Monday, November 11, 2013
My experiences in the Financial industry. From a down to earth point of view!: Set GOALS and set up separate ACCOUNTS for each on...
My experiences in the Financial industry. From a down to earth point of view!: Set GOALS and set up separate ACCOUNTS for each on...: Why I chose this topic: Using one account for all your goals makes it difficult to keep track of your finances. Whether they write them ...
Set GOALS and set up separate ACCOUNTS for each one
Why I chose this topic:
Using one account for all your goals makes it difficult to keep track of your finances.
Whether they write them down or just have them in their head, everyone has personal and financial goals. Why not make your financial goals easier to achieve by setting up separate accounts for each goal.
Experiences I have seen with some of my clients:
Over the years, I have had many clients not have the sufficient savings when it came time to needing money, so therefore they borrowed money and went more into debt. You will hear me talk a lot about debt accumulation and the reason is, I have seen far to many people in debt for reasons that could have been prevented. I.E I had a client put over $5000.00 on a credit card because they didn't have the money for their Hawaiian vacation. These clients also had no plan on paying it off in the short term. The credit card they had was 18% interest, which can really add up over time. This type of debt can easily build and build and the interest costs can get out of hand.
My personal experience:
Continuing on with the example above, my husband and I like to travel at least once every year or so. What I do is I break down how much I will need for that trip and then I set up a SEPARATE account to make sure I have the funds available prior to the vacation. I then put money into that account each payday to make sure I have enough savings at the time of the vacation.
- First we figure out WHERE we want to go and WHEN.
- Second we decide for HOW LONG i.e. 1 week, 2 weeks, one month etc.
- Third we do some research to find out the COST to go to that specific place for the length of time we want.
- Forth we then take the amount of money we need and divide it by the number of paydays we have to SAVE. We then set up a SEPARATE account and put money aside each payday.
- Lastly we decide if the amount we need to save per month is FEASIBLE and if it's not then we ADJUST our goal. I.E. maybe go somewhere cheaper, go for a shorter amount of time, or go later so we have more time to save.
For example: Say we want to save $5000 and our trip is in 18 months that would be about $420/month, or $210 per cheque if your paid twice a month.
I know this seems pretty basic and easy, and really it is! The reason I bring it up is very few of the clients I have met over the years have set up a travel account. Believe me it makes things easier if you use your own funds or at least have MOST of it saved and borrow none or very little.
Tips and Options:
A) Have an account set up for trips (if you like to travel)
B) Have an account set up for emergencies and put money away each month. This one is a topic all on it's own, and VERY important. Things happen and we need to be prepared so we don't have to ask family/friends for money or borrow and go more into debt. What if your car needs a major repair, or your furnace breaks down, or you lose your job. I truly feel everyone should have an emergency account. How much you put in it depends on so many variables, so I won't go into full detail in this blog.
C) Have an account to save for your maternity leave. I did this, as it meant we lost my income for one year. It really helped to replace some of my income while I was home with my daughter.
D) Have an account set up for retirement plans, for your child's education etc etc etc.
F) Have an account to save up for the down payment of that house or that vehicle. The more you have saved the lower your house or vehicle loan/mortgage will be and the less interest you will pay.
E) Sit down and look at some of your short term and long term goals and set up a plan!
F) If you don't have a plan then you can; borrow the money, ask friends/family, or save up last minute which may or may not be an option depending on your income and expenses at that time.
Above are just a few examples, everyone has different goals, depending on their wants and needs.
The option for putting away the savings may just be a bank account. It may also make more sense to set up an investment account. Look at talking to a Financial Adviser in person to help you set up a plan.
JS.
Using one account for all your goals makes it difficult to keep track of your finances.
Whether they write them down or just have them in their head, everyone has personal and financial goals. Why not make your financial goals easier to achieve by setting up separate accounts for each goal.
Experiences I have seen with some of my clients:
Over the years, I have had many clients not have the sufficient savings when it came time to needing money, so therefore they borrowed money and went more into debt. You will hear me talk a lot about debt accumulation and the reason is, I have seen far to many people in debt for reasons that could have been prevented. I.E I had a client put over $5000.00 on a credit card because they didn't have the money for their Hawaiian vacation. These clients also had no plan on paying it off in the short term. The credit card they had was 18% interest, which can really add up over time. This type of debt can easily build and build and the interest costs can get out of hand.
My personal experience:
Continuing on with the example above, my husband and I like to travel at least once every year or so. What I do is I break down how much I will need for that trip and then I set up a SEPARATE account to make sure I have the funds available prior to the vacation. I then put money into that account each payday to make sure I have enough savings at the time of the vacation.
- First we figure out WHERE we want to go and WHEN.
- Second we decide for HOW LONG i.e. 1 week, 2 weeks, one month etc.
- Third we do some research to find out the COST to go to that specific place for the length of time we want.
- Forth we then take the amount of money we need and divide it by the number of paydays we have to SAVE. We then set up a SEPARATE account and put money aside each payday.
- Lastly we decide if the amount we need to save per month is FEASIBLE and if it's not then we ADJUST our goal. I.E. maybe go somewhere cheaper, go for a shorter amount of time, or go later so we have more time to save.
For example: Say we want to save $5000 and our trip is in 18 months that would be about $420/month, or $210 per cheque if your paid twice a month.
I know this seems pretty basic and easy, and really it is! The reason I bring it up is very few of the clients I have met over the years have set up a travel account. Believe me it makes things easier if you use your own funds or at least have MOST of it saved and borrow none or very little.
Tips and Options:
A) Have an account set up for trips (if you like to travel)
B) Have an account set up for emergencies and put money away each month. This one is a topic all on it's own, and VERY important. Things happen and we need to be prepared so we don't have to ask family/friends for money or borrow and go more into debt. What if your car needs a major repair, or your furnace breaks down, or you lose your job. I truly feel everyone should have an emergency account. How much you put in it depends on so many variables, so I won't go into full detail in this blog.
C) Have an account to save for your maternity leave. I did this, as it meant we lost my income for one year. It really helped to replace some of my income while I was home with my daughter.
D) Have an account set up for retirement plans, for your child's education etc etc etc.
F) Have an account to save up for the down payment of that house or that vehicle. The more you have saved the lower your house or vehicle loan/mortgage will be and the less interest you will pay.
E) Sit down and look at some of your short term and long term goals and set up a plan!
F) If you don't have a plan then you can; borrow the money, ask friends/family, or save up last minute which may or may not be an option depending on your income and expenses at that time.
Above are just a few examples, everyone has different goals, depending on their wants and needs.
The option for putting away the savings may just be a bank account. It may also make more sense to set up an investment account. Look at talking to a Financial Adviser in person to help you set up a plan.
JS.
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
My experiences in the Financial industry. From a down to earth point of view!: A child's education
My experiences in the Financial industry. From a down to earth point of view!: A child's education: Why I chose this topic: My daughter is 2 years old so this topic is top of mind for me right now. I have met several clients over the year...
A child's education
Why I chose this topic:
My daughter is 2 years old so this topic is top of mind for me right now. I have met several clients over the years that didn't set up a plan and therefore their child had to postpone secondary education.
Personally, I would like to have a plan in place to help with my daughters future education. I can't say for sure that she will go to College/University, as in the end it's her choice and I can't predict the future. However if she does I would like to be able to help her get off to a good start.
Education costs are high already and most likely will increase more and more each year.
Experiences I have seen with some of my clients:
I had many clients come to my office looking for a loan because they wanted to help their child with their education and I had to decline them. Often the reason was because they were maxed out on debt and didn't qualify. No matter what the debt is for, you still have to qualify and if you don't then you have to find another source.
I have had other clients go to school for degrees in medicine and other professional fields and come out over $100,000 in debt. Yes, they SHOULD be able to get a job that will help pay it back, but imagine how much interest they will have to pay!
My personal experience:
When I attended College, I had to come up with my own financial sources. Instead of having some savings put aside for me, I had to borrow money for my education. At the time, in Canada, the Government had pretty lenient student loan programs, so it was easy for me to obtain loans for my education. Even though I was thankful for this, it meant I had to spend years after school paying back the loan plus the interest. At the end of the day, having a student loan was a positive experience, as it really helped me to budget during my years at school as I only had a set amount of money for the year. It also allowed me to budget after school as I had to make sure I had enough funds to pay the loan back.
After working in banking for 12 years, I would really like to help others plan for the future, so they can pay the LEAST amount of INTEREST possible.
Tips and Options:
There are several options when it comes to paying for someones education, here are just a few:
A) Borrow money, as I mentioned above. The downfall of this option is you have to pay interest and have the money to pay it back. If you child can't pay it back or just doesn't feel like paying it back, it can really harm their or your credit.
B) Have your child work to pay for their own education. This is good, as it adds to the child's work experience. However education costs are high and are only increasing, so in order to pay for their own education our children may have to work full-time hours while going to school. If this is the case, will they be able to successfully juggle both work and school?
C) Set up a saving plan when they are first born and help pay for SOME of their education. Yes it would be nice to pay for all of it, but not all of us can afford to put that much away. For example, if you were to put $100 away each month for 17 years, you could save $20,000 to help put towards your child's education. This isn't including any interest or grants you may earn. In Canada for example, if you open a Registered Education Savings Plan, the government will also contribute to your child's plan. It's worth it to find out what plans are out there, and what your options are.
D) In my opinion having a combination of all of the above is important. Borrowing money will help your child learn about the cost of borrowing and budgeting. Working will help them gain life experiences and will help their resume. Having a savings plan will help them pay less interest and have a more balanced school/work life.
JS.
My daughter is 2 years old so this topic is top of mind for me right now. I have met several clients over the years that didn't set up a plan and therefore their child had to postpone secondary education.
Personally, I would like to have a plan in place to help with my daughters future education. I can't say for sure that she will go to College/University, as in the end it's her choice and I can't predict the future. However if she does I would like to be able to help her get off to a good start.
Education costs are high already and most likely will increase more and more each year.
Experiences I have seen with some of my clients:
I had many clients come to my office looking for a loan because they wanted to help their child with their education and I had to decline them. Often the reason was because they were maxed out on debt and didn't qualify. No matter what the debt is for, you still have to qualify and if you don't then you have to find another source.
I have had other clients go to school for degrees in medicine and other professional fields and come out over $100,000 in debt. Yes, they SHOULD be able to get a job that will help pay it back, but imagine how much interest they will have to pay!
My personal experience:
When I attended College, I had to come up with my own financial sources. Instead of having some savings put aside for me, I had to borrow money for my education. At the time, in Canada, the Government had pretty lenient student loan programs, so it was easy for me to obtain loans for my education. Even though I was thankful for this, it meant I had to spend years after school paying back the loan plus the interest. At the end of the day, having a student loan was a positive experience, as it really helped me to budget during my years at school as I only had a set amount of money for the year. It also allowed me to budget after school as I had to make sure I had enough funds to pay the loan back.
After working in banking for 12 years, I would really like to help others plan for the future, so they can pay the LEAST amount of INTEREST possible.
Tips and Options:
There are several options when it comes to paying for someones education, here are just a few:
A) Borrow money, as I mentioned above. The downfall of this option is you have to pay interest and have the money to pay it back. If you child can't pay it back or just doesn't feel like paying it back, it can really harm their or your credit.
B) Have your child work to pay for their own education. This is good, as it adds to the child's work experience. However education costs are high and are only increasing, so in order to pay for their own education our children may have to work full-time hours while going to school. If this is the case, will they be able to successfully juggle both work and school?
C) Set up a saving plan when they are first born and help pay for SOME of their education. Yes it would be nice to pay for all of it, but not all of us can afford to put that much away. For example, if you were to put $100 away each month for 17 years, you could save $20,000 to help put towards your child's education. This isn't including any interest or grants you may earn. In Canada for example, if you open a Registered Education Savings Plan, the government will also contribute to your child's plan. It's worth it to find out what plans are out there, and what your options are.
D) In my opinion having a combination of all of the above is important. Borrowing money will help your child learn about the cost of borrowing and budgeting. Working will help them gain life experiences and will help their resume. Having a savings plan will help them pay less interest and have a more balanced school/work life.
JS.
Monday, November 4, 2013
Introduction to Myself
I am a 34 year old female, who has worked in the banking field for 12 years. I have put my career on hold, to be at home with my 2 year old daughter, but finances are still top of mind for me. Since I now have extra time on my hands, I have decided to start a blog about my experiences with finances, and share some stories along the way. I am in no way an expert, I am NOT a certified Financial Planner. I do have years of banking experience that I can share. I will share my thoughts about finances, and they are only my thoughts, so do with them what you wish.
There are a few reasons I chose this topic:
A) I feel everyone needs some guidance when it comes to Finances.
B) I have my own experiences to share and those of my previous clients, whom I would never mention by name.
C) I am now living in Japan, and will be for the next 2-3 years. I met a fellow the other day that wants to improve his English, so he chose me out of thousands of candidates to help him with English. He told me, the reason he chose me is he really wants to work on his English and work on his finances at the same time. It really made me realize that finances really are important to everyone, no matter where you live.
D) People tend to think finances are only important if you have a lot of money. Well in my career in banking I treated my clients that had $100.00 in their account, the same way as I treated my clients with millions. Everyone needs guidance no matter where you come from, or how much you have.
In my blogs going forward, I plan to touch on budgeting, preparing for your children's education, buying property, retirement planning and much more. The clients I previously worked with consistently mentioned that I made them feel comfortable coming to a bank, a place which they use to hate. I am down to earth, honest, and like to keep things simple.
Again that said, I do not have a full financial license or degree, so will just share based on my experiences.
I hope you enjoy my blogs going forward, and will have my next one posted soon. I hope to post one a week, and will focus on different areas each week. I welcome suggestions on different topics that you would like to hear about.
Thank you for reading!
There are a few reasons I chose this topic:
A) I feel everyone needs some guidance when it comes to Finances.
B) I have my own experiences to share and those of my previous clients, whom I would never mention by name.
C) I am now living in Japan, and will be for the next 2-3 years. I met a fellow the other day that wants to improve his English, so he chose me out of thousands of candidates to help him with English. He told me, the reason he chose me is he really wants to work on his English and work on his finances at the same time. It really made me realize that finances really are important to everyone, no matter where you live.
D) People tend to think finances are only important if you have a lot of money. Well in my career in banking I treated my clients that had $100.00 in their account, the same way as I treated my clients with millions. Everyone needs guidance no matter where you come from, or how much you have.
In my blogs going forward, I plan to touch on budgeting, preparing for your children's education, buying property, retirement planning and much more. The clients I previously worked with consistently mentioned that I made them feel comfortable coming to a bank, a place which they use to hate. I am down to earth, honest, and like to keep things simple.
Again that said, I do not have a full financial license or degree, so will just share based on my experiences.
I hope you enjoy my blogs going forward, and will have my next one posted soon. I hope to post one a week, and will focus on different areas each week. I welcome suggestions on different topics that you would like to hear about.
Thank you for reading!
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