March 2009
You are currently browsing the articles from Utah Financial Planner written in the month of March 2009.
If you’re not in the habit of investing or saving now is a good time to begin – when you get your tax refund. Most people are getting some sort of tax refund now or very soon. It can be tough to save if you are spending practically everything you make. While you adjust your spending habits, you really need an emergency fund. Then you need to invest for the future (long term).
It’s easy to spend your tax refund on extra things you don’t really need. My tip is to resist that temptation and instead start a savings account. I really like ING Direct an online savings site. If your savings is a little out of your normal routine and you set it up so it comes out of your checking account automatically it discourages you from spending the money unless you absolutely must spend it.
If you already have a savings account, your tax refund may be extra money that you can invest. A Utah Financial Planner can help you with that. You don’t have to start big – but just starting is key.
Written by admin on March 28th, 2009 with no comments.
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It’s the time of year for taxes and we just got ours finished. It’s a big job even with our CPA. When people come in for a consultation my husband asks them to bring their tax forms. He can often point out things to look into. However, he’s not a tax preparer. Right now many people are doing their taxes and getting lost. They’re calling their financial planner for tax help with TurboTax (or other tax software).
Please remember that while he might be able to refer you to someone for tax help, your finanicial planner doesn’t support tax software or help you do your taxes. Thank you.
Written by admin on March 27th, 2009 with no comments.
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My husband’s credit card number was stolen yesterday. It wasn’t online – he never buys anything online. We’re not sure how someone got the number. He first learned of the problem when First Command Bank called about some of the charges. Of all the credit card companies I’ve ever worked with I prefer First Command. This only solidified my preference.
First Command Bank caught the problem quickly and we canceled the card. That was simple. The next part isn’t. Many people (like us) automate payments with a credit card. That means the mortgage, insurance, and other payments are charged to a credit card automatically. But now that credit card is canceled. And it will be about 10 days before we get a new card. That’s a problem.
Tip: Make a list of all of your credit card auto drafts with contact information. Put it in a secure place – like a safe.
Did you know that you’ll get charged service fees (about $25 a pop) if your card is declined? Even if it was canceled. Even if it wasn’t your fault. If you think of all of the various accounts that use this card, it could get very expensive. So you have to manually call each one and set up another way to pay those bills. Then when we get the new card we’ll have to call again. It will save you a lot of time if you have a list.
Getting a credit card stolen is stressful. Luckily it’s more hassle than cost in the end – but we learned some things going through this. Hopefully you can avoid having this happen to you.
(Brought to you by the Utah Financial Planner blog)
Written by admin on March 27th, 2009 with no comments.
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Last night my favorite Terry Moran of Nightline covered Alzheimer’s disease. He even had himself tested for it (he had a 19% chance of developing the disease). His wife was there, they showed pictures of his mother who died with the disease. It was poignant and very brave of him to report on such a personal topic and include himself.
Meryl Comer was also on the show. She has aged significantly since I’ve seen her. She was on the show live as she read her own chances of getting the disease. It was over 30%. She also revealed that her mother now has the disease. She’s been caring for her own husband for 15 years! She is my hero. Somehow I don’t think she’ll die with the disease because she will probably die before she gets it. The disease takes the lives of caregivers and her life is a labor of love for her husband and now her mother.
Nightline makes it tough to link to individual shows (read: impossible) or I’d link to the exact story. Again, just like Meryl urged people in her speech to us, look into long term care insurance. This disease can bankrupt you (along with others that you’re more likely to get as you age). Talk to a Utah financial planner and see what your options are.
Written by admin on March 26th, 2009 with no comments.
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At one of the First Command Financial Planner’s meetings I attended I heard journalist Meryl Comer speak about her husband’s fight with Alzheimer’s disease. She talked about how much care and the high cost that was depleting their savings even though they were wealthy.
Today I heard NPR’s Talk of the Nation guests talk about a task force studying Alzheimer’s. You can listen by clicking on the link – and I highly recommend that you do listen to it.
Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor spoke about her husband who has the disease. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and former Surgeon General David Satcher are also on the interview.
They talk about the extremely high cost – that it would take a stimulus package every 6 months to fund the expense of caring for baby boomers with the disease. They spoke of the stats that if you hit 80 years old you’re chances of getting Alzheimer’s disease is about half!! One in two!
Caring for someone with the disease is 24/7. In other words as the disease progresses you can’t leave a person by themselves day or night. It takes an enormous toll on families and marriages no matter how strong. It’s also very expensive to hire help or respite care because the disease can go on for years.
- Definition of Long-term care insurance.
- Long term care insurance is a type of insurance designed to help pay for services that provide assistance with specific activities of daily living a person cannot perform by himself or herself. These services may be provided in an assisted living facility, nursing home, adult day care center or private home.
First Command Financial planners in Utah highly recommend looking at long term care insurance as a way to manage the high cost of long term care due to Alzheimer’s or other chronic diseases. Call 801-703-2150 to request a free consultation from Stephen or use our contact form and he’ll contact you.
Written by admin on March 25th, 2009 with no comments.
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The Savvy Shopper tells how she saves hundreds on her grocery bill using coupons. She is an expert! I use coupons but not to this level.
She works for the Provo Daily Herald and her name is Amy. Here are some tips she gave:
- Coupons are the same as cash and combined with sales can be one of the best investments there are
- Look for coupons in the aisles of your store (black boxes that hold coupons with a blinking red light)
- Look for coupons that print off at checkout
- Look for coupons attached to products you want to buy
- Buy items in multiples in one shopping trip
- Call manufacturers and they often offer to send you coupons
She has a series of videos about Utah coupon shopping tips that are so helpful. Did you know you can get up to 5 copies of the Daily Herald at a big discount to get coupons.
Invest the money you save with a qualified Utah Financial Planner.
Written by admin on March 22nd, 2009 with no comments.
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