Posts By Scott Weiss, CFP®

3 Helpful Financial Tips For June [VIDEO]

· June 13, 2016 · Financial Planning, Video · , · No Comments

#1 Finish Your FAFSA

If you have kids going to college in September your FAFSA is due by the end of the month. You Should have submitted it already (particularly if you watched the financial planning To-Do’s for March), but if you’ve waited until the last minute make sure you get it in soon.

#2 Meet With Your Planner

Schedule a meeting with your certified financial planner if you didn’t meet at the beginning of the year. The halfway point is a great time to check in and see how you are doing and if your planner has any advice on how to make improvements. If you are going to meet with someone for the first time make sure you meet with a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™. The CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) designation is a professional certification mark for financial planners granted by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board). To receive authorization to use the designation, the candidate must meet education, examination, experience and ethics requirements.

#3 Check Your Budget

Time to check in on your budget! It’s been a little over six months since the start of the year. How are you doing? Do you need to make any adjustments?

Tools like First Step Cash Management can help you proactively plan and monitor your cash flow.

Organize&OptimizeCoverFor more financial planning tips, download my free report: “8 Steps to Organize and Optimize Your Financial Life”. Thanks for reading!

Sources:
1. http://www.learnvest.com/knowledge-center/your-january-2016-financial-to-dos/
2. http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2014/12/02/your-end-of-year-financial-checklist
3. http://www.forbes.com/sites/learnvest/2013/01/04/your-financial-to-dos-for-every-month-in-2013/#14fe6d3d41d4

3 Things to Know About Paying For College [VIDEO]

· June 8, 2016 · College Planning, Video · · No Comments

There’s 73 million children Living in America today and the choices they make will impact the future of your family. Unfortunately, there’s no single formula for success. However, there is one proven path that provides lifelong advantages, the path of higher education.

3 Advantages of Having a College Degree:

  1. College graduates have lifetime earnings 84% greater than those without a degree.
  2. College graduates tend to live healthier Lifestyles.
  3. College graduates have increased job satisfaction and stability.

Difficulties Paying for College:

Today most American families face growing problems paying for college. Over the last 30 years College tuition has increased nearly three times the rate of inflation. Access to Grants and scholarships is on the decline and student loan debt has ballooned over 500% in the past 10 years. In fact, student loan debt is now approaching one trillion dollars.

Over the last 30 years College tuition has increased nearly three times the rate of inflation.

While some can fund their children’s entire education most families rely on multiple sources to pay for their college expenses. Still, over 60% of families don’t have a college saving strategy.

3 Things You Need to Know:

  1. How Much Will College Cost?

  2. What Do You Need to Save?

  3. Where to Invest?

It’s never too early to start planning for your children’s education but it can be too late. Learn how much College will cost and what you need to save so you can put your children on the right path to success.

If you need help creating a college savings strategy feel free to send me an email at sweiss@weiss-financial.com.

 

How Trusts Can Help You Control Who Gets What [VIDEO]

· May 18, 2016 · Financial Planning, Video · , · No Comments

A lot of people think trusts are only for the super-wealthy which is not entirely true. A trust can benefit anyone who wants to manage how they leave their money to their family. The trust can give you control over who gets what and when, how they get it, and why.

A trust can benefit anyone who wants to manage how they leave their money to their family.

Create Containers for Your Assets

Trusts are like containers you can put things into. You the grantor can place assets like your house, life insurance policies, investments and other possessions into a trust. These assets become property of the trust and are managed by your trustee.

Pick Someone You Can Trust

You appoint a trustee to ensure your wishes are carried out. As grantor, you decide who receives the assets inside your trust. Typically, your spouse, your children, grandchildren and charities of your choice are the beneficiaries who receive the assets held in trust.

Some trusts are designed to manage who receives your assets and others may offer tax planning benefits

Decide Where Your Money Will Go

When you create a trust you determine how the funds inside your trust will be used and when they will be dispersed. For example, you may want to use assets in your trust to jump-start your children’s careers when they are 25 or supplement their retirement when they turn 60. You may want to pay college tuition expenses for your grandchildren or provide annual scholarships to your Alma Mater. Your appointed trustee ensures everything is managed according to your instructions.

There Are Many Kinds of Trusts

It’s important to know there are different kinds of trust for different purposes. Some are designed to manage who receives your assets and others may offer tax planning benefits.

Here are some examples:

  • Living Trust
  • Special Needs Trust
  • Marital Trust
  • Credit Shelter Trust
  • Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust
  • Charitable Remainder Trust
  • Qualified Personal Residential Trust

Make sure you work with financial experts so that your trust is properly structured to carry out your specific intentions. A trust can offer you and your family many financial advantages. You’ll want to talk with  an estate planning attorney find out how you can create a lasting legacy for those you love the most.

For more financial planning tips, download my free report: “8 Steps to Organize and Optimize Your Financial Life”. Thanks for reading!

Why You Need a Will and How to Create One [VIDEO]

· May 11, 2016 · Financial Planning, Video · , , · No Comments

Many people are not sure if they need a will because they don’t think they actually have an estate or they simply procrastinate in getting the document drafted. If you are wondering whether you have an estate or not, you most likely do. Simply put, if you own anything you have an estate. So, if you have any assets held outside qualified accounts (i.e. savings accounts, a house, cars, etc.) or have people you care about and/or rely on you (i.e. children, a spouse, etc.), you should have a will. The problem is most adults in America do not have a will. In fact, 58% of American adults don’t have one! So, here’s what you need to do to avoid being part of the 58%.

58% of adults in America do not have a will!

What is a Will?

A will is a legal document that defines who is going to take care of your children and outlines what to do with your assets when you’re gone. If you die without a will the state will decide who will inherit your assets. Having a will allows you, not the government, to control your assets after your death.

What is Involved in Creating a Will?

To do it right, I suggest working with a lawyer to make sure your will is structured properly so that it is valid and enforceable.

Here is a checklist of things to address:

• Name A Guardian: If your children are minors make sure you name a guardian for your kids.

• List of Assets Make a list of all your assets and where they are.

• Determine Values: Determine the values of your real estate, insurance policies, investments, business ownership, personal possessions and anything else that has economic or sentimental value to you or your family.

• Who Will Get Your Stuff?: Decide who will receive these assets and when (Typically your surviving spouse will be your primary beneficiary).

• Provide Instructions: Provide instructions on how and when to distribute assets to your children, grandchildren, and the Charities of your choice.

• Executor or trustee: Name an executor or trustee to oversee and carry out your instructions.

• Power of Attorney/Medical Directive: Grant the power of attorney to someone you trust to make health care and financial decisions if you are not able to make these decisions yourself.

• Update Regularly: Update your will every three years to make sure it fits your present situation and conforms to current state laws. This way you know your family, your loved ones, and your assets are all protected.

TIP: Update your will every 3 years to make sure it fits your present situation and conforms to current state laws.

When you have people who you care about and who count on you it’s best to prepare for the unexpected. So, if you don’t have a will in place now is the time to get going. If you do have a will but haven’t reviewed it in some time you may need to make updates.

Get Organized!

Getting all your stuff in order is one of the first steps you’ll need to take in order to prepare your will. The video below shows the online system we use to help our clients get organized. It helps gather the information you need to give your attorney so they can create your will. As a thank you for reading this post, I am offering free access to this great system to help you get started. Simply send me your email request at sweiss@weiss-financial.com and I’ll get you up and running quickly.

For more financial planning tips, download my free report: “8 Steps to Organize and Optimize Your Financial Life”. Thanks for reading!

3 Important Financial Tasks To Do May

· May 4, 2016 · Credit & Debt, Financial Planning · , , , , , , , · No Comments

While you are making plans for that memorial day cook out, schedule some time this month to take care of these important tasks to help keep your financial life on track.

#1 Check Your Credit Score

It’s a good idea to check your credit score several times throughout the year. You want to make sure you there aren’t any errors which may have caused your credit score to take a hit or you haven’t been the victim of fraud. I recommend using CreditKarma.com to check your credit score for free. You will need to sign up and answer several security questions to get access to your information but in my opinion it’s the best spot to go.

TIP: Go to CreditKarma.com to get your credit score for free!

#2 Check Your Credit Report

Your credit report is different from your credit score. The credit score is a numerical value based on information you can find in your credit report. The report will show you the record of your financial activity that’s available to creditors. You can get a copy of your report for free from AnnualCreditReport.com. Check the report for any errors or unusual activity. If you do find anything inaccurate or suspicious you’ll want to contact the agency that released the report to try and get that cleaned up. Keep in mind that there are 3 credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, and Transunion. Each agency is required to provide 1 free report every year. So, the smart move is to request your free report from one agency this month, then 4 months later request from another agency. If you spread the reporting out throughout the year you’ll will do a much better job of staying on top of any credit issues than if you get them all at once.

Tip: Go to AnnualCreditReport.com to get your free credit reports!

#3 Check Your Beneficiary Designations

This is one of the most overlooked financial tasks. Not sure what a beneficiary designation is? The designated beneficiary is the person selected by an owner of a retirement account to inherit the retirement account balance. Oftentimes people select their beneficiary (or ignore it completely) when they open their accounts but never go back to update that information over time. You want to be sure your money will go to the right people should something happen to you. That can change over time due to births, deaths, divorce, etc. So, be sure to check any insurance policies, 401(k)s, IRAs and other retirement plans and make sure the people listed to inherit your assets are in fact the people you still want the to get your money. If you haven’t even selected anyone, now is the time to it. By making the selection your assets will go to the right people, avoid probate and be less of a headache for those you care about when you are not around.

Organize&OptimizeCover

For more financial planning tips, download my free report: “8 Steps to Organize and Optimize Your Financial Life”. Thanks for reading!

 

 

Sources:
1. http://www.learnvest.com/knowledge-center/your-january-2016-financial-to-dos/
2. http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2014/12/02/your-end-of-year-financial-checklist
3. http://www.forbes.com/sites/learnvest/2013/01/04/your-financial-to-dos-for-every-month-in-2013/#14fe6d3d41d4

7 Tips to a Financially Secure Retirement

· April 27, 2016 · Financial Planning, Investing, Living Your Best Financial Life, Retirement, Spending & Saving, Video · , , , , , , · No Comments

If you haven’t retired already, at some point you’ll probably want to. Financial security in retirement doesn’t just happen. It takes planning, commitment and money. You’ll need enough money to potentially live on for at least 20 years, probably more. With the average life expectancy in the U.S. at nearly 80 and growing (1), you’ll want to be sure you can maintain the lifestyle you envision throughout your retirement years.

To help you focus on what you should be doing to succeed, here are 7 planning tips:

1. Make Saving a Habit

If you are already saving every month, awesome! Keep going! If you’re not, start now. The sooner you start the more time your money has to grow.

2. Know Your Retirement Expenses

This is much easier to do the closer you get to retirement. A twenty or thirty year old may have no idea what those numbers will eventually be. If that is you, concentrate more on the other tips. For those of you with retirement in your sightline, figure you will need AT LEAST 70% of your pre-retirement income to live comfortably. Knowing what you need is the key to getting what you need. The key to a secure retirement is to have a clearly defined goal.

3. Participate in your 401(k) or 403(b)

If your employer offers a 401(k) plan or 403(b) plan sign up and aim to contribute to the maximum. Over time, compound interest and tax deferrals can make a huge difference in the amount you accumulate for retirement.

4. Invest Wisely

Diversify your savings to reduce risk (i.e. don’t put it all on black!). In a nutshell, risk simply means how much money could you potentially lose with your investments. To check your current tolerance for risk use our free tool. It will give you something called your Risk Number™ which is a great starting place to see how much risk you can emotionally handle. You can then compare that to the Risk Number™ of your current portfolio and see if they match up or if you potentially need to make changes. Keep in mind, your investment mix may need to change over time due to age, goals, and circumstances, so it’s always a good idea to monitor your risk tolerance and portfolio allocation. Remember, financial knowledge and financial security go hand in hand.

5. Check Your Social Security Benefits

Social Security benefits provide supplemental income to you and your spouse during retirement. If you are counting on social security to bail you out, think again. Social Security provides enough for you to live around the poverty line. Check the Social Security website to see how much the government will pay you every month.

6. Ask Questions

The more you know, the better your chances of enjoying financial security in your retirement years. Talk with your accountant or financial advisor. Better yet, book a meeting with me right now! Ask questions and get good advice. Build a plan, and stick with it.

7. Make Planning for Your Retirement a Priority

Use our retirement check-up tool to find out if you are on the right track. It’s never too early or too late to start saving for your future. However, the longer you wait or leave things to chance, the less likely you will live a financially secure retirement.

“Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now.” -Alan Lakein

If you know anyone that could benefit from this advice, feel free to share this video with them. Good luck on your journey toward a financially secure retirement.

For more financial planning tips, download my free report: “8 Steps to Organize and Optimize Your Financial Life”. Thanks for reading!

How To Pay For College: 6 Smart Tips

· April 13, 2016 · College Planning, Video · , , , , , , , , · No Comments

It’s no secret that college is expensive. In fact, many colleges now cost over $50,000 a year when you include tuition, room and board, and other expenses. Now, we all want the best for our kids but how exactly can the average person afford to pay over $200,000 for a 4 year degree? The key is to start saving early and know your funding options. Here are 6 smart tips to help you pay for that dream college:

1. Use a 529 Plan

529 Plans are a great way to save for college. The contributions grow tax deferred and withdrawals are tax free if used for education expenses. For New York State residents looking to open a 529 Plan check out New York State’s 529 College Savings Program.

2. Apply for financial aid

Once you have kids attending college, always fill out the Free Application for Student Federal Aid (FAFSA), even if you don’t think you’ll qualify. There are government backed low interest loans that many parents use to defer tuition costs. The deadline for submitting the FAFSA is June 31st but you’ll want to get it in as early as possible to ensure you don’t miss out on any available aid.

3. Seek national grants

Here are some options:

4. Apply to several schools

To increase your chances of getting financial aid, make sure your child applies to several schools. The more schools they are accepted to, the more chances they will have to receive financial aid.

5. Service in exchange for tuition

These organizations offer college money in exchange for a service commitment after graduation:

6. Live at home & go to community college

Don’t rule out living at home and going to a community college for the first 2 years, then transfer to a 4 year college or university for the final 2 years. You’ll save money on tuition and room and board. This is a super smart strategy and one that many more people should consider taking advantage of. The cost of community college is much less than you’d pay at a 4 year college. If you transfer to that 4 year college in year 3 and graduate you’ll still end up with the same degree but for a fraction of the cost.

No doubt college is expensive, however the benefits for your child to attend college are quite compelling.

Video:

For more financial planning tips, download my free report: “8 Steps to Organize and Optimize Your Financial Life”. Thanks for reading!

 

3 Important Financial Tasks To Do in April

· April 6, 2016 · Financial Planning · , , , · No Comments

#1 Finish Your Taxes

For 2016 the deadline to submit your tax return is April 18th. The reason for this is that typically Washington, D.C. celebrates Emancipation Day on April 16th, the day President Abraham Lincoln signed into law a bill ending slavery in Washington, D.C. This year, however, the 16th falls on Saturday, so Emancipation day is being celebrated on April 15th and the tax filing deadline is pushed to April 18th.

Nevertheless, by April you should have your tax return completed. If not, and you can’t make the deadline for filing, April 18th is also the deadline for filing a six month extension Just keep in mind, if you owe money you will still need to pay your taxes by April 18th even if you file for an extension.

#2 Update Your W-4 Withholding

Once you’ve completed your tax return you may need to update your withholding allowance on your W-4. What’s your withholding allowance? According to Investopedia it is “the employee-claimed exemptions on the tax form W-4 that employers use to determine how much of an employee’s pay to subtract from his or her paycheck to remit to the tax authorities 1.” The more allowances you claim, the less income tax will be withheld from your paycheck.

How do you know if you need to update your withholding allowances? Well, are you getting money back? Do you owe any money? Either way if those are large numbers you should consider changing the number of allowances you are claiming on your W-4. Speak to your tax preparer to help you figure out what changes you should make.

#3 Spring Cleaning

It’s great that Spring and Taxes go hand in hand because it gives you the opportunity to purge once you’ve completed your return. You’ll want to shred documents you no longer need and file those you do. Better yet, start using an online filing system like FileThis to help you automatically aggregate all your electronic documents. This way you don’t have to deal with paper at all!

Wondering how long you need to keep your documents? Here’s the basic rule: Keep records for 3 years from the date you filed your original return or 2 years from the date you paid the tax, whichever is later. For more details on how long to keep your documents, read this post on the IRS website.

For more financial planning tips, download my free report: “8 Steps to Organize and Optimize Your Financial Life”. Thanks for reading!

The Golden Rule for Financial Success

· March 23, 2016 · Credit & Debt, Spending & Saving, Video · , , · No Comments

This seemingly simple task is nearly impossible for many of us to do consistently and successfully. But, if you learn the rule early and stick to it, you will be well on your way toward financial freedom. So, what is the Golden Rule? Spend less than you earn.

Spend < Earn

Many of you working with us already know the rule. However, be sure to share this essential advice with your kids and grandkids to help set them up for financial success.

If this is the first time you are hearing this advice, pay attention. Spending less than you earn is the first step toward creating a REAL financial strategy. If you spend more than you make the only place you can go is into debt. When your debt becomes unmanageable you lose your financial independence. This means you may have trouble affording to do the things in life you want to.

The Benefits

When you spend less than you earn you can have money to:

My Advice

Regularly set aside money the same way you would pay any other bill. By doing this, you carve out savings from what you earn as if it were an expense.

“Never Spend Your Money Before You Have It” -Thomas Jefferson

Think of it as the cost of purchasing your financial freedom! As a rule of thumb, aim to save at least 10% of what you make.

What to Do if You are in Debt?

If you are deep in debt, get educated about your money and create a plan to dig out. You will need to find ways to:

  • Decrease your expenses
  • Maximize your savings

Online tools like First Step Cash Management, YouNeedaBudget.com, and Mint.com can help you monitor and control your cash flow. In addition, clients of Weiss Financial Group can track their spending in their Secure Client Website. I’ve found that these online tools really help you understand where your money is going so you can make informed decisions about your spending habits.

Video:

If you know anyone that could benefit from this advice, feel free to share this video with them. Good luck on your journey toward financial independence.

For more financial planning tips, download my free report: “8 Steps to Organize and Optimize Your Financial Life”. Thanks for reading!