Empowered Planning Blog

3 Must Have's For Your Family

Aug 10, 2020

This is not a glamorous topic, but it is timely. Covid Season has brought a lot of things front and center and as we gear up for re-entering this new normal, I want to highlight the importance of planning for some worst-case scenarios. Personal finances doesn’t only include you, it includes family or loved ones that would be impacted financially by your passing. This is emotional to consider but you should prepare for the unexpected. I have included three must have when planning for your family in the event of an untimely death or health event. Use it as a checklist with your family!

1- Beneficiaries

All of your accounts should have beneficiaries named. A beneficiary is someone you declare on a legal document who will be entitled to the money in your accounts / assets upon your passing. You will have to fill out different forms online or by handwritten form, it depends where your accounts are being held.

Check that these are up to date. If you’re already one...

3 Steps For Budgeting With Inconsistent Income

Jul 09, 2020

I am a big believe in having systems in place so you can begin to operate your financial life on auto-pilot and make it as simple as possible. But what happens when your income varies each month? Maybe you have a salary but a large portion of your income is bonus type pay or you are self-employed and do a lot of project work so you get paid in chunks throughout the year. The typical Empowered Planning Golden Rules can be difficult to put into practice and can be met with resistance if you are winging it every month. Fluctuations in income can encourage you to use credit cards to float yourself to the next month and can result in unwanted debt.

The solution for this is to create your own consistency. You can do this by depositing the money you earn into one bank account and then set up bi-weekly transfers into a checking account.

You want to have money readily available as your bills come in each month.

Here’s 3 simple steps to win at this game by creating your...

5 Things You Can Do To Take Control Of Your Finances

Jun 11, 2020

If you don’t already know me, I am a wife, mother of two little ones, and also the mom of a high maintenance but world’s best dog. As a mom there’s so many things that happen that I can’t control and I’m always learning how to go with the flow because it doesn’t come naturally to me.

2020 has been a year of uncertainty and change. Covid-19 has changed the way we live and work, the Black Lives Matter movement has increased awareness from every community to do more and has hit pretty hard emotionally. Whatever plans you had for the year have been altered or you’ve been forced to pivot. You’re doing it but you don’t necessarily feel in total control. Many of us are doing things to contribute but change doesn’t happen overnight so there’s still a feeling of not being in control and it can create unnecessary anxiety. I want to share 5 things you can do to take control of your financial life to alleviate some of that...

Employers Are Paying College Debt: Find Out How!

Jun 04, 2020

STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT PLANS

Does Your Employer Offer Student Loan Repayment Plans? Start asking NOW!

Having a college degree today is a common requirement to get a job in today’s workforce, about 45 million people are on the hook for roughly $1.6 trillion in student loans. 70% of people experience stress around their finances. This stress pours over into our personal lives and affect our careers as well.

Companies are now offering Student loan repayment plans as a way to incentivize Millennials and Gen Z to work for their companies and also keep them there. About 8% of companies offer them today and even though at first glance that looks like a small percentage, it’s up from 4% last year with a new wave of companies adopting these plans later this year.

The way that these programs work is similar to how a retirement savings plan like a 401(k) your employer will contribute a fixed amount like $50-100 per month, as long as you make your payments on...

3 Quick Wins For A High Credit Score

May 29, 2020

I wanted to drop a Credit Score Knowledge Bomb in your lap today to help you get some quick wins. I talk a lot about building wealth and investing but those things take time and patience and doing. And patience has been on my mind a lot. You’re a go-getter and do-er and “waiting” isn’t your strong suit which is also why you’re so successful. That drive serves you in so many ways but building wealth isn’t a sprint. I hear you when you’re frustrated that you can’t achieve all of your money goals right now. I wanted to give you some wins you take in the meantime while you’re building your empire.

Let’s talk credit score. You want to have good credit because it affects how you can borrow money and a good or “prime” credit is considered to be anything above a 720. So check out these 3 quick credit wins you can get today!

#1 - Pay your bills on time and pay more than the minimums when you can, hopefully you’re...

Why Waiting To Invest Is Costing You Thousands $$$

May 21, 2020

I want to debunk the thinking that you need to wait until you have more money to start investing. The reason you invest is to grow your money. Pretty straight forward right? You want to make money on your money. Don’t be shy about it, you want more money. It doesn’t make you a bad person. You know you need money to reach your goals and support the lifestyle you want. That just makes you smart, not greedy. There’s a HUGE difference.

Time is actually the most valuable asset you have when you want to grow your money. When you start making more money you start spending more money. It could be to upgrade certain things in your life for fun or to actually get some things you really needed but were waiting to have the money. So having more money doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll start saving more.

I’m not going to tell you that by skipping the latte or the avocado toast you’ll become rich but I do want you o follow me on this exercise. Don’t...

Money On My Mindset: 3 Tricks You Can Do To Reframe From Scarcity To Abundance

May 13, 2020

COVID-19 season has brought a lot of attention to money, specifically your money. For some of you it was a good time to look this over and for others it was confronted you right smack in the face because of a sudden drop or loss of income. Regardless of which camp you fall in, this season has brought on pressure real or imagined on how we are looking at their finances. I want to talk about the abundance mindset vs scarcity mindset and some things you can do to reframe how you’re thinking about your money. Abundance and scarcity get thrown around a lot these days and while I don’t necessarily love these words they’re out there so let’s talk about them.

Abundance

Abundance is the ultimate money mindset. When you feel like money is in abundance you feel there’s more than enough to go around for everyone. An example is when other people making money not only doesn’t bother you but you’re happy for them. You move through each day with...

3 Things You Should Be Doing With Your Money Right Now

May 06, 2020

Manage your money the right way during Covid-19

With an endless amount of information available with a click of a button, I want to help you prioritize the top 3 things you should be thinking about with your money right now. Before you make an endless To Do List, check these out and get yourself on track or pat yourself on the back for being there already! You Got This!

1- Stretch Your Monthly Money

I’ve been saying this the beginning of last month, but the long term impact of COVD 19 on the economy in unknown. Whether or not you've had a loss of income, it’s a good time to take a look at your spending and see if you can cut back your nonessential spending. Let me break that down real quick. Essential spending expense are things you can’t live without. Like paying rent, buying groceries, auto insurance, things like that. You can shop around prices but you’re not going to stop eating because it’ll save you money. But boy you'd be...

What's The Deal With The Stock Market?

May 06, 2020

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. Money Is Your Superpower! But like all superpowers you have ot use them with caution. You want to grow your money from your money, that’s why we all invest in the stock market. But that doesn’t mean we won’t get a queasy stomach now and again.

Now is the time to get comfortable with the stock market because as you continue to build wealth the aftermath of downturns in the market will absolutely get your attention. You don’t want to panic, you want to feel in control amidst the seemingly chaotic rollercoaster. So I want to simplify what happened in the stock market in March and April and what we can expect going forward.

March

From a stock market standpoint, March took us into whirlwind. The COVID-19 Virus affected the entire globe literally stopping every economy in its path. Shelter-in-place guidelines were set, many people were quickly out of work, supply chains everywhere were severed and...

Is It A Good Time To Refinance My Mortgage?

May 05, 2020

(During COVID-19): 3 Things To Consider

As interest rates go even lower, refinancing MAY be a great option. As we all settle into the new norm of Covid-19 many of us are not able to help out too much or make a meaningful difference being at home. Yes! being at home is all part of helping but we are looking for ways to take action. So with headlines across the board talking about mortgage rates dropping, I've had many people reach out and ask if it's a good time to refinance their mortgages. In short, I would say yes, but here are 3 things you should consider first!

1- How long are you going Live in the home?

Knowing this pretty clearly will help you do a quick, back of the napkin calculation. with some certainty is important because we can do a quick calculation and find your break-even point. Ask the lender what your total costs will be and if they say it's a "no-cost" loan, ask them what your total fees for the whole loan process will be. This...

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