This Week In Your Wallet: The B+ Economy & Your Money
Here’s the scenario: Your child comes home with a report card full of B+’s. Not A’s. Not B’s. Not C’s (thankfully). How do you feel? Now imagine it’s not your child. It’s the U.S. economy, and that’s the grade the experts think it deserves — not just now, but for the foreseeable future. There are many reasons behind this good-but-not-great grade, explains CNNMoney: cheap oil and car sales that are motoring along, for two. On the flip side, we have a weak manufacturing sector and stagnant wages. And then there are jobs.
The February jobs number came in last week and trounced estimates. It inspired Bob Doll, chief equity strategist at Nuveen Asset Management, to tell CNNMoney, “The probability of a recession in my mind this year is close to zero.” Not bad.
So, what if you’re casting about for new opportunities? Maybe you’ll even get multiple offers? Or maybe you’ll have to decide if leaving the one you have today for one on the table makes financial sense. The folks at Fidelity have a new tool — a calculator, actually — to help you figure out whether to stay at your current job or go for a new one based on income, taxes, cost of living and benefits like profit sharing and retirement plan match. It’s especially helpful if accepting the offer would mean a move.
Getting Paid After Paychecks
If you’re on the other side of the work curve — i.e., thinking about paying yourself in retirement — perhaps you’ve thought about how you’re going to turn your nest egg into an income stream. Or… maybe not. Just 52% of pre-retirees say they have a plan to pay themselves in retirement, according to a survey from Ameriprise Financial. Even more — 55% — say they’re worried about using their money too quickly (not surprising, by the way, because other research has found people more worried about running out of money than they are about death). The good news is that once people actually enter retirement, the number who knows how they’re going to generate an income jumps to 85%. If you’re between here and there, it’s not a bad idea (in fact, it’s a good one) to sit down with a financial advisor and talk about the sort of income solutions that may work for you.
Budget is a Six-Letter Word
One way to boost the income you can pay yourself down the road is to figure out a way to spend a little less — and save a little more — in the meantime. Have trouble with that? Don’t beat yourself up too much, because so do nearly half of American households. Credit.com put a finger on the most common reasons budgets fail. Among them:
They’re unrealistic. Be completely honest with the numbers — if you know you’re undoubtedly going to spend $250 on groceries, write that down. If your car is a bit of a gas-guzzler, take note of the actual amount you spend on each tank. Track your spending over the course of a month or two to settle on accurate numbers.
Forgetting items. Do you have a longstanding subscription to your favorite magazine or a television streaming service? Is your best friend’s birthday coming up next month? Don’t forget to look ahead. Acknowledge those things and put some money aside for them.
Not making changes to account for life. Your copay went from $10 to $25 (mine did). The dog needed his teeth cleaned (again, mine). Life happens, and if you don’t take that into account when you’re looking at your monthly outlay, the numbers aren’t going to line up at month’s end.
You can find the full list here.
If Time Is Money, Then Budget It
Oh, and while we’re talking about your budget, you can (and should) manage your time just like you manage your money, according to DailyWorth. It all starts with creating a time budget and finding the “leaks” in your schedule. First, take stock of where your time is going, even those seemingly insignificant minutes you might spend scrolling through Facebook, checking your phone or (ahem) shopping. Minutes add up, and you may be surprised to find how much time in your day is going towards seemingly insignificant distractions.
Apps like Moment and Checky can help there. After finding out where your time is going, minimize distractions by using temporary site-blocking software or setting aside 20 minutes during the workday just to check your phone and social media. Try working for half an hour and then getting up to move around for five minutes. If you play it right, you can make the most of your time — and get your 10,000 steps in.
If You Rewear The Same Thing Tomorrow, Will Anyone Notice?
Finally, I got a laugh out of this Yahoo Finance piece about three colleagues who agreed that they’d wear the same thing to work… for a week. Their question: Would anyone notice? Would anyone care? My answer: I did something just like this a few years back for the Today show. It was an experiment called “6 Items or Less,” where you choose 6 items of clothing — not counting underwear, shoes and exercise clothes — and that’s all you get for a full 30 days. I saved time. I saved money. But I never wore either of those dresses again. Check it out.
Have a great week,
Jean
