Showing posts with label moneytalk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label moneytalk. Show all posts

MoneyTalk: Back to school shopping tips

Sunday, August 6, 2023

With fall just a month away, we all know what this means: it’s almost time for kids to go back to school.

Returning to school can be stressful for many reasons, not to mention financially challenging. Whether the students in your life are just starting their academic career, are returning to college or are somewhere in between, it’s important to budget carefully to ensure you’re giving your kids the best start to their upcoming school year.

To help you prioritize your spending and save money this 2023-24 school season, below are useful tips from BECU Lead Financial Educator Stacey Black.


BECU Lead Financial Educator Stacey Black
Think through your shopping list

When creating your back to school budget and shopping list, it’s important to think of everything. For example, don’t forget school pictures, extracurricular activities, instruments and even book fairs. 

Also, it’s okay if you can’t cover everything right away, but creating this list will help you see what you need to tackle first.

Provide (some) financial autonomy

Consider giving your student a budget and letting them shop on their own. 

Whether it’s for school clothes or new supplies, this will help them learn the importance of creating a budgeting and sticking to it.

“I did this for my own kids and they switched from shopping at department stores to discount retailers before I could even suggest it,” said Black.
 
Be a smart shopper

When shopping for back to school, check local consignment shops, thrift shops and local buy/sell groups.

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised by some great finds,” said Black. 

Your local dollar store could also be great place to buy school supplies on a budget. Additionally, don’t feel like you need to buy a whole new wardrobe before school starts – consider spreading out the spending over several months to make it easier on your budget.

Teach financial lessons

Although you may save money by leaving the kids at home and buying all items yourself, back to school shopping is a great time to sneak in some financial lessons. Choose age appropriate ways for your kids to participate. 

“Whether it’s talking about needs versus wants, or comparing deals at different stores, take this time to have conversations around finances and the importance of budgeting,” said Black.

Plan ahead for next year

After all is said and done, calculating how much you spent in total can help you get ahead of the game for next year. Add up what you spent this year and divide it by 12. This is roughly how much you need to save each month to be ready for the following school year.


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MoneyTalk: 4 Tips for a Budget-Friendly Summer Vacation

Sunday, July 2, 2023

Stacey Black, BECU Lead Financial Educator
You don't need to break the bank for a summer vacation. Stacey Black, BECU Lead Financial Educator, shares tips for a budget-friendly summer vacation.

Research and Plan

Once you have chosen a potential destination, spend time looking into the costs of anything vacation-related. 

It’s not just the big-ticket items like hotels, meals and airfare that add up quickly, but also the smaller items like sunscreen and snacks. 

Are there side excursions to consider? Paid activities? Being realistic about your expectations will help ward off disappointment later. 

Also, consider looking into travel insurance in case plans fall through or unexpectedly change.

  • Other tip: since hotels can be pricey, why not consider staying with friends or family? Not only will you get to spend some quality time together, but you’ll also get the added benefit of local recommendations from someone with firsthand knowledge.
Dig for discounts: 

Explore travel websites, apps and other sources to see what vacation packages are available for your destination. Your financial institution may even offer great deals as well (for example, BECU offers member discounts with Passport Unlimited!). Or, consider fixing the majority of your own meals and limiting yourself to one restaurant meal per day to reduce food expenses. However, with any deal or discount, make sure you do your due diligence to ensure the offer and/or website is legitimate and isn’t actually a scam.

Prioritize your wish list: 

After conducting your research, Black recommends prioritizing the big-ticket items and identifying where you want to invest. For example, are you interested in travelling internationally or domestically? Would you rather stay in a 5-star hotel or explore shared lodging? Ask yourself these types of questions beforehand to ensure you stay within your budget.
  • Other tip: Staycations are another great option since you minimize the expenses that would have been spent on things like airfare and rental cars. Visit a hot new restaurant, explore a tourist attraction you loved as a kid or consider a midday sports event! There’s sure to be endless fun right in your own backyard! For example, visit your local farmer’s market, public library events or perhaps a neighborhood block party close by.

Use budgeting tools: 

Once you have a set budget for your vacation, it’s important to stick with it. “When I go on vacation, I always use the envelope system to save money,” says Black. “I will designate a certain amount of money into an envelope for each day of my trip so I know just how much I am going to spend daily.” Apps like BECU’s Money Manager also help you set timely alerts and make you aware of when you might be going over your budget while on vacation.


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MoneyTalk for Couples: Should you get your kid a credit card?

Monday, June 5, 2023

Stacey Black, BECU Lead Financial Educator
By Stacey Black
BECU Lead Financial Educator

When it comes to any relationship, aligning on money matters is important as it plays a pivotal role in every aspect of a couple’s life.

Although talking about finances may not be the most fun conversation to have, there’s no doubt it’s an important one that can have long-term impact.

To make defining your relationship with money easier as a couple, BECU Lead Financial Educator Stacey Black suggests that you continue the conversation with this question:

• Should you get your kid a credit card? 

Parents want to get credit cards for their children for different reasons. Maybe they want to help jumpstart their credit, or maybe they want to teach them about budgeting, saving and spending. 

Having a clear idea about why you want your child to have a credit card can help you make the best choices for your family.

Different types of credit and debit cards have varying features that can help you accomplish different goals. These come with different levels of responsibility for you and your child, ranging from all the responsibility on the adult to all the responsibility on the child. 

The easiest way to help your teen build credit is to add your under-18-year-old as an authorized user to your card account. Different card issuers set minimum age requirements for authorized users. 

An authorized card gives you a chance to teach your child valuable money lessons, including:
  • Good credit habits: budgeting and how to set spending limits
  • Bills: how to read a credit card bill
  • Monthly payments: seeing parent(s) make regular, timely payments
  • Credit usage: spending less than 30% of their credit line
  • Interest: why and how interest payments affect how much you owe
  • Although not technically a credit card, a debit card might be a good place to start with your younger teen before adding them to your credit card account as an authorized user. 
    • But use caution: debit card purchases aren’t protected like credit card purchases. 
    • A lost card could be a direct line to draining a checking account. 
    • A child or teen checking account often makes a debit card available for kids.
The Shoreline BECU branch is located in Gateway Plaza at N 185th and Aurora.



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MoneyTalk for Couples: What is your credit score?

Monday, May 1, 2023

Stacey Black BECU Lead Financial Educator
When it comes to any relationship, aligning on money matters is important as it plays a pivotal role in every aspect of a couple’s life.

Although talking about finances may not be the most fun conversation to have, there’s no doubt it’s an important one that can have long-term impact.

To make defining your relationship with money easier as a couple, BECU Lead Financial Educator Stacey Black suggests that you continue the conversation with this question:

What is your credit score? 

Another important part of your financial future includes awareness of each other’s credit situations. 

Do you or your significant other have bad credit? Are they carrying large sums of debt, or have they defaulted on loans? 

A poor credit history could drastically hinder your ability to plan ahead and achieve your goals, so conducting this type of “financial background check” ahead of time is crucial.

Credit reports contain information about your credit activity and current credit situation such as loan paying history and the status of your credit accounts, but it also contains other information that is important for you to review together. 

This includes:
  • Identifying information: periodically, it’s important to review to make sure your name and address are correct. If not, it could be an indication of fraud.
  • Account history: this is the biggest section on your credit report and has information about each of your credit accounts, including how you’ve paid
  • Public records: this section includes negative financial information like bankruptcies, lawsuit judgements and tax liens
  • Credit inquiries: this section lists everyone who’s accessed your credit report in the past two years
For those without credit, a secured credit card provides the opportunity to start building credit responsibly. A secured card requires you to make a security deposit, which is used as collateral in case of default on the loan and can help people feel more invested to make payments.

Of course, there are pros and cons of cosigning a loan or credit card for your significant other:
  • Pros: helping someone build good credit by cosigning a loan, for example, can change that person’s life for the better and have positive impacts on your relationship
  • Cons: 
    • As a cosigner, it’s your good credit that’s backing the loan. If your significant other misses a payment, that late payment history goes on your credit report.
    • When applying for credit cards or loans, credit card issuers and financial institutions look at what’s called your debt-to-income ratio to determine approval and the credit limit or loan amount for which you qualify. If you’re a cosigner on a large loan, that’s going to raise your debt-to-income ratio, causing some creditors to back away because they think you have too much debt.
The Shoreline BECU branch is located at Gateway Plaza at N 185th and Aurora.



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MoneyTalk for Couples: What are examples of red flags

Sunday, March 26, 2023

Stacey Black, BECU Lead Financial Educator
When it comes to any relationship, aligning on money matters is important as it plays a pivotal role in every aspect of a couple’s life.

Although talking about finances may not be the most fun conversation to have, there’s no doubt it’s an important one that can have long-term impact.

To make defining your relationship with money easier as a couple, BECU Lead Financial Educator Stacey Black suggests that you continue the conversation with this question:

• What are examples of red flags?

There are things you can pay close attention to if you’re early on in a relationship or at a point where you may want to dive into a next step, like marriage or moving in together. 

Black suggests watching out for “red flags” when it comes to your partner’s money habits that might point to a future of financial uncertainty.

For instance, pay attention if your partner absolutely doesn’t want to talk about money, or if you find out they haven’t been truthful about their finances. Another red flag is if you notice your partner consistently makes late payments on bills or has bad credit history. This could make getting loans together more difficult.
 
Finally, if you see that your discussion around financial goals yields different responses, they may be a warning sign as well. It’s imperative to have discussions and build guidelines around money management that work for both of you.



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MoneyTalk for Couples: How should you split up bills?

Sunday, February 26, 2023

BECU Lead Financial Educator Stacey Black
When it comes to any relationship, aligning on money matters is important as it plays a pivotal role in every aspect of a couple’s life.

Although talking about finances may not be the most fun conversation to have, there’s no doubt it’s an important one that can have long-term impact.

To make defining your relationship with money easier as a couple, BECU Lead Financial Educator Stacey Black suggests that you continue the conversation with this question:

How should you split up bills? 

If you and your partner are moving in together, it’s important to discuss how bills will be divided

Specifically, sit down and review your accounts and bills. Figure out how to divvy up bills before you and your partner move in together. Will they be split 50/50? Will the person earning a larger income contribute more? Asking these types of questions prior to cohabitating will lessen confusion in the long run.

Then, of course, there’s the age-old question when it comes to long-term couples: to combine finances or not to combine finances? 

There are many ways to do this, such as pooling your income into one account, keeping them strictly separate or some combination of the two. “I once worked with a couple where one person was a spender and the other was a saver. For this reason, I suggested they keep separate checking accounts but have one joint account solely for paying bills,” said Black.

Additionally, some couples ultimately choose to keep separate accounts so they feel financially independent in terms of where they can spend their money and save as much as they choose. 

“My ex and I each had our own spending account, and each had a set amount budgeted to spend however we liked,” said Black. “We had our main account for everything else, but we weren’t on each other’s spending accounts.”

Consider date nights focused on a financial check-in. 

This includes reviewing your savings account(s), financial goals and budgeting aspirations. "Pour yourselves a glass of wine or drink of choice, make a later dinner reservation or queue up your favorite movie. 

Having your financial check-ins bookended by a fun date night activity makes them feel less tedious and more enjoyable,” said Black. With or without the wine, Black recommends scheduling a financial review once or twice a month, and first touching on lighter topics like financial goals before diving into the nitty-gritty of things like debt.

See previous MoneyTalk article



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MoneyTalk for Couples: What are your financial goals

Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Stacey Black, BECU Financial Advisor
By Stacey Black, BECU Financial Advisor

When it comes to any relationship, aligning on money matters is important as it plays a pivotal role in every aspect of a couple’s life. 

Although talking about finances may not be the most fun conversation to have, there’s no doubt it’s an important one that can have long-term impact.

To make defining your relationship with money easier as a couple, BECU Lead Financial Educator Stacey Black suggests that you kickstart the conversation with this question:

What are your financial goals? 

Black recommends that you don’t dive into a “money talk” that’s all about spreadsheets, budgets and paying your bills – that’s a recipe to stress both of you out. 

Instead, start with a broader conversation about your financial goals – do you want to buy a house? What type of lifestyle do you want to live? 

Then, create realistic goals you can both actually live by and make sure you’re on the same page when it comes to short- and long-term plans. This will open up broader conversations about money and also help to see if you are on the same page when it comes to short-term and long-term financial goals around saving, spending, budgeting and reducing debt.
 
For example, when creating goals around your emergency fund, Black recommends saving for at least three months of expenses. 

“However, for many people this can be overwhelming. Don’t get discouraged. What’s most important is to get into the habit of saving. Set goals you can actually achieve within a shorter amount of time,” said Black. 

In addition, each couple can start by learning about the 50-20-30 rule and tracking their spending each month. 

Here’s how the 50-20-30 rule works:
  • 50% of your income should go toward your everyday needs, including rent, utilities and other items like groceries and transportation.
  • 20% of your income goes toward your financial goals, such as saving and reducing debt.
  • 30% of your income is typically used for items you want versus need, such as outings or travel expenses.
Try creating a spending journal together to see how and where you’re spending your money and divide each spend into one of these three categories. Keep in mind that this approach is one general rule of thumb – you can always adjust to meet your collective budgeting goals.


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