Summer Speculations

June 1, 2019

Can you believe it’s already June. Where did the first 5 months of the year go? And have you already planned out your summer, or has that been on the to-do list for the umpteenth week? Whether you have every weekend from Memorial Day to Labor Day booked, or you are planning to enjoy the lazy, lengthy days of summer – your money is usually a factor.

Summer vacations can be crowded and expensive. Nearly 100 million Americans are planning to take a family vacation in 2019, per AAA data, and 38 million traveled during Memorial Weekend alone. The tourism industry is ramping up pricing on accommodation, transportation, food, gas and admission fees to attractions. In 2016, 58 percent of Americans spent over $1,300 on travel. This statistic is increasing 30% year over year

How to reduce Summer spending – and increase your Personal savings.

• Travel. Where do you want to go? Do you have a destination in mind? There are peak destinations that four out of 10 U.S. adults are hoping to travel to in the summer. However there are hundreds of articles with off-peak options. Try to book your flights 45 days in advance, and avoid the US National Holidays and early-August if possible. Schools in the US and Europe are off for summer break and families are taking advantage of the last few weeks off.
• Accommodations You probably already have experience with hotel chains or bed and breakfast establishments, but now there are many other options. The explosion of home rentals priding themselves as vacation experiences, are catering to all types of travelers. There are 1 night rentals to multiple week possibilities. Resorts are also affordable with lodging-only options instead of all-inclusive.
• Attractions and Activities. From amusement parks to museums to waterparks – every location has activities to enjoy. Coupons and online discounts are available for most of the top attractions and there may even be reduced rates for visiting on weekdays vs. weekends. Some banks and credit cards also have affiliations – Museums on Us is an example.
• Time. Can you mentally and physically afford to take the break out of your routine? Your workplace may have vacation policies around when you can use your time-off. Consider if you would like to save some time for DIY at the home or local excursions.

At the end of the day – take the vacation that works for your budget and time circumstances. If you only have a weekend – a staycation may be much more enjoyable than spending multiple hours on planes trains and automobiles to reach your destination for just a few hours. If you have a limited budget – create a list of the must-haves and ignore the advertising, social media and recommendations that you may encounter.

Bon Voyage! or Enjoy your couch! Before you enjoy your summer break, don’t forget to upload all your documents onto InsureYouKnow.org. It’s a safe place to store all the information in case you need to access it remotely – or from the comforts of your own home.

Family Budget

December 5, 2016

Most individual have a budget that is well crafted for other things except for a family budget. This is one of the many budgets that individuals are ignorant to dedicate time to keenly analyze them and come up with something that works for them alone. They rush to put something together that does not fit their budget and requirements and hope their financial goals will be sorted out.

Later on, in the middle of the month, they realize that they were wrong because they have exhausted all the cash and most probably, they end up borrowing from various sources around, to make it to the end of the month. This is likely to happen every other month and here is how to prepare a family budget to counter that.

Choose your style

You can either opt for pen and paper or the electronic form of budgeting programs. Pen and paper may be okay and you will also need a calculator if you opt for this, but there is the challenge of making errors. So be careful as you opt for that. Budgeting software is best when it comes to avoiding errors and in addition to this; it makes your work a lot easier.

Lay everything plain

The next step for setting up a family budget is to bring all documents that relate to your earnings and spending together and have a category for each. Once you separate the two, calculate the total of each and you will probably realize that what comes in may be less than what is going out. That is where a family budget becomes instrumental because it will help you control expenses and set precise financial goals.

Analyze your spending

Your monthly expenses should be the main focus thereafter because that is what will help you realize the areas you need to cut spending on. Fixed costs will not change which means you will incur that every other month but when it comes to discretionary spending on food and clothing, you may realize that is where most of your money goes. Surprisingly, the latter expenditure might outweigh your fixed costs.

Feed the details into the budget software

Now this is where you will be able to track your finances much more closely and better. That will include your expenses and incomes and the goal in this case will be to reduce on your expenditures.

Controlled spending

Though discretionary spending may be more than your fixed expenditures, these are the same expenses you can divert to savings. To control that kind of spending, you need to put the cash you spend daily in some envelop, because this will make you more conscious of the consequences of exceeding your budget.

Pay your debts

This obviously should be part of your priorities and making minimal payments every month will help you bring down your debt significantly. The idea of paying more than the minimum amount is also a great idea, because it will help you clear your debt faster. Where possible, this will also save you on interest charges.