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Budgeting Advice

High Inflation…It’s a Good Thing

By
Jim Young
July 21, 2022
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Ok now that you’ve recovered from falling off your chair after reading the tile of this blog, let me explain.

Inflation is one of the biggest challenges in achieving, and maintaining, financial independence. The low inflation we have experienced for decades has made many of us lazy when it comes to spending.  Now is the time to put some great habits into place that will reduce your spending now and will help even more when inflation get’s back to historical norms.

Here are some tips:

  1.  The days of clipping coupons seems to be a thing of the past.  Time to resurrect this time-tested way to save money.  Now it’s done electronically.  Click here for a great article on coupon apps.
  2. Bargain shop.  The meat department is the best place to shop for deals.  Supermarkets would rather greatly reduce the price on meat than throw it away.  I’ve seen bargains at 50% off.  And not to worry, the meat is still good.
  3. Dump the name brands.  I am a big name-brand guy however that is changing.  You can save 30-50% on certain items by going with the store brand such as Kroger at Ralphs.  Just today we saved 30% on peanut butter and couldn’t tell the difference.
  4. Use those credit card miles.  If you fly Southwest use their Chase Rewards Card.  This year alone I flew two of us to Hawaii roundtrip and flew myself to NY and used my miles.  Pretty much all carriers have credit cards they use for miles.
  5. If you shop at Ralphs use their Ralph’s Reward Card.  They have a great app that shows you year to date savings.  We have saved $500 so far this year.  You also get fuel points that you can used at Shell Stations.  I’ve saved as much as $.50 per gallon!
  6. This one is real hard for me but try to walk out of restaurants with a doggie bag.  I’m the type of person that if something is real good, I’ll clean my plate (thanks mom!).  But with portion sizes so big you should have no problem making two meals out of one.  Your wallet and belly with thank you!

 

These are just a few habits to help get you through this time of high inflation that could help your plan when inflation gets back to “normal”.

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Life Event AdviceSecurity

Bank Customer Service Scams

By Trilogy Financial
July 26, 2023

Scammers are pretending to be bank customer service representatives reaching out regarding fraud prevention. Their goal is to get you to reset your login credentials and gain access to your account.

How it works
  1. Scammers, posing as customer service representatives, will call and keep the victim on the phone for multiple hours to “resolve” a fraud issue.
  2. The scammer urges quick action to prevent alleged hackers from draining the victim’s account.
  3. The victim is asked for sensitive information like login credentials and verification answers.
  4. The scammer logs in to the victim’s account to initiate unauthorized payments, bypassing security restrictions via a direct call to the real Fraud Support, all while the true customer is on hold.
Quick Tips
  • Check your account activity frequently and monitor for suspicious transactions.
  • When asked for information that seems unusual, hang up and call the phone number on the back of your bank card or account statement.
  • Read text and email communications fully and pause before responding.
  • Remember that banks and credit card companies will never ask you for your password or your card/account number over the phone.

 

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Life Planning AdviceTax Planning Advice

Year-End Financial Planning

By
Jeff Motske, CFP®
January 21, 2021
Don't get caught up in the here and now. Short-term moves and market timing are not sound financial strategies for your serious long-term plan of pursuing financial independence.  Good planning does, however, require intermediary decision-making. A few things to consider before year-end:

  1. Charitable Giving – To receive 2020 tax benefits, donations must be made by year-end. Be sure to keep a record of all giving for future tax purposes. Other planning strategies to consider are gifting highly appreciated stocks and bunching charitable donations in the same year.
  2. Tax Harvesting – Look for opportunities to sell stocks that have dropped in value to offset potential capital gains liabilities.

As always, we are available to help you with these year-end decisions and keep you focused on your long-term financial plans. Thank you for entrusting us with your financial life. Let’s all remember to be grateful and enjoy this holiday season.
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