by Ricki McWilliams | Jan 27, 2015
America Saves Week 2015 ~ February 23 – February 28
America Saves Week is coordinated by America Saves and the American Savings Education Council. Started in 2007, the Week is an annual opportunity for organizations to promote good savings behavior and for individuals to assess their own savings status. Typically, thousands of organizations participate in the Week, reaching millions of people. This campaign encourages individuals and families to save money and build personal wealth.
The 2014 Annual National Survey Assessing Household Savings (released during America Saves Week) revealed that while most Americans are meeting immediate financial needs, they are worse off than several years ago.
- Only about one-third of Americans feel prepared for their long-term financial future.
- 68 percent reported they are spending less than their income and saving the difference – down from 73 percent in 2010.
- Nearly two-thirds of respondents (64%) said they “have sufficient emergency savings to pay for unexpected expenses like car repairs or a doctor visit” – down from 71 percent in 2010.
- 76 percent said they are reducing their consumer debt or are consumer debt-free – down from 79 percent in 2010.
To learn more about America Saves Week and Pledge to Save, visit: www.AmericaSavesWeek.org
Set a Goal. Make a Plan. Save Automatically.
Get Involved! Events during America Saves Week include:
Ag Save$ Summit
February 23 – 9:00am CST/10:00am EST
Jackson County Extension Office, 2741 Pennsylvania Avenue, Marianna, FL 32448
(view registration link for additional locations)
FREE to register: bit.ly/AgSavesSummit
America Saves Financial Challenge – Online
February 22 – March 23
FREE to enroll: http://bit.ly/MoneyChallenge2015
Challenge Yourself to Save Money – America Saves Challenge Twitter Chat (#eXASchat)
February 24 – 2:00pm CST/3:00pm EST
Log in to Tchat.io at http://www.tchat.io/ and insert #eXASchat into the textbox that pops up so you can tweet easily and view the live Twitter stream
Where to Turn for Financial Advice – Webinar
February 25 – 11:00am CST/12:00pm EST
Free Registration: http://bit.ly/finpro2015
Personal Finance Questions – Realities & Myths – Webinar
February 26 – 11:00am CST/12:00pm EST
Free Registration: http://bit.ly/faq2015
by Elizabeth | Mar 31, 2014
As you are clearing out clutter, sprucing up, and getting ready for summer, you also should start your financial spring cleaning by figuring out where you stand financially. Here are a few tips to help you get started:
1. Get organized.
Build a personal financial filing system; get out your financial paperwork and file it in order of importance. Separate bills – that way, you can track them as they come in, reducing the chance of missed or late payments.
Use a plastic tote for a filing cabinet – these keep your files dry and are easy to carry from one room to the next should you need to.
2. Create a budget.
How much money do you have? Are you spending more than you earn? If you don’t have a spending record, start one. You can still get on with your financial spring cleaning today. If you haven’t been keeping a record, just make a deliberate effort to start now. Try to note all your spending for the next month, right down to the candy bar. Then, in a month’s time, you’ll be able to see where your money is going and, hopefully, see some areas where you can cut back.
3. Pay off Debt
Now, let’s discuss what most people agonize over, but is a very important subject: debt. If you have any debt beyond a mortgage, you should try to focus on paying off this debt as quickly as possible. It’s also important to try to negotiate your interest rates down with your credit card company if you can. Although this option may not be available to everyone, especially if your credit is not good, it’s worth trying.
If you are not successful, you can use these steps to reduce debt:
- Stop using credit; charging new items increases the balances on what you already owe.
- Do not open new lines of credit.
- Request a free copy of your credit report from www.annualcreditreport.com and honestly assess the problem. Understanding your situation helps when trying to resolve debt issues. Stop denying that you have a debt problem and work on it. You can analyze your debts using Powerpay®. This website gives you a personalized report and plan to reduce your debt based on your input.
- Break your debt load into manageable chunks; define your goal and focus on reducing manageable amounts.
For more information on financial education and tools to help you get out of debt; contact your local county Family & Consumer Sciences Agent.
by Elaine Courtney | Sep 4, 2013
Credit card debt is something that hangs over many Americans. According to the Federal Reserve, in April 2013, the average credit card debt equaled $3,364 per U.S. adult. This assumes that EVERY adult has a credit card and that those cards carry debt. Of course, not all adults own a credit card. Young Americans are among those ditching their credit cards.
The only way to reduce credit card debt is to make payments each month and not add to that debt. The main way to reduce this even faster is to pay more than the minimum payment each month.
Save Nearly $4,000 by Paying More than the Minimum Balance
By only paying the minimum monthly balance, you are guaranteed to pay this debt for a longer time and pay more in total cost. For example:
|
Total Credit Card Debt
|
Monthly Payment
|
Years to Pay Off
|
Total Cost
|
|
$3,364 (at 14.96% Interest)
|
$67.28 (min. payment)
|
19 Years 5 Months
|
$7,618.63
|
|
$3,364 (at 14.96% Interest)
|
$87.28 (min. payment +$20)
|
4 Years 4 Months
|
$4,533.67
|
|
$3,364 (at 14.96% Interest)
|
$107.28 (minimum payment +$40)
|
3 Years 4 Months
|
$4,225.11
|
|
$3,364 (at 14.96% Interest)
|
$167.28 (minimum payment +$100)
|
1 Year 1 Month
|
$3,841.40
|
Similar information is available on your monthly credit card statement. It will identify how long it will take you to pay your debt if you only pay the minimum or if you pay a little extra. More info on how to read your bill is found at: http://www.federalreserve.gov/creditcard/flash/readingyourbill.pdf
You also can use an online calculator to determine costs and payoff information.
http://www.federalreserve.gov/creditcardcalculator/
Want to avoid the minimum payment trap completely? Follow these tips from financial experts:
- Know What You Owe – Make a list of all outstanding debt balances with the names of creditors, monthly payments, and APRs (interest rates).
- Run the Numbers – Use the Minimum Payment Calculator http://www.federalreserve.gov/creditcardcalculator/ and calculate the cost of making minimum and larger payments on various amounts of debt.
- Use a “power payment” to pay off your debt. Visit http://powerpay.org/
- Read the Numbers – Check your credit card statements about the cost of making minimum payments.
- Pay Cash – Instead of making new purchases with a credit card and adding them to outstanding balances, save up and pay cash (or use a debit card) to avoid interest charges.
- Set a Goal – To know how much to save, set a target date and dollar amount and work backwards. For example, $3,000 for a big screen television in a year requires weekly savings of about $58 ($3,000 ÷ 52).
In the example above, finding an extra $100 a month to apply to credit card payments reduces the time it will take you to pay off this debt from over 19 years to just over one year AND saves you nearly $4,000.
Need help finding ways to save? Take the Florida Saves pledge to make a commitment to yourself to save and to receive emails and/or text messages to keep you motivated.
Contact your local UF/IFAS County Extension office to find more ways and resources to help you manage your money. Be sure to join us for the Women & Money Program Oct. 1, 8, & 15!
by Kristin Jackson | Jul 30, 2013
Evaluate your life insurance needs if you have children.
Life insurance is protection against the loss of income that would result if the insured passed away. According to Life Insurance and Market Research Association International (LIMRA), approximately 35 million households are uninsured and 50 million American have inadequate life insurance. September is national life insurance awareness month, but the time to start preparing is now. Take the first step and consider whether you need life insurance.
“The top two reasons people don’t buy life insurance are: competing financial priorities or because they think they cannot afford it,” (LIMRA, 2012). How do you know if you should give life insurance serious consideration or rethink whether you have enough? If one or more of the following situations apply to you or your family you may want to evaluate your need for life insurance:
- If you have children and both parents work
- If you have children and one parent works
- If you have children and you cannot afford to pay for their final expenses
- If you are a single parent
- If you have an outstanding shared debt
- If you are married and your spouse could not support your current lifestyle without your help
- If you are married and your spouse may have to care for one or more elderly parents
The above list is not exhaustive, but is meant to get you started thinking about the kinds of family or lifestyle situations when life insurance could benefit you in providing for your love one(s). For more research based information on life insurance you may want to read Understanding Life Insurance (http://web.aces.uiuc.edu/vista/pdf_pubs/LIFEINS.PDF) by University of Illinois Extension. Remember, family conversations about money can be difficult. “Can We Talk? Improving Couples’ Communications” (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fy044) is a great refresher on effective communication before tackling a delicate topic like money.
by Elaine Courtney | Apr 24, 2013
Have you ever been in this situation? You are with friends and they suggest going somewhere for dinner. Your finances are tight and you really can’t afford to eat out at the pricey place suggested. What would you do?
1. Admit you don’t have the funds and say, “I really can’t afford it.”
2. Keep quiet and go along—you’ll just order an appetizer and water.
3. You enjoy being with friends so go ahead and buy what you want!
Saying those words, “I can’t afford it,” is something many have struggled with at one time or another. Some may feel shame or embarrassment if they utter those words. But there’s nothing wrong with saying it! Money issues are often difficult to discuss or verbalize. Perhaps rephrasing it would help– “That’s out of my price range right now.”
It is important to be honest with yourself about what you can afford. Facing reality may be difficult but it can reduce your financial stress. Would you rather confront things now or when you are struggling to pay your credit card bill? However, do you even know if you can afford it?
Everybody needs to learn how to manage money. Good money management includes being able to pay your monthly bills, save for the future, and buy the things you need and want without creating unmanageable debt. A spending plan can be a helpful money management tool. For resources on spending plans and more, click here.
You probably have noticed that different people have different attitudes about money. Some people want to collect as much as they can, while others want to buy as many goods and services as they can. Recognizing your attitude about money can help you deal with situations where you say, “I can’t afford it.”
Recent articles by Jean Chatzky and the Wall Street Journal discussed having to admit when you can’t afford something.
Here are some tips for saying “I can’t afford it:”
• Know your situation and what you will say when presented with an offer: “Let me check my budget/spending plan.” “Let me think about that.” “That’s not in my plan for today. Maybe another time.”
• Understand the emotions that are involved. Friends often get their feelings hurt if you never want to go with them. Explaining your plans in advance can often help you avoid misunderstandings.
• Peer pressure encourages us to spend money when we can’t afford it. The constant barrage of advertisements or friends, family, or co-workers can exert pressure to part with your money. When you have a clear understanding of your money and financial goals, it may make it easier to resist. But it is not always easy!
Knowing and understanding your finances will help you find the courage to say, “I can’t afford it” or “That’s out of my price range.”
