Two Financial Advisors Walk Into a Bar

If two financial advisors walked into the bar, the financial advice they give would be completely different.

Depending on the company they represent and experience, these advisors are going to offer advice on how to invest money.

What these two advisors have in common is that they both have an interest in investing people’s money to make their 1%.

This isn’t necessarily bad, this sort of financial advice benefits individuals with money to invest. These individuals are already financially healthy and can benefit from the ‘financial advisor’ bar discussion.

Those with money to invest can listen to the investors and decide where they want to invest. Everyone at this proverbial bar: the investors and the advisors, clink glasses and drink beer to the possibility of investment growth.

But what about the rest of us? Those of us that don’t have money to invest? For some of us, this is not a joke. The reality is there is no money to invest and so it doesn’t matter what type of financial advisor walks into the bar.  

There’s no money to invest. Only debt owed.

There aren’t many financial advisors that will show you how to get out of debt. This is what I do. I am a financial advisor that will help you get out of debt and create a financial plan.

I educate, enlighten and encourage you to manage your money successfully. I help with your financial journey in a different way, I advise on your financial well-being. I help you:

• Save money
• Pay down debt
• Plan before making purchases
• Create a spending plan

I call these the 4 Financial Building Blocks to a Healthy Financial Well-being. I advise on how to create a plan by using these 4 Building Blocks. I do this without using the dreaded word “budget”. Budget is a bad word. I don’t like it. I help you develop a plan depending on your lifestyle and what you want out of your life. There is no budgeting; only planning and achieving your goals.

I help put your financial health in order.

The key to a happy life requires balance life. Balance can be broken down into the following areas:

• Financial
• Mental
• Physical
• Emotional
• Spiritual

These are what I call the 5 Pillars of Health, only when the five pillars of your life are in order, will you find yourself living a focused and purposeful life.

In order to achieve balance in the 5 Pillars of Health, you first need to focus on your finances, the 4 Financial Building Blocks:

• Saving

Saving money is the main pillar and the key to a balanced life. The reason why we accumulate debt is always because of the lack of cash flow. This is why saving money no matter how small is paramount to a successful life.

• Paying off Debt

Having debt to pay off every month is like an albatross around your neck or a shackle around your ankle, you can barely move. You think about your debt first thing in the morning, all throughout the day and it’s the last thing you think about before closing your eyes. In order to break free from this, you must pay off your debt as quickly as you can. The very worst debt is revolving debt, your credit card and lines of credit. You have to break from that shackle or albatross by creating a plan to pay the debt off, focusing on your revolving debt first.

• Planning Before Making Purchases

A lot of us are impulse buyers. We buy something because we see it and we want it. It’s why magazines and candy are at the check-out at grocery stores. There’s a psychology behind this. The grocery stores are hoping that you will buy the candy and magazines and give into your impulse tendencies. You get the immediate feel-good reward of having that magazine, but at the end of the month, you don’t have any money saved because you didn’t plan.

Planning is what determines your financial success and eliminates impulsive buying behaviour. You need to determine in advance how you are going to spend your money, and on what and when.

Regardless of whether it is planning a long-term purchase or planning a two-hour shopping spree, the planning aspect of money management is the major contributor to financial success. Having a plan eliminates impulse buying, because you know what you can afford and what you’re financial plans and goals are. Having a strategic plan doesn’t guarantee your success though. Very often, even when plans are prepared, they are not implemented. It takes effort, purpose and focus. Having a goal you are committed to is the first step.

• Creating a Spending plan

The name speaks for itself. Create. You are the one formulating this plan, the choices of how and when you spend your money. It gives you a certain amount of confidence knowing you are making the decisions on how to spend your money. After creating your spending plan you feel empowered. You then make an effort to work with the financial decisions you made. It takes time to make this spending plan. You have to invest time. Managing your money without a spending plan is like going to an unfamiliar place with no GPS. We all need a spending plan in order to navigate our goals.

If you would like help with your own financial journey and goals please contact me. I am passionate about helping others with their own financial plans and will help you for free.

Thanks

Tessa-Marie

Contact me at;  tessamarieshillingford46@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How To Pay Off Your Credit Card

How to Pay Off your Credit Card

With this post, I promise that I will show you how to pay off your debt before January 31,2018.

Last week I showed you how to save money for the Holiday season. Many of you wanted to know why I did not give a tutorial on paying off the debt instead.

My reason for showing you how to save money first is because we are told to pay ourselves first. By saving money you are honoring yourself.

The first step is to get familiar with the amount you owe. Do not guess the amount, look at the bill or bills and total the amounts.

For example, if you owe $2,600.00, the table below shows what you need to pay monthly in order to pay off your debt in 1 year. You can also see how much interest you are paying monthly, as well as your total interest paid for the year.

It’s important to pay your bills as you get paid, either weekly or bi-weekly.

Let’s use that $2,600.00 debt again plus $282.51 interest over one year. If you get paid bi-weekly, divide that amount by 26 [2,882.51/26 = $110.89] every payday.] If you’re paid weekly, divide that amount by 52 [$2882.51/ 52 = 55.43. ] Your credit card payment is monthly but you can choose to pay those amounts every payday. When you pay your bills as you get paid you will notice that your cash flow is more evenly distributed.

The reason why we incur debt is simply because of the lack of cash flow. Remember you have also been saving, so you now have cash on hand to do your holiday shopping next year.

Payment Summary Event Amount Term Period Loan $2,600.00 1 Payment $246.11 11 Monthly Payment $174.23 1

Payment Schedule Event Loan Payment Interest Principal Balance Loan 1 $2,600.00 $0.00 $0.00 $2,600.00 Payment 1 $246.11 $39.87 $206.24 $2,393.76 Payment 2 $246.11 $40.64 $205.47 $2,188.29 Payment 3 $246.11 $35.95 $210.16 $1,978.13 Payment 4 $246.11 $33.58 $212.53 $1,765.60 Payment 5 $246.11 $29.01 $217.10 $1,548.50 Payment 6 $246.11 $26.29 $219.82 $1,328.68 Payment 7 $246.11 $22.56 $223.55 $1,105.13 Payment 8 $246.11 $18.16 $227.95 $877.18 Payment 9 $246.11 $14.89 $231.22 $645.96 Payment 10 $246.11 $10.61 $235.50 $410.46 Payment 11 $246.11 $6.97 $239.14 $171.32 Payment 12 $174.23 $2.91 $171.32 $0.00 Grand Total $2,600.00 $2,881.44 $281.44 $2,600.00 $0.0

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out to me.

Thanks,

Tessa-Marie | tessamarieshillingford46@gmail.com

New Cost of Living Increases for 2017

Here they are folks; hold on to your money.

2017 comes roaring in with a vast amount of increases. These increases are in every area of our life, and each and everyone will hit us in the wallets, where it hurts the most.

I am here to help you navigate through 2017 with positive financial results.

In order to get where you plan to be financially throughout 2017 you have to follow a plan. Just like going on a trip. You need a navigator. Especially since you are getting into unchartered waters.

I will remind you of what the major increases coming your way this year, and I am here to help you navigate through them. I am your financial GPS.

First let’s look at the list of items going up.

1. The cost of fueling up or vehicles.
2. The cost of electricity.
3. The cost of heating our homes.
4. The cost of feeding our families.
5. The cost of public transportation.

Well the big five. What can we do to help us come out on the positive side of these life-changing situations? I will discuss each item with tips to help you move forward in a confident manner.

The cost of fueling up or vehicles

• Make sure the tires on the vehicles are properly inflated according to the manufacturer’s recommendation.
• Keep up all service recommended by your mechanic.
• Change your oil and filters when needed.
• Avoid driving when walking is within normal limits.

The cost of electricity

• Look for sales on energy saving light bulbs and take advantage of opportunities to replace your bulbs with low energy ones.
• Turn off the lights and TV when not in the room.
• Cook meals for at least two days when using electricity before 7pm or after 7am.
• Do laundry on weekends or after 7pm in the evenings.

The cost of heating our homes 

• Lower the thermostat by 2 points, by 3 points when no one is home.
• Wear warmer clothing when at home. Like track suits and socks.
• Make sure you are not losing heat through windows and doors left open for long periods at a time.
• Replace your furnace filters regularly.
• Lower the heating cycle on your hot water heater.

The cost of feeding our families

• Check the pantry I mean all your pantries. Like the places you put the extra toilet paper, pasta, rice and flour.
• Open the kitchen cupboard; make a list of the items in your cupboard.
• The fridge, checks it out, what do you have in there. Can it be used?
• The freezer; how much meat is in there? Chicken, Pork, Beef and Seafood.
• Make a list of the items on hand.
• Use them before purchasing anything new.
• Watch your vegetable purchases. Do you like kale; because someone said it’s good for you is not a good enough reason to buy it. You must eat it.
• Only purchase items you will consume.

Public transportation 

What can we do about it? If you have to use it you must pay. Make sure you are using it to your advantage.

• Do your math, is it better to purchase a monthly pass?
• Is it better financial sense to purchase a weekly pass, if you do not use public transportation on weekends? Work the cost out and choose the one that suits your needs.

These are a few tips to help you navigate through 2017. I trust that you find them helpful, or at the very least trigger you to make some changes to keep more of your income.

Tessa-Marie