which the entire family can save money on books, magazines and more by borrowing materials and returning them at a later time. A friend of mine says his local library has a huge catalog of music and movies than can be borrowed for up to two weeks at a time (for free).

Cutting back and saving money will help you live with a little less financial stress in your life.

Evan Vitale – Start Saving Money Today!

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By Evan Vitale

Saving money seems to be an extremely difficult task for most Americans. Yes, we have daily, weekly and monthly living expenses that need to be taken care of, but we also like to eat out, drink fancy coffees, and enjoy some entertainment time.

However, there are many easy tips and ideas that can help you trim back a few expenses, allow you to enjoy your current lifestyle and start saving money for a rainy day.

Saving money begins with creating and following a budget. Keep track of your expenses and find out where the money is going. A friend of mine kept a receipt for every expense – including a soft drink in the drive-thru restaurant – so he could quickly figure out why (and where) his money was disappearing from his bank account so quickly.

Once you begin to track your expenses, then you can start planning on how to cut expenses and save some money at the same time. Think about this for a moment: If you were able to save only $10 per week, that’s $520 a year. Placing $20 into savings each week, is over $1,000 per year!

Start by trimming the fat little by little. You’ll probably quickly find out there are many expenses that you can trim in order to build up your savings account. Start with the easy ones:

Instead of buying two coffees per day, cut it back to one per day. If you’re drinking only one expensive coffee per day, consider taking your own “brew-it-at-home” coffee with you and treating yourself to an expensive coffee on a special day.

Take your lunch. You’ve probably heard this one before, but eating out can burn up the budget quickly. My budget-minded friend was spending $10 or more each day for lunch (that’s over $50 per week). Now, he takes his lunch to work four days a week and treats himself to a budget lunch every Friday.

Look at other expenses you can trim:

  • Public transportation instead of driving to work (saving gasoline and parking fees).
  • Renting DVDs instead of going to the movies.
  • Trimming your cable television package.

Again, keep track of your expenses; create a budget and start saving some money for a rainy day!

Evan Vitale – Starting A Budget in 2016

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By Evan Vitale

We all make resolutions for the new year: exercise more, lose weight, stop smoking, etc. However, a great personal goal you can set up and follow (starting today) is creating a simple budget and sticking to it.

Budgets are often ignored in most households. In fact, that’s how we sometimes get into trouble when it comes to savings, credit problems and not having enough money to make ends meet each month.

How can you solve this problem?

First, be aware of how much you spend each day, week and month. This means keeping track of what you spend every day, even on minor purchases such as coffee, lunch, magazine purchases, etc.

Second, create budget categories, such as:

  • Food
  • Clothing
  • Utilities
  • Lawn care
  • Entertainment
  • Household
  • Gifts
  • Auto
  • Vacation
  • Medical and Dental
  • Insurance
  • Taxes
  • Education
  • Mortgage/Rent
  • Savings

Using your checkbook, computer program, spreadsheets, receipts, etc., calculate what you spent in each category over the last year. For example your electric/heating bills, monthly mortgage/rent payment, etc. In some cases, you will find that expenses are the same each month, like rent for example.

Some categories might be a little more difficult. Take your monthly electric/heating bill, for instance. Some months, it might be higher because you needed to rely more on your furnace or air conditioner. That’s OK. Use the highest utility invoice as a base amount for your budget. If your largest utility bill was $100, then calculate your monthly budget at $100 for each month. Obviously, many months are going to be well below that amount, so you can adjust your budget accordingly as you progress each month. Note: saving $30 on your April utility bill doesn’t mean that you’re going to unnecessarily spend $30 on a steak dinner. Instead, you can shift the “extra” funds to another budget category or, better yet, put it into savings.

If you create a budget – and stick to it – you’ll always have the funds on hand to make necessary payments on time, build your nest egg savings account and have some cash in case of emergency.

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Check out another blog by Evan Vitale at http://evanvitale.net.

 

The Four Pillars of Wealth

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If you’re planning on building your wealth, then you need to know what its four pillars are. Growing your wealth is simple if you know the four basic rules to doing it. Not everyone has the same path, which is why it’s not always equally easy for everyone to do it since some have bigger obstacles than others. But really, it all comes down to these four pillars if you want to build your financial future, no matter where you are starting:

Do less spending

If you want to grow your money, the first things you need to do is check your spending habits. You need to spend less to grow more. You’d be surprised at how much stuff you really don’t need in life. If you can get by with just the necessities, you’ll be well on your way to a brighter financial future. Don’t feel pressured to live a certain way because your neighbor next door. Instead, live with what works for you and save any money you can.

Earn more money

Everyone wants to earn more money and to build your wealth, you should try and earn as much as you can. Always be on the lookout for better employment opportunities that may pay better and don’t be afraid to ask for raise each year. If you can, try freelancing at night or on the weekends and if you can, start a business to earn more money. Many home businesses have turned into successful companies over time! And if you’re good at something, look into teaching. You will get paid for your knowledge!

Get rid of debt

In order to grow your wealth, you need to get out of debt. Interest can really kill you and turn a modest credit card bill into a monster if left unchecked. Pay off debt with high interest rates first and then focus on others. Stay away from new debt as you are trying to get rid of your old ones.

Invest in your future

Let your money work for you by investing. Do it yourself or have a financial planner help you. Think of investing as your “next job.” It’s what will get you to your retirement a lot faster and will help secure your future.

How to Properly Manage Your Money

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Some people grow up never knowing how to properly manage their money. They’re always broke and live paycheck to paycheck and are always wondering why they have no money. Yet they are out there living way beyond their means and still struggle each month to pay their bills. The way you manage, invest and manage your money can really impact your life and future and it’s sad that many schools fail to adequately teach students how to properly manage their money. For those having a hard time managing their money, here are some golden rules of personal finance:

Spend Less

At the heart of personal finance is spending less than you earn. Just because you bring home a certain amount of money each month, doesn’t mean you have to blow it all. This includes using credit cards to act as cash that you don’t have. You don’t want to live beyond your means, so spending less will help you figure out what’s important in your life, while also helping you save for the future. Create an expense sheet for your cash flow for a month and see what’s necessary and what’s not so that you can cut things out that you don’t need.

Save for the Future

A big part of your financial life should be saving for the future. This could be for when you’re old or for a rainy day when an emergency hits and you need funds fast. You should always factor in your savings when coming out with a monthly expense plan. And it should be listed as a necessity.

Invest Your Money

Make your money work for you by investing it. Properly investing your money will help your financial future. Invest in things that will earn you money over time and don’t always stash your money away in a low-interest savings account.

Get Out Of Debt

Debt can really weight you down, so make it a point to get out of debt over time. Focus on certain credit cards with high-interest rates and pay those off first.

Four Things to Know About Old Debt

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Sometimes an old bill will come out from hiding and haunt you. Maybe you totally forgot about it after mail getting lost or simply lost track of the bill? Whatever it is, your old debt will come back and haunt you as creditors start calling and bugging you to collect on what you owe. Although you’ll want to make sure to pay off old debt, there are certain things you should know about it:

Collections have time limits

Each state has its only limits on how long creditors can try and collect on old debt. Some are for five years, while others are 15, depending on the type of debt you owe. Once that time ends, the creditor doesn’t have any legal recourse to make you pay, which means you can’t be sued, have your bank account seized or be subject to any wage garnishment. But that doesn’t mean that you don’t have to pay it. The only way to make it not reflect on your credit score is to get rid of it by filing for bankruptcy.

Old debt and your credit score

The longer you don’t pay a bill, the more it will impact your credit score negatively. And if you go 90 days or more without a single payment, the creditor can charge off your account, which will have a bigger hit to your credit score. Negative marks on your credit score will show up for seven years and can impact whether you get approved for a house or any new loans. Paying off old debt won’t necessarily get your credit score in positive territory and still takes time to clear before it gets any better.

Not paying old debt

If you decide not to pay an old debt in full, know that you will get harassed by creditors and they will call day and night to get their money. There are even some collectors that will bother you 10 to 20 years after because they specialize in buying old debts for cheap and then hound customers until they eventually pay. And if you acknowledge that you actually owe the money over the phone, the clock restarts and now those collectors have even more time to buy you. When you are dealing with collectors, say as little as you can, especially if that collection window is almost closed. Instead, ask for written validation of such debt and then keep a traditional paper trail of your communications so that you protect your rights.

How paying off debt can work to your advantage

Paying off old debt can sometimes work in your favor, especially if you are planning on refinancing your home, buy a new car or get a mortgage loan. Even though your credit score won’t be great, the lender will at least see that you are trying to get your finances in order and are serious about it.