Welcome to Our Financial Coaching Blog!

I know, I know. Some of you are thinking I am crazy right now. But over the last year I have done a lot of reading, listening and learning about the concept of building wealth and eventually becoming a millionaire. I’m here to hopefully convince you that this is possible, and YOU CAN do it. Let’s see if I can convince you:

If you’re reading this blog, chances are you are focused on your financial health and working on goals like paying off debt or saving for an emergency fund. And if you’re like most people in America, you may be feeling a lot of pressure and maybe even obligation this time of year to spend money on presents, dinners, and travel to visit family. According to a recent Newsweek article, almost half (46%) of Americans are still paying off debt from LAST Christmas going into this holiday season. But have no fear, continue reading for ideas to show love to your family and friends without going into debt.

I am the youngest sibling with three older brothers who are all very handy. One of my brothers is handy for a living and the others use their handiness mostly on their own houses. I say this to preface that I understand that when it comes to this topic, I probably have a leg up on most people when it comes to access to knowledge, resources, and assistance. Even still, I think most people can save a lot of money going Do It Yourself (DIY) rather than paying for the service. Let’s see if I can convince you!

I recently had a session with a financial coach (yes, anyone can benefit from one!) and she was able to give me some feedback about my financial picture. From that conversation I realized the importance of sinking funds and started to incorporate them into my financial practices. But what are sinking funds? I thought you’d never ask! Sinking funds are a way to set money aside for larger bills, purchases and expenses that you can plan ahead for.

I recently learned about a magical place in the public library called the Library of Things. Apparently, public libraries have drastically upgraded from allowing you to just check out books and movies to now allowing you to check out all kinds of amazing things for FREE. If I haven’t blown your mind yet, just wait until I tell you the items you could check out with a Richland County Public Library Card. Read on to learn more about my top 10 favorite finds. I hope this helps you save some of your hard-earned cash!

Confession time… I’ve been with my job for over 10 years, and this year is the first time I actually did research on all of the insurance coverage options my employer offers. I had a vague sense of what my coverage consisted of, and I felt like I had what I needed. I hadn’t done an insurance checkup in several years. So, let me encourage you… if you’re in this boat, take some time to take a look at your current coverage and all of your other options to make sure you still have the best coverage for you. Here are some things to look for:

I know this one is a sensitive subject. Many people consider their dog or cat a part of their family and like a child. I have a dog and a cat and no children, so I totally get it. But let’s drop our defenses and be honest for a moment: pets cost a lot of money and live a long time. When you adopt a pet, you are not only signing up for (hopefully) 10+ years of love, fun, and companionship, you are also signing up for 10+ years of financial responsibility. So, it is important to take time to consider all of the costs to make sure it is an expense you can (and should) take on.

There are two ways to make more room in your budget for paying off debt and building wealth- spending less and making more. If you have already shaved off everything you can shave off your budget and you still don’t have enough breathing room to make progress on your goals, it might be time to look at your income. This may look like working for a promotion or a different line or work that may pay a bit better, but these are both longer term plays. In the short term, consider a side hustle. And don’t worry, if you don’t know where you would even start to think about this- I got you covered!

I’ll admit it. I thought that I had beaten the credit card system and found the perfect hack that would make me rich by using credit cards. I thought that since I purchased everything with a credit card that earned me cash back rewards, and since I paid off my credit cards at the end of every month, I was winning. But then I read a book by George Kamel called Breaking Free from Broke and here’s what I learned….

A home is the most expensive purchase that most people will make. The median sale price of a home in the United States last quarter was $412,300.  But this is just the sale price of the home. Let’s talk about the hidden costs of home ownership and how you can save hundreds of thousands of dollars on a home purchase

Everyone has a slightly different relationship with leftovers. There are the folks who never take a to-go plate no matter how much food they still have left on their plate at a restaurant, and the folks who get a to-go plate knowing it will sit in the refrigerator for two weeks and then make its way to the trash. And then there is the other side of the spectrum… the people who never waste any food under any circumstances.

Last week my AC went out. It has been on its last leg for over a year and was already over 28 years old, so it wasn’t all that surprising to me, but it was still super stressful. I tried to get it to last just a little bit longer (summer is almost over! Hold on!!) by doing some of the things Google said to do like switch out the air filters and clean the coils. When it turned back on, it worked for a few hours and went back out again. That’s when I knew it… I would need to buy a new one.