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Lifestyle

Tending your financial garden: How hard work today will let you flourish when it counts

So much of gardening is the hard work and growth that takes place underneath the soil — feeding and nurturing our plants so they can build strong roots that will sustain them long after our work is done, allowing us to sit back and enjoy the fruits of our labor. Nobody ever comments on the roots, on the quality of the soil, or on the weeding we did that gave them room to grow. All they see is the beauty that lives above the dirt — the finished product.

Budgeting for gig workers: How to spend and save on a fluctuating income

Building, maintaining, and sticking to a budget can be a tough task for many of us with regular, full-time jobs. But it gets a lot more difficult if you don’t have a regular income, like those in sales-based jobs, seasonal workers, or folks who work in the gig economy. If you fall into one of these categories — as more and more young earners do — it’s especially important to budget wisely to have a plan for those months when the checks don’t come in quite as high as usual.

Your Financial Personality

As everyone is thinking about financial perspectives and priorities during the first weeks of the new year, we encourage client couples and families to ask themselves a few lifestyle and values questions that will help them determine their approach to money – and help us in going over their budgets and goals. No two clients are alike, and lifestyle goals are as varied as the people we work with.

Lifelong Learning

Most of the time when people come into our conference room or call us up, they want help with how to do something. Whether it’s saving money, budgeting, making major purchases or signing up for insurance, they want to know how.

Have You Set Your Holiday Budget?

The catalogs, the catalogs! My mailbox has suddenly in the last few days been invaded by the seasonal army of festive holiday magazines, all suggesting that if I only spend $199 (each!) for those themed placemats, my dining room table will be shown off in all its glory just like the one in the picture. The only problem is, what the marketing people at that company don’t know, is that my dining room table has knife and fork marks all over it, and probably a few drops of blood from the kids! So we’ll probably be looking for a full-size table cloth instead. 

Holiday Conversations

Later this month, most of us will be gathering together around the table with our families, whether parents, aunts, uncles and siblings, or the friends and neighbors we consider family because relatives are far away. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, if only for the fact that it’s simple (well, maybe not for the cook!). You put some food on the table, and once you’re done feasting, you find the dessert table full of pies! Then the countdown begins to cold turkey sandwiches.

Don’t Leave a Pay Raise on the Table

We are in that time of year when companies start releasing new benefits packages, and open enrollment is almost here. As you look through your new employee book provided by your HR department, you probably see things like additional 401(k) options, accidental death & dismemberment (yikes!) insurance, life insurance, supplemental life insurance, short term/long term disability coverage, along with all sorts of other acronyms you may or may not have any idea what they stand for.

Transitions of Life

Seems like everything is transitioning right now, whether it’s changes in the weather, changes in the sports being played or teams we watch and root for, or the shift from anticipating the excitement of Keeneland and the upcoming Breeders Cup to savoring the memories we made. We spent a lot of time at Keeneland meeting people and enjoying our community, but now it’s back to the desk full-time – and we truly think change is good. Of course the emptying of the grandstand at Keeneland gave way to the excitement over trick-or-treating!

Delayed Gratification: Good or Bad?

Oftentimes in the financial planning community, we use and hear the phrase “delayed gratification.” This is the idea that we should avoid spending money on things we enjoy today, and save/invest it, so that one day we can eventually spend it and receive the “gratification” we’ve been putting off. Dave Ramsey is famous for saying “live like no one else, so that one day you can live like no one else.” That’s all well and good, but personally, I don’t like the idea of denying myself all of the things that bring me joy or gratification. I say ignore that advice!

Long-term Effects of Job-hopping

It shouldn’t come as a shock when I say it is very common for people to job-hop during their 20s and into their 30s before they settle into a long-term position. Typically, people change jobs to gain new experiences, obtain a better title, or for more pay. While these are all very good reasons that, in the long run, should be positives in our financial lives, changing jobs too often can come with a cost.

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