Fashion Savings

Stylish

We all want to look good at the work place or in any public setting and with that comes wearing the latest trends, but what is mode is such a fleeting word.

 It starts on a one year cycle with the fashion runways or even a music video, onto the magazines, internet or television and finally into the market place 

                                                               Astute Shopping

For us the savvy consumers; the best way to maximize our hard earned dollars is to have the classic wardrobe that would give you many outfit combinations

                                                                Pairings

 Jeans and T-shirts on casual day and for business the ladies a black skirt, white blouse, for the men the usual black dress pants plus a blazer. So buy high quality foundation pieces, which reduces your retail waste and then you avoid the "emergency" shopping sprees

                                                              Embellishments

 Then we accessorize to our individual style to complete our fashion statement and at a fraction of the cost, here are some basics rules to follow; 

 A) spend good money on classic items that never go out of style, like diamond studs or a watch for the guys  

B) check out the clearance areas or thrift stores for great deals for neck ties or shoes

C) visit blogs for ideas to fit your style 

D) do not over accessorize, as less is better to highlight yourself 

E) learn colors with what matches each other and never all one shade 

F) have items that enhances your features and signature style. 

 There you go, look great and feel good as i have a saying; i do not mind spending money; i just hate wasting it 

On-Line Security

Cyber Protection

Most of the world we live in today involves on-line commerce, bank transactions or logging into some kind of secure site, so lets be smart about it and do all we can to protect ourselves from the hackers and scammers by followings a few simples rules; 

A) Log into your accounts everyday to check and make sure of no unauthorized transactions

B) Use different sign-in credentials for all your financial accounts 

C) Increase the security of your passwords by combining upper and lower case letters, numbers or keyboard symbols ( #,@, *, ^, +)   

D) Never allow e-commerce sites to store your credit card info and if buying something, just

 input each time  

E) You should change your banking access-codes approx. every 6 months  

F) Enable your multi-factor authentication on every account that supports it

G) Use virtual payment options to protect your credit card or use burner cards for those site-specific

H) Encrypt your internet connection  through a trusted VPN (virtual private network)

I) Disable your unused wireless features like Bluetooth and toggle it off when your not actively using it

J) Spot the phishing triggers like the unsolicited texts, emails of direct messages that demand urgent action, contain grammar mistakes or require you to click a link to resolve an "account issue" 

                                                                      Safeguards

  So as you see it isn't a lot to do to assure ourselves some added security, as unfortunately with the times we live in today; the cheaters are always ahead of the testers

Some Red Flags During Retirement

                                                                 Financial Freedom

Personally i know i will not retire as if you like what you do; it is not work.😄 We all have heard the stories of people finally getting to that age and now time to do that "bucket list", well i have always been a believer to do all those passions NOW while your physically able and not later. But we are all different which keeps our world interesting

                                                               Warning Signs

   Not to be a naysayer, but here are a few things to watch out for that might derail all those dreams for what should be your "Golden Years" 

 A) You might have adult children come back to the nest to save money (even ask for funds to pay down their out of control bills) or maybe you have elderly parents that will need care; all which puts a strain on your finances. 

 B) Some retirees lose their health insurance or prescription drug plans (from their work) which then comes out of your pocket.

 C) Remember life does get in the way, so do not forget that things still need to be repaired from your automobile to the furnace, which all cost big dollars. Also perhaps a modifying of the house for a walk in shower, ramps or better lighting

 D) Maybe you have grown apart and will divorce, which without saying is a big strain on the pocketbook.

 E) With all your extra time it will be easy for you to spend more on expensive hobbies or entertainment, so plan for that.

F) Long Term Care if you or partner needs assisted living or maybe a nursing home

G) Maintenance that you used to do yourself like the roofing, lawn care, snow removal or a deep cleaning now needs to be outsourced at a cost

H) Property Taxes and Utilities continue to rise with inflation

                                                            Ways To Mitigate

A) Downsize early and move into a smaller, more energy efficient home or a condo which will lower all your bills plus the maintenance headaches

B) Review your insurance and its supplemental health policies to ensure that you are not overpaying for prescriptions or the other premiums listed

C) Think ahead of your spending habits when you first retire, as the money going out will be high  because of you being active, dipping in the middle timespan as you slow down and rising again due to medical costs as you round third base heading for home plate

Tips for Home Buyers

So we are going down the real estate highway which by the way is the biggest purchase most of you will ever make in your lives, so here are a few tips to make it has painless as possible. A) Get a pre-approved mortgage before hiring a realtor, that way your not wasting yours and the agents time looking for a home above your means B) Get your finances in order, first examine your credit report ( scores range from 220-800 of course the higher the better and easier to qualify for a mortgage) and be prepared for the down payment on the mortgage to your lender of choice (5-10%) and also closing costs which is an additional 5% + of the amount paid for your abode ( legal fees, deed transfer tax, fuel adjustment, moving costs, power hookup, tax adjustment, fire/homeowners insurance, maybe water quality/septic field testing and so on....lets not forget about appliances and curtains etc   C)  Do your homework on what you want in a home;
features from how many bedrooms/bathrooms, size of yard, age of home, etc. D) Don't become "Mortgage Poor" and take on too much as you don't want to be living on the edge each month and have nothing left to enjoy life. E) Know your move in date, also when your lease ends or if you can sublet till your home is ready.  F) Get a professional house inspection and if possible a warranty from the builder/seller to cover any defects for the first few years. G) Be realistic as you may never find your perfect home. Good Luck!

To Start Your Own Business

So you want to venture down that road of self employment?  Well I've been on that highway my entire life and for me there is nothing better than controlling your own destiny!  Here are a few tips that maybe you can use to save some time and also get by those growing pains. A) Start with a good business plan, make sure its feasible as most entrepreneurs have the mindset and great ideas but maybe not have a good business sense.... remember passion doesn't pay the bills!  B) Incorporate your business, it might seem like an added expense but well worth it as it will protect your personal assets,  lower your tax rate, allow you to invest within your own Ltd., pay yourself etc. C)  Have a good accountant as this is paramount in the business world.  They are experts in the tax codes/issues and finances, certainly someone to have on "your" team to save you money.  D) Payroll;  Set it up with your local bank to do it for you with all its deductions to the various government agencies plus do direct deposit for your employees. The cost is minimal compared to the time saved.  E) Be prepared to put in at least 5yrs of long days to get the business up and running, also you'll find that your staff will be your biggest headache (everything from poor work habits, not showing up for their shift, theft etc)  My solution?.....make some of your employees owners, as then they has a vested interest in the business to make it grow. So what you do is through your accountant get a value of your company, so for example we shall say XYZ Ltd. is worth $100,000 and your selling to 3 of your staff 10% each so they individually need to come up with $10,000 to be part owner of XYZ Ltd.  The best way is to take it out of their pay over 5yrs, so believe me they will watch the shop for you lol  (plus you the owner don't give up control because you still have over 51% stake, and don't have to be there all the time so you can concentrate on other things)   The payoff for them is they become owners without any money down and in 5years the value has gone up for all partners.....so a win/win!!

To be a Landlord

So you want to be a landlord, there are advantages .... writing off the interest on the mortgage, insurance payments, repairs etc while your tenant pays down the cost of the house as (hopefully lol) the value goes up. This is what I've learned having a few home rentals on the go and you can decide if its for you or not.  A) Location (like your principle residence) is key, as you want the price of your rental to go up so make sure the area is desirable, also if you can afford it look for a duplex or triplex so if one renter leaves you still have income coming in.  B) Borrow as much as possible for the building,  follow the Golden Rule  (get wealthy by using someone else's money) so you get the tax benefit of writing off the mortgage interest (more borrowed, more interest) to offset the rent as that's considered an income plus this way your keeping

your own money to pay down your own mortgage/bills and putting the extra into other investments. Also most banks will ask for15-20% down payment because they deem it a business, so what i did was lived in

the house for awhile that way there was a

lower minimum amount required (as its considered principle residence), then moved out and started being a landlord. C) Try to be handy with repairs or have friends who are as paying a tradesmen for all your issues will make you not want to be in the business. Or I always looked for a tenant who was of that talent and i reduced the rent for them so a win/win as they took pride in their work as they got paid for it and you had no worries with all the little things that would arise.....and trust me, everything does gets beat up a lot quicker than your own home. On that thought, at first i had to keep telling myself not to be in "love" with the property, as it was an investment and don't be disappointed if your folks didn't keep it just so. For example i went with commercial carpet or laminate hardwood floors, stuff that is durable  but it wouldn't be what i would use in my own residence   D)  Look for smaller yards as its less to take care off and a deterrent for those big backyard bashes   E) Be

diligent in collecting the rent and trust me you ll hear every story you could ever imagine why they are not able to make the deadline   F) On that note, if you find good tenants do everything possible to keep them by maybe reducing the rent, upgrade the washer/dryer, buy them a vacuum cleaner etc, as all landlords have horror stories so well worth doing the little things to keep your sanity  G) Finally my experience with management companies that collect rent/screen applicants hasn't been good, they charge 50% first months rent  then usually 10% for each month after. Some issues i had is they would never go out to check the property as they had the tenant mailed in post dates and that's what you want as a landlord is those 'eyes' to protect your investment by going to your rental for a physical check Or when checking out references they would call the names on the applications, which turned out most times it was relatives who gave glowing reviews only to find out to my chagrin  not so good, plus the process cost you hundreds of dollars! (half first months rent)  So there is my list of the dos and dont's and have known some folks that have done very well in the landlord game.....i had my taste of it, personally i rather have a piece of paper (stock/mutual fund) that doesn't call me on a weekend night saying the toilet is plugged or Aunt Mabel needs a kidney transplant (true story!!) and needs the rent money to be bedside lol

Index Mutual Funds

What is an investor to do to combat all these hidden/high fees that effect your bottom line? Well maybe look into Index Mutual Funds....its an investment vehicle to match/track the components of a market index ( such as Standard & Poor 500 Index)  So you get the wider range of exposure ( in this case 500 companies) low operating costs and smaller turnover ( certain criteria to enter this funds). The drawback with this strategy is you cannot control the amount of one company that you buy into as your purchasing the whole fund, so if ABC Company is a dominant player within the fund you are exposed to its swings in the market place. So to finish up with my opinion on this subject, i look for Equity Mutual Funds that have at least 1 Billion in total assets and pays out a dividend that i roll back into the fund ( as stated in the last blog to reduce your "real cost")  Again there are thousands of mutual funds out there, but i believe that only 10% are worth having and remember what i have stated in this past 2 blogs, look for a good fund manager that has a proving track record......this is paramount!