Are you feeling as if your money vanishes into thin air, or perhaps, are you so afraid to spend money that you don't fully enjoy life? You're not alone in these feelings.

But there is a solution: a personalized budget plan.

A budget plan is your financial roadmap. It directs you toward your goals and prevents you from veering off into financial trouble. Despite what many people believe, a budget isn't about restrictions; it's about understanding your income and expenses and making conscious decisions about where your money goes.

One of our clients, Emily, embodies the fear many women over 50 have about spending money. After a recent divorce, she was solely responsible for managing her finances, leading to uncertainty and fear. Our solution? A personalized budget plan. Let's look at how mastering her cash flow changed Emily's life.

Understanding Your Income and Expenses

The first step in creating a personalized budget is gaining clarity on your income and expenses. For Emily, we...

Have you ever been told that you're not good with money? That women aren't as financially savvy as men? That we're more prone to overspending and living beyond our means? Unfortunately, these kinds of stories are all too common. But the truth is, they're just myths.

I’m going to bust some of the most pervasive myths about women and money, and share some truths that will help you take control of your finances.

Myth #1: Women are naturally bad with money. 

There's no biological or genetic reason why women would be less skilled at managing finances than men. Studies have shown that women tend to be more diligent about budgeting and saving than men, and are less likely to take on risky investments.

A report published in 2018 by the Warwick Business School in the UK analyzed data from 2,800 investors over a three-year period and found that women generated higher returns on their investments than men. The report attributed this trend to the fact that women tend to be more patient...

Recently, a client couple shared a sudden crisis they faced - a car accident had left one of them without a vehicle. Even though this young couple was relatively new to managing their finances, they didn't allow this setback to steer them off track. Instead, they looked for solutions, a shift in their approach compared to a year ago, demonstrating the importance of overcoming financial setbacks while maintaining a wealth mindset.

Key Strategies for Overcoming Financial Setbacks

Deciding to cultivate a wealth mindset is the initial leap toward building a rich legacy. Acting on this decision is the follow-through. However, the most crucial strategy lies in overcoming financial setbacks without letting them erase your progress.

When life is smooth sailing, it's easier to make changes, cultivate good habits, plan budgets, and involve family in financial decisions. You're proud of building your emergency savings and spending responsibly. But what happens when you're suddenly faced with a...

Looking for the best budgeting or money management tools? There are so many facets of budgeting, and you'll likely have to make some sacrifices, but using one of these tools can make those sacrifices easier and can take the most challenging work out of budget. These are the best budgeting apps and tools to download now if you want to get your spending under control. 

Some of these budgeting products listed below offer both a desktop and an app version of the product. And some of these tools do the same thing. You don't need all of these, so pick and choose which ones best fit your financial situation! 

YNAB

You Need a Budget is one of the most popular budgeting apps available. If you've never even had a budget before, this is the app for you. It's a great way to get started with budgeting and will teach you how to manage your money. The app uses a "zeroed" out budget and makes sure that you allocate your money down to the very last cent!

You can learn more about YNAB here....

Having a budget is essential to successful financial planning, and over the years I have heard so many myths about budgets and why people say they don’t work or why they don’t need a budget. These budgeting myths can prevent you from achieving financial security so in this blog post, let’s play MythBusters and walk through some of the misinformation I hear about budgets and what the truths are instead. 

Budget Myth #1: Creating and managing a budget takes too much time.

The Reality: Taking control of your money is worth the investment.

Creating a budget for the first time can seem overwhelming and time consuming, but it doesn’t have to be. There are so many tools, templates and apps available to help you through the process. And once your budgeting framework is in place, you can easily and quickly adjust your budget. 

If you use an app or other online money management tool for your budget, the tool walks you through the set-up process. You often...

In our previous blog post Stop Living Paycheck-to-Paycheck, we discussed some common reasons people live paycheck-to-paycheck. In this blog post, we'll share some ways that can help you get out of this cycle and put your money to work for you. 

Setting a Budget

The first step is to set a budget. When you set your budget, it's important to consider your needs, wants, and future, which involves savings according to your goals and plans. Creating a budget can initially seem overwhelming, but keep reading for helpful tips. 

Determine Your Income

Your income is not what your boss pays you or what you earn if you work for yourself; it's what you have left over after all mandatory paycheck deductions like taxes and insurance have been paid. After all, you cannot budget what you do not have. So getting this figure right will help.

Add Up Your Expenses

This may take longer if you're in debt or have many expenses you didn't realize you had. The best way to do this is to open...

Give Your Budget a Check-Up

We’re in the full swing of Summer, and whether you’re in vacation mode or you’re working just as hard as ever, July is a great time to review your budget. After all, if you created it in January, a lot can change in 7 months, and you want to make adjustments now if you need to. Budgets are fluid documents that are meant to be changed and updated as needed to make sure your money is always working for you.

You don’t need to spend hours and hours pouring over every detail of your budget, but I do suggest taking the five steps listed below to make sure you’re on track to reaching your goals by the end of the year. 

Review & update your budget

If you created your budget at the beginning of the year, now is the time to make sure that it’s still working for you. Are you staying within your budget, or are there some categories that need to be adjusted? With the increases we’ve seen in food and gas prices, many...

So who has started spring cleaning? Do you have a good system in place so it doesn’t take hours and hours to get the job done? There certainly are a lot of cleaning checklists on Pinterest and Instagram. As we’re thinking about spring cleaning our homes, it’s also the perfect time to spring clean your finances. The first quarter is over, and last year's taxes have been completed, so let’s get organized financially for the rest of the year.

Here are 10 ideas for spring cleaning your finances.

Check your credit reports. You can check your credit report from each of the three credit bureaus once a year so I recommend checking one at the end of April, one at the end of August, and one at the end of December. Credit report mistakes can prevent you from getting a loan or force you into paying a higher interest rate. If you see any errors or fraudulent activity on your credit report, file a dispute with the credit bureau right away.   

Review your monthly...

With Valentine's Day right around the corner, many of us are focusing on those special people in our lives and how we can show them what they mean to us. And that is certainly important…but I also want to challenge you to do something for yourself.

Self-love and taking care of yourself should be a priority - I'm sure you're familiar with the airplane safety speech…put the oxygen mask on yourself BEFORE assisting others. And that's great advice for other areas of your life too! 

As a financial advisor and money coach, I want to encourage you to do one thing this month that will help you improve your financial wellness. After working with hundreds of clients, I know that financial wellness can significantly impact a person's overall well-being. 

There have been countless challenges since March 2019, and now we're experiencing high rates of inflation and supply chain issues. So this is the perfect time to see what changes you need to make in the new year....

It’s easy to overspend and go over budget during the holiday season! I’ve certainly done it plenty of times!! I know it’s hard not to get caught up in the gift-buying season with all of the advertisements and “special” deals that we’re bombarded with every day. And none of us want to be viewed as a “scrooge.” With some planning and research, there are so many ideas for creating a wonderfully memorable holiday season without stressing about spending too much. 

Here is a recap of some of our previous blog posts that share gift ideas for some people that may be hard to buy for as well as tips on how to stay on budget and creative ideas for decorating. 

8 Ways to Stay on Budget During the Holidays

Read about some tips to help you stay on budget, including setting spending limits, only shopping for the kids, using cash-back websites, and more! Even if you only want to incorporate a few of these tips, they are sure to help you stay...