Auto Overview

You may think of vehicle insurance as one of those things you just need to buy, making quick decisions based on the “standard” policy that suits most people. However, coverage can be expensive—and damages from an accident can be even more expensive, so it pays to think about what you’re buying, and why.

• • Before you purchase vehicle insurance, make sure you think about your life as a whole, the value of your assets and risk factors as a whole, and begin there when making decisions about what coverages to buy. Coverage could be different if you drive a Jaguar versus a Kia.
  • Be sure you share these factors with your agent, if you use one.
  • Be wary of any insurance company or insurance agent who tries to sell you insurance coverage without asking you any questions! Chances are you’d find out that you weren’t properly covered when you’re in an accident, or perhaps you’d discover you’re paying too much money for coverage you don’t need or that you already have through some other means.
  • Your coverage should be designed for you!

Budget – The Dreaded B Word

Budget. The dreaded “B” word. Everyone hates making a budget. It gives you feelings of dread, cold chills up your spine. But it doesn’t have to feel that way. In fact, budgeting can be rather empowering. Remember, you are in charge of every single dollar you earn. And making a budget helps you spend those dollars where you want to spend them.

Fair enough – when you pay the rent, the light bill, the water bill, etc., it doesn’t feel like you are in control… but, you made the decision to live where you live, to have running water at the lift of a finger and lights at the click of a switch. How lucky are you? The more you practice noticing all of the things you own, have and enjoy, the more you can create a feeling of abundance instead of dread.

Think about it: in Haiti, 78% of people live on less than $2 a day. More than half of rural households and about a quarter of urban households in sub-Saharan Africa lack easy access to drinking water. In the US, the average household net-adjusted disposal income per capita is USD $41,355 a year versus Mexico which is $13,085. We have a lot to be thankful for here in our country!

So as you take stock of all the things you have, we want to give you some tools on how to make your income work even more in your favor. This handy guide will help you change your mindset about budgeting from dread to empowerment. It will turn it from a chore into something that you do to help take control of your life. You will learn about some tools that can help you track expenses – there are many apps out there, for free, that can give you economic power at your fingertips. You will also get some tips on being conscious about spending your money and ideas on how to save some of that hard earned cash. Finally, we’ll share some tips on debt reduction that can make small amounts of money snowball into big payoffs!

Let’s reframe how powerful you really are and how you wield your power with your money.

Unraveling Health Care

There’s no argument that health care has gotten complicated over the years – and so expensive. In fact, women ranked healthcare the number one financial burden for the US economy.

One thing that we know for sure – you and your family need some kind of healthcare coverage. Data show that health emergencies are among the most common economic hardships, and one in six families makes an extraordinary medical expense in any given year. The result? A financial impact from which a family cannot fully recover – even after a year. And not surprisingly, the financial gender gap worsens after a large, unexpected medical expense, leaving women with significantly more revolving credit card debt than men.

So we’re going to help you get educated on the things you need to know about healthcare and how it impacts your financial future. You still have to do the work on your particular situation, but we’ll share some pointers on how to figure out what you need and ways to work the system from a financial point of view. We’ll give you some ideas on how to get relief in the case of major healthcare expenses, so it doesn’t ruin your finances. We will also talk about healthcare expenses in your retirement, which will be significant, and give you some tools to help calculate those costs. And finally, we’ll give you a breakdown of Medicare and Medicaid and how and when each program can help you.

This is a big one, but it is as important for your overall financial picture as anything else we could talk about.

What’s in a Paycheck

Yahoo – nothing feels as good as payday, but did you know that besides paying your bills, your paycheck can actually help you meet your financial goals?

You look forward to your paycheck, sometimes counting the days until it hits your account. But besides freeing you from another package of ramen, your paycheck is actually a powerful financial tool – and lots of women don’t realize just how powerful it can be.

Remember when you started that new job and you filled out all that paperwork about deductions and auto drafts and benefits? Well, those are all choices you get to make about your financial future, and those choices can turn your paycheck into an engine that opens up new worlds of financial possibilities.

This handy guide will help you learn about your paycheck (not as simple as you might have thought) and how to manage it to provide the greatest benefit (not as complicated as you might think). We’ll tell you about how deductions can be used to help achieve financial goals, how to setup your exemptions to improve your tax withholdings, how you can take advantage of free money from your employer, and how to understand the numerous sources of income you might be overlooking.

Are you ready to take another gander at that paystub and see what your paycheck is (and isn’t) doing for you? Then read on, sister!