As one of Dave Ramsey's Smartvestor Pros, you can imagine thtat we are passionate about helping people to achieve their money goals and be able to save more! As we head into the New Year, it is typically a time that people start thinking about their money goals a little more. It's always a great time to find new ways to save more money. Maybe you are wanting to build your emergency fund or contribute more into your retirement accounts... either way, finding a few ways to cut back will add up fast! 5 Uniques Ways To Save Money Shop Your Home & Auto Insurance. Dave Ramsey recently shared an article about his #1 way to save money and the article talks about shopping your insurance with an independent agent. Independent insurance agents can shop among a bunch of different companies in order to find you the best rate. We work with some amazing insuarance agents here at Whitaker-Myers* who are all independent insurance agents and would love the opportunity to help you! Cancel Your Memberships and Subscriptions. This is a good time of year to pull out last year’s bank statements to look at what subscriptions and memberships you got charged for last year and never used. (Or didn’t use very much.) Audible, the gym, Amazon Prime… they are all great memberships to have, IF you are actually using them. If not, cancel it and save the money! Detox Your Social Media and Inbox. You might be subconsciously shopping only because you see that Target and Nordstrom are having amazing sales. Use Unroll.me to easily unsubscribe from those emails so you aren’t tempted by them anymore. Also, maybe you love following that fashion or beauty blogger on Instagram but you find that you “swipe up” and shop just a little too much. Un-follow for a little while to build your savings! Make a List of Easy Go-To Meals. I hear all the time from people that they would like to save money by eating out less. This is a hard habit to break, I get it. Try this…Make a list of EASY go-to meals and make sure you have the ingredients in your house. Then, instead of heading to the drive thru on busy nights, make a quick and easy meal at home. You don’t have to be fancy… your easy go-to meals might include things like eggs, waffles, chicken nuggets, spaghetti, or frozen pizza. They might not necessarily be the healthiest options but the drive thru isn’t either! Set Reminders. Did you realize you could use a new snow shovel or new Winter boots? Set a reminder to look for those in a couple months when they are putting them on sale to bring in Spring and Summer merchandise. What about those free trials you signed up for? Make sure you set a reminder in your phone to cancel those before you get charged. We hope these ideas got you thinking of new ways to save money in 2020! Happy New Year! *Insurance products offered through Whitaker-Myers Insurance Group and licensed agents.

As one of Dave Ramsey’s Smartvestor Pros, it is common for us to meet clients who have heard Dave talk about using a Roth IRA to save for retirement. Sometimes they have heard Dave talk about this but they don’t completely understand what it is or the “why” behind it. As Dave Ramsey always says, you should never put money into something that you don’t understand. That is why your Financial Planner should have the “heart of a teacher”. In this article, we will walk you through some of the features of a Roth IRA but it is always best to talk to a Financial Planner about your specific situation. To be clear, Dave recommends that you hold off on any sort of investing until you complete the first 3 Baby Steps, which are (1) to build a $1,000 starter emergency fund, (2) Pay off all non-mortgage debt using the “debt snowball” and (3) save three to six months of expenses (note expenses, not income) in savings. Dave Ramsey has 7 Baby Steps in total and you can see all of them on his website. What Is A Roth IRA? A Roth IRA is a personal retirement savings plan that offers certain tax benefits to encourage retirement savings. What are those tax benefits? Unlike a Traditional IRA, where you are putting in pre-tax dollars, a Roth IRA has the individual contribute after tax dollars. Like a Traditional IRA, the investments inside of a Roth IRA grows tax deferred, but unlike a Traditional IRA, if certain conditions are met, distributions (including both contributions and investment earnings) will be completely tax free at the Federal level. That’s where the fun comes in – let’s assume, our friend, Sally Client, who is 30 years old has worked the Baby Steps and is now on Baby Steps 4, 5 and 6, thus she is saving 15% of her household income into retirement. Sally’s income is $50,000 and through her company provided 401(K) Plan she’s eligible to receive a 5% match on all contributions. Thus Sally contributes the 5% (which is $2,500 per year plus another $2,500 in company match) and to round out her Baby Step 4 she’ll be investing 10% (to get to our total of 15% of household income) or $5,000 in her Roth IRA. Sally decides she’ll be retiring at age 60 and over her 30-year career she would have contributed $150,000 to her Roth IRA, however based on an 8% rate of return, the account value is $566,416.06. That means Sally has earned $416,416.06 that she has never and will never pay any federal taxes on! What determines if you are eligible for a Roth IRA? You must have received taxable compensation during the year (the exception to this is spouses that do not earn an income, as long as you are married filing jointly.) You must be under certain income limitations (discuss this with your Financial Planner) You must not have already contributed the annual maximum to your Traditional IRA. 7 Other Benefits of the Roth IRA: Fewer restrictions on making withdrawals prior to retirement. Your funds can stay in a Roth IRA longer than a Traditional IRA (no required minimum distributions) You can contribute even if covered by an employer-sponsored retirement plan (401K) Investment choices are broad and diverse When you die, your beneficiaries may pay no income tax on proceeds Contributions are discretionary (up to IRS annual dollar limits) “Catch-up” contributions are allowed if you’re 50 or older Still have questions about the Roth IRA? Be sure to reach out to a Financial Planner to talk through your specific situation. This is a hypothetical illustration and is not intended to reflect the actual performance of any particular security. Future performance cannot be guaranteed and investment yields will fluctuate with market conditions. The information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that the foregoing material is accurate or complete. Any information is not a complete summary or statement of all available data necessary for making an investment decision and does not constitute a recommendation.

It's the holiday season and chances are, you will either be hosting or attending quite a few dinners! If you are hosting and are looking for a few ways to save a little money, this post is for you! 8 Ways to Host on a Budget Consider buying inexpensive serving dishes and tablecloths. If you are in need of some extra tablecloths and serving dishes, don't be afraid to check out the dollar stores. Sometimes you can find great items there at great prices. Buy Fresh Flowers from the Grocery Store. Many times, your local grocery store will have fresh flowers at really reasonable prices. If you buy the dollar store tablecloths and then jazz up the table with fresh flowers, you’ll be set! Ask everyone to bring a dish. If your guests ask what they can bring, don't be afraid to give them a few ideas off of the menu you have planned. People want to help and feel like they contributed and it will help you save money and time as well! Set a budget. You knew I had to go here, right?! Setting a budget for how much you are going to spend will help you to be sure you aren’t overspending. Include everything you need for the party in the budget. That would include everything from silverware, to food, drinks, desserts, decorations, etc! Remember that store and brand choices matter. When you head out to shop, be sure to choose a store that has great prices. Also, being mindful of brand choices will help you save money. I know some people are brand loyal and truth be told… I used to be. But once I discovered how much it saves to buy off-brands… I haven’t looked back. And honestly, I can’t really tell a difference in taste! Keep appetizers simple. If you decide to serve appetizers, keep them simple. A vegetable tray, or a tray of crackers and cheese, or bread and oil are all great options! Go simple on the drinks. There is nothing wrong with keeping drinks simple! Here are a few ideas to keep the drinks inexpensive and still have fun with them. Serve coffee and buy seasonal coffee flavors and/or seasonal coffee creamers. Serve hot chocolate and marshmallows for the kiddos (and adults too!) Get seasonally flavored teas and serve them either hot or iced or both. Make Homemade Punch. Eat the left overs. Okay, this doesn’t help you save money on the dinner you are hosting but it does help you save on that week’s grocery bill! I know eating the same exact meal day after day can get boring, so mix it up! We will turn the turkey into a soup, eat it on sandwiches, or put it on a salad. This helps you be frugal by stretching the dollars of the one meal into a couple more and also helps you not have to cook every night. Win-Win! Bonus Tip: While you are at the dollar store picking up the serving dishes and tablecloths, pick up a few toys, coloring books, activity books, or sticker sets for the kiddos. They have quite a big selection of those types of things and they make the perfect (inexpensive) new toy to keep the kids occupied while you are making and serving dinner!

I am always looking for ways to make the holiday season more enjoyable, less stressful, and less expensive. Doesn't that sound like something we all want?! Most of us enjoy buying gifts for our loved ones but what do you do if your budget is a little tighter or if you can't think of anything to get that special someone on your list? Today I am sharing 6 Non-Traditional or Alternative gift ideas that may be less expensive than a traditional gift and they may also have more value and meaning than a physical gift. 6 Non-Traditional or Alternative Gift Ideas Experience Gifts- If you can't think of something to buy your loved ones, consider planning an "experience" with them. This could be a membership to a local zoo, or a stay-cation, or maybe dinner and a movie. Buy it ahead of time or write it in a card and give that to them as their gift. So many times an experience will be a memory that will last far longer than a physical gift. Contribute to Kids' Savings- If you are a Grandparent or Aunt or Uncle and are unsure of what to get the kiddos in your life, consider talking to their parents about contributing to a savings for them. You can save into a 529 Plan or an ESA which are accounts designed specifically for college. Or you can contribute into an investment UTMA account where the money can be invested but it can be used at any time for the child's benefit, not just specifically for college. Spend Time Together- If your family still buys gifts for the adults and you are not sure what to get your sister or brother-in-law, consider skipping gifts and instead spend the money to go out to a nice dinner together. This is something we do on both my side of the family and my husband's. We call it "Sibling Day" where all of us siblings (and our spouses) get together and go out for a nice meal and maybe an event as well. Our parents watch our kids for us and we get to spend time together which is something we don't get to do near enough now that we are all adults! It's so much fun and I highly recommend it! Have Dinner Catered- If you and your family bond over making dinner in the kitchen, this tip may not be for you. However, if making (and cleaning up) dinner is a little stressful for you, consider skipping the gifts this year and have everyone chip in to have dinner catered. This allows you more quality time to spend together because you don't have to worry about cooking or cleaning up! House Cleaning Package- You may be nervous to buy this for someone and it is definitely something that you should make sure the person would appreciate but I think if you have new parents on your gift-buying list, they would LOVE a gift like this. Also, busy families or those that travel a lot may love this gift as well. Be Generous! Instead of buying each other a gift, consider deciding on a charity that your family would like to support and put your money together to donate to them! As Dave Ramsey always says, giving is the most fun you will ever have with money! I hope some of these ideas have inspired you to think outside of the box this holiday season. You don't have to always buy a traditional gift or spend a certain amount of money. Consider changing it up and you just may be surprised by how much joy it brings you! Happy Holidays!

I know, I know… it isn’t even Halloween yet and I’m talking about Christmas! Don’t worry, I’m not trying to rush the year along! However, I am trying to help you save money for Christmas in 2 months so that you don’t have to put gifts on a credit card. I don’t know anything that will make the holidays more stressful than paying for all the gifts with your credit card. Sure, you don’t have to pay for it before Christmas but do you really want to start the New Year deeply in debt? That’s not fun. So, instead… I’d like to help you by offering you 10 ways to save for Christmas in 2 months. 10 Ways to Save for Christmas in 2 Months Switch to a “Cable Alternative.” Let’s face it, traditional cable is expensive. If you switch to a free or inexpensive cable alternative, you could save big. There are all kinds of streaming services that are cheaper than traditional cable and this artcile from Dave Ramsey lists 14 of them. Pack Your Lunch. For the next 2 months, commit to packing your lunch and put that $5 (or let’s be honest… $10) per day that you would have spent on lunch in your Christmas fund. Sell Some Stuff. What do you have around your house that you don’t need or want anymore? Sell it! This is nice because it gives you money towards your Christmas fund! It also frees up space in your house. Which is good in preparation for the Christmas gifts that your family will receive this year. Make Your PSL at Home. I know, it’s Fall and you need that pumpkin spice latte. Listen, from one coffee (& pumpkin) lover to another, I am not going to deny you of that but I will try to convince you to make it at home. Pick up some pumpkin coffee flavoring and make them at home and you will save money! Use Coupon (and cash back) Apps. Whether you are shopping for groceries, household items, clothing, or Christmas gifts be sure you are using coupon and cash back apps. From Ebates (now Rakuten) to iBotta to Checkout 51 and more... there are lots of cash back apps that can help you save money! I know you won’t make tons of money from the cash back in just 2 months but it all adds up over time. Do a Spending Freeze. Have you ever tried this? The idea is you pick a week (or two) and you commit to not buying anything that week. You can, of course, buy gas for your car or pay a bill that is due but other than that, the goal is to resist from spending money. This helps you to be able to save money and it also makes you very aware of the impulse purchases you would normally make in a week. So, pick a week and decide to have a spending freeze. Any time you think about buying something, keep track of how much it would have been and put that amount in your savings for Christmas. Eat Dinner at Home. I know this is the busiest time of the year and you might think… who has time to cook? I promise you that with an hour or so of prep on the weekend, you can eat at home all week. Soups are delicious, filling, and they last for several meals. It’s easy to double a batch of soup and have it multiple times in the week. What are some other quick meals that can be your go-to? Write them down and be sure you have the ingredients in the house. That way when things get busy, you don’t find yourself in the drive-thru. Spend less on Halloween & Thanksgiving. This time of year can get expensive. Between the costumes, decorations, candy, baked goods, and increased grocery expenses… you can have a large bill on your hands. Consider intentionally pairing down. Keep decorations simple. Maybe the costumes are another family’s from last year? Can you buy less candy and baked goods? You get to decide what you pair back on but the more you do, the more you will have for your Christmas fund! Use Cash. Switch to using cash and you will spend less. We all spend more when we are swiping the plastic. Cash is the best way to have a visual reminder of how close you are to your budget. Turn the Heat Down When You aren’t Home. If you have a "Smart" thermostat you can set a schedule for it to turn down the heat when you are not home or when you are sleeping which can help you to save money. If you don’t have a smart thermostat, you don’t need to buy one… just put a reminder on your phone to turn the heat down a couple degrees when you are leaving for the day and going to bed for the night. Save some money by only having your house at the most comfortable temperature when you are actually there and awake. Having a Plan Ultimately, saving up & paying cash for Christmas comes down to having a plan! The tips above will definitely help you save money in a short amount of time. The key is, making sure you actually set the money you save aside for Christmas. Then... start saving for next year. If you save every month for the entire year, the last couple of months aren't as stressful. So, once you find ways to cut back and save for this year... keep up the great work and plan ahead for net year too! You will be so thankful that you did.

If you have credit card debt, student loans, medical debt, and/or car debt.... you are not alone. Unfortunately, it is really common in America today to have an overwhelming amount of debt. Actually, debt is about as common as a Pumpkin Spice Latte in the Fall. But debt isn't as sweet as a Pumpkin Spice Latte, is it?! I recently went on Cleveland's New Day Cleveland to talk about this topic as well. You can view my segment here! Why Do We Pay Off Debt? When I talk about paying off debt, I like to start with talking about why it is important to pay it off. Since it's so common, many people think that it's not a big deal. Why pay it off when it seems like everyone has it? There are many reasons for this but I want to share two reasons that I feel are really important. The first is that debt causes a lot of stress! Life is stressful enough with all that we have going on... we don't need the added stress that debt brings! If you have debt, I am guessing that in the back of your mind you are always thinking about money. "How am I going to pay all the bills this month?" "What happens if we have an emergency?... how will we pay for it?" "When is that bill due and when will I get paid next?" Paying off debt means that you don't have to constantly be stressed about those things anymore! The second reason is that debt keeps you from achieving your goals. If you have debt, you may feel like you don't have money to save for retirement. We are all going to retire, so it is important that we save now for later in life. Paying off the debt will free up your income so that you can have room in your budget to be able to save. Having debt also keeps people from being able to take the vacations they want to take, leave the job the hate, be able to be generous, and so many other goals. How To Pay Off Debt The first thing you have to do is know exactly how much debt you have. If you don't know how much debt you have, it's likely because you find it too overwhelming to look at the full picture. What I have found is that often times we think it is more overwhelming than it actually is. Taking a look at all the debt you have allows you to make a plan to be able to pay it off. Once you know how much debt you have, here are the things that will help in creating a plan to pay it off. Budget. Having a budget, where you plan for where all your money is going to go, is a must. This is the only way you will know what all your expenses are so that you are able to see if you can cut back on anything in order to have more money for debt. Having a budget is also the way you will plan for the amount of money you can pay on debt every month. Use the Debt Snowball. The debt snowball is where you list your debts smallest to largest and pay them off in that order. The quick wins that the small debts give you, encourages you that it IS possible to pay off debt. Cancel Subscriptions. Do you have subscriptions that renew automatically? Do you use them anymore? Have the prices increased? It is always good to go through your bank account to see what subscriptions are coming out. There may be ones you can cancel and that will save you money that you can then use towards debt! Shop your insurance. If it has been awhile since you have shopped your home owner's insurance (or renter's insurance) and car insurance, you may be able to save a significant amount of money by shopping with an independent insurance agent! Independent agents can get quotes for you from a bunch of different insurance companies. In doing so they are able to help you find the best rates available. Whitaker-Myers* is an independent insurance agency and they would be happy to help you with shopping your insurance needs! Sell Stuff. This is something that so many people over look. Many people feel like they don't have anything that is worth selling or that they won't get much money from selling stuff. What I have seen is that it is amazing the things you can sell! Also, it is often the small purchases over time that gets people into debt and it works the same in reverse. The $20 or $30 you will get from selling things will help you to start paying off debt. Extra Jobs. Of course you can always pick up an extra job at a coffee shop or restaurant but there are so many other ways to make money on your own time today. You can do freelance work such as writing, digital marketing, or website design if you have those skills. If you travel a lot for work, maybe you would be interested in renting your house out on Airbnb? Or maybe you could drive for Uber or Lyft? Of course with both Airbnb and Uber or Lyft, you need to use caution and your own judgement but it could be a way to earn extra money if you feel comfortable. The key to paying off debt quickly is finding ways to throw extra money at it. The sooner it is gone, the sooner you can work on the financial goals that are the most important to you! It's going to be hard... but it's worth it! Dave Ramsey has often said that when you are paying off debt, if your friends are making fun of you... you are doing it right! I believe that is true. As we said in the beginning, debt is normal and if you try to make changes to your lifestyle to pay it off, your friends and family might wonder what you are doing. Paying off debt is hard work. It takes discipline and dedication. But it is worth it! That's because once you are debt free, you will have room in your budget to achieve your most important financial goals such as saving for retirement! You can do this! Good luck! *Insurance products offered through Whitaker-Myers Insurance Group and licensed agents.

Do you? I mean, really… do you balance your checkbook (or your checking account)?? You are probably in one of three camps right now… Camp #1. Of course, doesn’t everyone? Or Camp #2. No! Do people seriously still do that? Or Camp #3. What on earth are you even talking about?? My hunch is that many people are in camps #2 or #3. If that is you… I wanted to share a little about what balancing a checking account is, why I think it is important, and an easy way that I found to do it. How Do You Balance Your Checking Account? Balancing your checking account simply means that you keep a record of what you spend and then you balance it (or compare it) with your statement from the bank. “Back in the day” the way this was done was by keeping track of what you spent in your checkbook register. Then, when the checking account statement came in the mail, you could make sure everything went through the bank and that the balance you said you have matched what the bank said you have. But today… we have online banking. Which makes things SO much easier. Also, we don’t write checks much. So balancing your checking account looks a lot different but the concept is still the same. Even if you don’t write checks and you don’t use the checkbook register, it is still important to balance your checking account. In this case, you would keep track of what you spent… when you swiped your debit card, when you paid bills online, when you went to the ATM, and/or when you did write a check. You would also keep track of when you got paid and how much your deposit was. Then, a couple times a month you simply log into your online banking and make sure what you spent cleared through the bank and the balance you have matches the balance the bank says. Use an App To Make Balancing Your Checking Account EASY My husband and I use an app to balance our checking account. It is free to use and we think that using an app makes it SO simple because we both have the app on our phones and we share the log in so we can both add transactions. In the app, you can enter all of your transactions including deposits and withdraws. Once they have processed through your bank you can (✔) check them off (Jive them). It’s also important to make sure the transactions and balance you have matches what the bank says! A couple times a month, I log into our online banking and balance our checking account. In the app there is a ✔ mark next to each transaction, I click that ✔ when an item has processed through our online banking. Then I can make sure the balance we say we have matches what the bank says. If it is different, it prompts me to look into it. Did we forget to put a transaction in? Was there a fraudulent charge? Why Is It Important To Balance Your Checking Account? The main reason I think it is important to balance your checking account is to make sure you are not missing fraudulent charges. There have been a number of times that we caught fraud charges quickly because we noticed them as we were balancing our account. You might say… well, I log in everyday so I don’t need to balance mine. And maybe that is true if that’s what works for you. I would just caution you to be sure that every charge is actually yours. Many times, fraudulent charges will come in small amounts to gas stations or other common stores and it’s almost as if they are trying to see if you notice before they hit your account with a large fraudulent charge. Also… most transactions process through your bank quickly, but there are times when it may take a few days for one to process. If you are keeping track on your own, then you won’t forget or be surprised when a transaction takes awhile to process. You will have already accounted for it and will know what your balance is. Another reason that I think it is good to keep track of what you spend in your checking account is simply because it keeps you connected to your spending. Immediately after you spend (or at least that evening) you can enter your transactions and you will see your new balance. You will become more aware of your spending. In the ClearCheckbook app you can also assign categories to your transactions. This means, every time your enter a gas transaction you would select the gas category. Then, you will easily be able to see how much you are spending on gas by pulling up that category! I’d love to hear… Do you balance your checking account? Are you willing to give it a try after reading this post? What other questions do you have?

Faith.Investments.Aligned. For clients who would like to align their investments with their faith, we offer a Christian Values Portfolio. Customized to each client based on their personal risk tolerance and goals, the Christian Values Portfolio has these characteristics: 1. Portfolio is broadly and deeply diversified – as King Solomon wrote, “Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the Earth.” (Ecclesiastes 11:2) 2. Professional Money Management using select firms that John-Mark and Matthew have interviewed and ensured are aligned with the heart of a Christian Values Portfolio. Proverbs 15:22 – “Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisors they succeed.” 3. Christian values screening at the investment level. Typically, the managers will not invest in any company that does not align with Biblical and Christian values. These managers will steer clear of companies that are in or support the abortion, pornography, liquor, tobacco and gambling industries. For more information on this portfolio schedule a meeting today.