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Categories for Tip of the Month

  • 6 Ways to Make Saving Money Fun

    Posted Date June 1, 2021 Posted Time 12:00 am Published in

    🖨 Print⏱ 3 min readLet’s face it. Saving money is a challenge at best – and really hard the rest of the time. But what if you made it a fun game to inspire yourself to save? Here are a few ways to do just that. Keep the Change Challenge Anytime you receive or find loose change in your pockets or house, put it in a jar. Don’t touch it for a year, and then see how much you save. But here’s a great plus-up for this habit: download a money-saving app like Acorns and watch your savings grow. Anytime... View Article

  • 7 Ways to Save 10K a Year

    Posted Date May 1, 2021 Posted Time 12:00 am Published in

    🖨 Print⏱ 4 min readIf you’re scratching your head and wondering if we’ve lost our minds, please keep reading. You can do this. All you need to do is plan your steps – and stick to it. After all, Confucius says, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” So let’s get moving. Save Before You Spend This might well be the opposite of what you do: you get your weekly or monthly paycheck, determine what expenses are ahead, then dedicate what’s left to savings. To save $10,000, the first thing to do is put away the... View Article

  • 3 Best Ways to Save for College

    Posted Date April 1, 2021 Posted Time 12:00 am Published in

    🖨 Print⏱ 4 min readWhat if you could save enough for your child to go to college debt-free? It might sound impossible, but with dedication, hard work, and careful planning, you can do just that. According to Dave Ramsey, American personal finance advisor, here are the top three tax-favored plans to get started. The Education Savings Account (ESA) Otherwise known as the Education IRA, this plan allows you to save $2,000 (after tax) per year, per child. Let’s do that math. If you begin saving when your child is born and put away $2,000 a year until they’re 18, you’ll... View Article

  • 5 Cities Rank as Ideal Locations for Remote Workers

    Posted Date March 1, 2021 Posted Time 12:00 am Published in

    🖨 Print⏱ 4 min readAccording to the National Bureau of Economic Research, in late spring of 2020 about half of American workers were working from home. Not surprisingly, many researchers believe that this pattern will continue after the pandemic is over. With this in mind, SmartAsset has examined the best cities to work from home in 2021 and evaluated them across seven metrics: percentage of those who worked at home; estimated percentage of those who can work at home; five-year change of percentage of those who worked at home; October 2020 unemployment rate; poverty rate; housing costs as a percentage... View Article

  • How to Budget During a Pandemic

    Posted Date February 1, 2021 Posted Time 12:00 am Published in

    🖨 Print⏱ 4 min readRight now with everything that’s going on, navigating your finances might feel overwhelming. However, there are some strategies that will help you manage cash shortfalls. Mariel Beasley of Duke University’s Common Cents Lab offers ways to help you manage during these trying times. Use Mental Accounting Translated, this means prioritizing what’s most important and cutting back in those areas that aren’t. While pretty obvious, the finer point according to Beasley is this approach will help you stick to your spending plan by reminding you of your opportunity costs — i.e. what trade-offs you might be making... View Article

  • Deciding if a Roth IRA Conversion is For You

    Posted Date January 1, 2021 Posted Time 12:00 am Published in

    🖨 Print⏱ 2 min readRoth IRAs can be a powerful tax tool, but they are often misunderstood and misused. Investment income in Roth IRAs compound tax-free and most distributions are tax-free as well. Another benefit is that there are no required minimum distributions (RMDs) throughout the original owner’s life. Long-term Roth distributions are tax-free to the beneficiaries who inherit the IRA as long as they fully distribute the Roth within 10 years of inheriting. As the annual contribution limits are rather small, most Roth IRA contributions are made by converting a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. The downside to... View Article

  • COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout: Where We Are So Far

    Posted Date December 1, 2020 Posted Time 12:00 am Published in

    🖨 Print⏱ 4 min readWhile the pandemic is not over, we do have some good news. There are vaccines and they will be available soon. Here’s where we are in terms of an overall plan and where states are with distributing the vaccines. Operation Warp Speed The current administration has already purchased hundreds of millions of doses of several vaccine candidates. Two of them are from Moderna and Pfizer and they’ve shown significant efficacy in Phase 3 clinical trials. The incoming Biden administration will take on distribution and has established a COVID-19 Task Force. A limited number of doses may... View Article

  • Why Gratitude is Important During a Pandemic

    Posted Date November 1, 2020 Posted Time 12:00 am Published in

    🖨 Print⏱ 4 min readWe’re living in unprecedented, challenging times. If you’re feeling stressed and scared, you’re not alone. However, there is a way to navigate through all of this uncertainty: gratitude. Studies have shown that keeping in mind the things you’re grateful for on a regular basis not only helps you mentally but also physically, which is something we all need these days. Gratitude Improves Your Immune System According to Lisa Aspinwall, Ph.D., a psychology professor at the University of Utah, there’s data to back this up. In one study, researchers compared the immune systems of healthy, first-year law... View Article

  • Affordable Lunches for Kids Learning at Home

    Posted Date October 1, 2020 Posted Time 12:00 am Published in

    🖨 Print⏱ 4 min readDue to the uncertainty of COVID-19, many schools across America have transitioned to at-home learning. This alone presents a whole new set of challenges for parents, not the least of which is figuring out what to feed your kids for lunch – every single day of the week. While peanut butter and jelly is a reliable standby, here are some cheap, easy alternatives you can whip up in no time. English Muffin Pizza Grab some English muffins and top them with pizza sauce or marinara. Either one will work. (Hint: use the store brand because it’s... View Article

  • Five Ways to Manage Back-to-School Stress

    Posted Date September 1, 2020 Posted Time 12:00 am Published in

    🖨 Print⏱ 4 min readIf you’re anxious about sending your children back to school, you’re not alone. In fact, a recent poll from ABC News/Ipsos showed that 45 percent of parents don’t want their kids in the classroom at all. But whether your kids are in school or learning at home, there’s still plenty of worry to go around. How do you cope? Here are a few suggestions from a variety of counselors and mental health professionals that can help. Express Your Feelings Noticing the anxiety that’s going on inside is half the battle – then let it out. “I... View Article

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