Maximize Your Savings this Holiday Season
This post was sponsored by Regions Bank. All opinions are my own. I do a lot of holiday shopping. In fact, I do a lot of shopping throughout the entire year. As a result,...
Beginning to Own My Financial Future
This Beginning to Own My Financial Future post is sponsored by SheSpeaks/Prudential.
Beginning to Own My Financial Future
Recently I posted an article as part of my partnership with Prudential: 5 Ways to Reclaim Your Time and I loved the response. You guys sent me some great feedback and I promised to share my meeting with our Prudential Financial Professional with you. We hope that you enjoy this Beginning to Own My Financial Future post.
I met with Gena Pappas to begin the journey towards securing my own financial future. I have to admit that I was pretty nervous at first because in my head, a financial professional would look at me, laugh and say there is no hope. Don't a lot of us think that when it comes to our finances? Gena put me at ease instantly and she didn't even seem phased when I began to explain how I have been on autopilot for years when it comes to my finances. She told me that was very common and that this could be stressful for anyone.
Reduce Everyday Expenses
When is the last time you priced some of your everyday bills with competitors? I have had auto insurance with the same company since I began driving. I have NEVER price compared. There I said it. Can you believe it? When I started looking at several of our recurring bills, I realized that I haven't done this for the majority of bills that we pay monthly. While our conversation centered around auto insurance, I immediately began to think that we should be doing this will all of our bills like:
- cable
- trash
- power
- cellphones
I began making phone calls and by looking at these bills, I was able to save hundreds of dollars each month by removing items from our bill that we don't even use. I scheduled a call with our auto insurance and was able to get the price down by $45 per month.
Student Loans
Student loans are another item that feels like I will be paying off for the rest of my life. I have been out of school for almost 20 years, yet that student loan bill is one that I still pay every month. What I learned was that with a few simple steps I could gain control over this big debt.
I started by simply paying more per month. In the past I had been paying the minimum required, which is a really great way to ensure that the loan won’t be paid off for a very long time. Instead, I figured out what I could afford to send over and above the minimum each month. Then I set up auto payments for that money. All of that extra money goes directly to reducing my principal balance, which shortens the length of the loan and the amount of money I spend on interest.
Life Insurance
I used to have life insurance. We had it through a couple of jobs and we had it on our own for a while but since having kids, these “extra expenses” kind of fell by the wayside. But what I realized after my meeting was that I was playing with fire. We were simply not prepared to financially handle our future should catastrophe strike. So my financial professional and I worked through exactly how much money it would take to protect my family, and I was surprised at the numbers. We needed a two million dollar plan to make sure our future was secure. I would have never purchased that much life insurance, but the numbers were right.
Next Meeting
At our next meeting, we have plans to discuss more of my small business and ways that I can save/make good changes there as well. I wanted to do the price comparison homework myself so I will be updating our next post with some suggestions on how you can implement small changes to secure your financial future.
Why Prudential
Prudential wants you to own your future and their licensed Financial Professionals are the perfect place to start your own journey towards owning your future. Prudential is helping women educate themselves on ways to prepare and protect ourselves and our families. Becoming empowered with financial solutions that work for me is one of the best things that I can do right now for myself and my family. I want to know that I am making the right decisions and I love that my Prudential financial professional, Gena, can help. We hope that you enjoyed this Beginning to Own My Financial Future post.
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This Beginning to Own My Financial Future post is sponsored by SheSpeaks/Prudential.
It really is a good idea to comparison shop and take inventory of expenses that can be cut down every so often. I let my husband handle our finances but it is good to get another opinion on those investments too.
It’s so great that you got financial help from an expert. I think saving for retirement is key, and making sure your money is well spent. I’m glad the planner helped show you the importance of comparison shopping and figuring out a plan.
For years I never did comparison shopping. Then, I realized that I was just throwing my money away. Now, we sit down yearly and go through our bills and see where we can make cuts and if we can find a cheaper service provider.
Comparison shopping is so smart. You can save so much on things like insurance and cell phones. I need to do more of that and save more..
It feels amazing to finally own your finances and save for your future. I think it’s really important to start early on this one as much as we can.
Student loans still haunt me. Cutting down on expensive can help a lot, I really do not need cable now that I have all of these streaming services.
I so need a financial advisor in my life and really need to look into this! I’ve heard great things about Prudential!
My husband is very good when it comes to financial planning, especially for our retirement. However, I know there are still some stuff that only a professional financial adviser can provide solutions for. I will let my husband check out Prudential.
Feels so good owning your financial future. So good they’re offering financial loans for students too. It’s a great help.
I need life insurance. I saw how much it cost my dad after my mom passed and I would never be able to afford it without it.
We have life insurance for everyone but me. I need to get on that, like you said it is playing with fire.
It’s so important to stay on track with one’s financial goals. These are great tips to stay on budget and prepare for the future.
When I hit the big ‘3-0’ I really started thinking about all of these things, where does the time go? It’s all very overwhelming to me, still. I’m glad there are companies like Prudential to help us navigate the questions we have and prepare for the future.
I really need to cut some expenses that are quite frivolous from my budget. I barely watch cable and pay way too much each month.
It’s awesome that you were able to make so many changes and cut costs. The money saved on those monthly bills makes a big difference.
This is such great advice. I know that I can use it and will teach my kids too. It’s so important to know these things.
What great advice! We have done many of those cut backs also, definitely helps short term and long term!
I’ve been thinking about trying some comparison shopping myself lately. It’s so hard to find time to call around and research prices but I think the savings would be worth it.
What a wonderful post. Lots of great information.
I can relate with those student loans… yikes. Forever and ever! I know that these tips are going to be helpful.
I have a friend that is still paying off Student loans and they are getting close to their 50’s! It can be hard to stay on track with a budget, but I have learned that it is SO much better when you are debt free!
I really need to look into getting a financial planner in our lives. Things are getting more and more complicated!
This sounds like a worthy investment of your time and money. I need to be debt free when I retire so I can enjoy it fully.
These are really awesome tips! Planning for your finances is really important!
These are really great tips. It is important to make sure that we are preparing ourselves for our financial futures.
Honestly, finances can seem scary but if you take the time to get down to the nitty gritty and make plans it’s all good! This post is a great reminder.
Being a mom. I always want the best for my kids. And investing for their future is one of my priority. I have been with Prudential Life since I have my first born.
Good for you! This is such a scary topic for me, but we’ve really begun the task of reducing everyday expenses and trying to save more.
It sounds like you found a great resource for planning your future! So many people do not think about this until it is much too late or they are in a bind!
We have just increased our life insurance plan as it has already been 10 years since our initial one was set up. We wanted it to have a bigger payout now that times have changed, it is a good idea to look into life insurance and saving money anyway you can asap! Thanks for the inspiration, I need to cut some more corners here and there and this is a good reminder!
These are all so important and its something I’m working to do myself!
Life insurance has been on mymind lately for my financial future. Being financially savvy is really important as an adult.
Despite my accounting background I ofetn find myself lost when I think about our financial welfare and future. It is good to trust professionals in retirement planning and savings planning, otherwise I feel like I never know what to do.
Millennial parents nowadays are not prioritizing insurance right now. These are really excellent ways to be more financially smart.
I think it would be really nice to talk to a financial expert and hear what he/she had to say or what advice he/she would give.
Our student loans are absolutely out of control. We for sure need to talk to financial experts about this
Yes, you always want to take charge of the expenses in your life. Cutting back on certain services is always a great way to start.
Planning for your financial future is so important. Comparison shopping is a smart idea.
I need to shop around for a better price in insurance. Thankfully I was able to pay off my student loans.
Yes of course it’s very important to settled down with your own plan towards finance planning for your future at the same time you have to check your health to it’s also plays a vital role on your finance planings
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Becoming empowered with financial solutions that work for me is one of the best things that I can do right now for myself and my family. I want to know that I am making the right decisions and I love that my Prudential financial professional, Gena, can help. We hope that you enjoyed this Beginning to Own My Financial Future post.
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