What’s on Your Financial To-Do List? Here are 6 Easy Tips

Agree with Life Insurance. In Australia, it’s common to have it bundled into/inside our superannuation fund (retirement), the policy cost isn’t too much, and it means that for those managing a tight cashflow, they aren’t needing to squeeze a little more to be protected.

I just buy less coffee out this year. It’s an expensive habit, that could save me a few hundred if I added it all up

I’ve been a fan of Rubyellen and her blog for over ten years. I was so thrilled to see their beautiful family featured. And this is a good post for them to model for – I know she cares about budgeting ;)

Anyone know how to find the blog or IG of the big beautiful family above? I used to follow them years ago and would love to again. xx

Reminder that to anyone who has had the privilege of building personal wealth, especially those who built it on the backs on black and brown labor and with government support/subsidies/land grants – need to redistribute that immediately. And I don’t mean donating to the NAACP – direct cash aid to the people in your communities/cities.

Reminder that if “investing” means becoming a landlord, you’re exploiting working class people and profiting off their labor. if “investing” means joining a portfolio that invests in polluters and developers, your wealth comes at an expense to others.

rather than focusing on building personal wealth, lets focus on reparations and building strong communities.

I purchased a Haven Life policy after a previous sponsored post. I did not realize how often knowledge of the policy brings me piece of mind. I cannot say that this policy is any better or worst than others, but the process was simple – minus that pesky blood draw.

I would like to add one thing to this list. Please consider filling out a healthcare power of attorney. Should you or a loved one go into the hospital for any reason you/they will likely go alone due to Covid. I have just recently experienced this with my 79 year old father. Healthcare power of attorney helps eliminate issues within the family as well as issues for the hospital. Not to mention the obvious, protection of the patient. Less drama for everyone involved because emotions run high in these experiences and while you might assume everyone will be reasonable, you might also find otherwise. These forms may be found free online. Just make sure it is the form specific to your state.

How others judge your choices says more about them than you.

Anna, your grace is inspiring and best wishes for your family!

COJ – you guys are doing great!

How many children to have is a personal decision, and folks should not be criticized for their choices. My husband and I came from small families, and we decided to have only two children which suited us. As for those who criticize the sponsored posts, don’t read Cup of Jo. If it’s a sponsored post, I feel the products can be trusted.

As someone who’s pregnant for the first time, yesterday morning I was talking to my partner about life insurance and a will and guardians for our future little one, so this post is so timely!

While it’s so disappointing to see how many people are judging and criticizing personal family planning decisions, it’s heartening to see how many people are defending those of us who are interested in having children and growing our families- this is a personal choice, and while individual choices do have an environmental impact, they have nowhere near the impact of corporations. For those of you who feel the need to shame other people’s family planning choices and actions, maybe try directing that energy at big companies and industries, or perhaps examining your own choices before you make judgements about strangers on the internet.

Over the course of the pandemic we have cut off some our subscriptions. Some offered to drastically cut down my monthly fee for a few months but it would go back up and while that was tempting I stayed with a firm no.

Another suggestion, I was in desperate need of a new phone and I purchased one at best buy, an unlocked motorola. While not the same as my samsung galaxy it was significantly cheaper. I paid 130, I chose to do it as in upgrade to my Verizon plan but even if I hadn’t it was still cheaper than paying off a phone over two years. Reg price 250. It’s a drastic difference from paying 30 a month over 2 years. I think the pandemic taught me I def go without so much and still be very happy. Most things in life are frivolous conveniences.

Another consideration, I’ve heard google fi is a great phone service alternative. Anybody use it?? Verizon is reliable but 70 bucks feels like alot right now every month now that I have really put the cost of monthly expenses into perspective.

P. S. CoJ readers should wear pearls for Kamala today!!! I just found out and I’m going to put mine on at lunch! :)

Back to the topic at hand, my biggest regret was not learning about investing and retirement earlier. So many folks put this off, but every year you do, you lose money – a lot of money. JL Collins The Simple Path to Wealth is a great start. I didn’t comprehend what an index fund was till my early thirties because no one in my family did. And learning to navigate the Vanguard site…oooof. But please don’t make my mistake. It seems scary, but it’s fun, think of it like a new board game where you have to learn some rules. You do not need thousands to start – start by opening a Roth 401K and investing $100 in a target retirement fund.

I would say my other tip at the moment is that I think “emergency funds” generally need to be more than $1,000 to a few months expenses. I realize “but people just can’t save that much money!” but if you can, do. This pandemic has illustrated that we can find ourselves in situations, through no fault of our own, where there are no jobs, or no safe ones, and the government simply will not help. I did not think there would ever be such a failure at the federal level in the US, but after witnessing people go through almost a year without being able to get unemployment benefits, or losing all avenues of employment because an industry died overnight…we got to save more. And that does mean, for most of us, getting more frugal, watching the subscriptions, the coffee and dining out. There’s a strong social media pushback against denying ourselves sources of pleasure to save money, as if that is puritanical or out of touch, but while I think it’s well intended, it’s bad advice. Yes, it’s ridic for a bank to tell me that systemic economic inequality can be solved by not buying a $5 avocado toast every day…but it can still be a good decision on my part not to buy the avocado toast every day, if that makes sense.

Another thought… If life has worked out in a way that allows you to have more control of your financial situation, advocate for policy that allows more folks to have the same choices. Let’s believe in the inherent worth of all people with living wages, support for caregivers in various complicated situations, and housing that promotes economically diverse communities.

Perhaps Cup of Jo could do an article on top American polluters and the necessity of collective action over individualized shaming and attacking women’s reproductive rights and imperatives. A lot of readers seem to have moral superiority issues.

Thank you for showing such a large family. It’s unfortunate that a few comments are showing up a dark strain of elitist prejudice against children and families. Be careful when you start accusing other human existences of stealing your resources. This is the same train of thought that also leads to anti-immigrant hysteria. Many people find great love, help, and joy in having children. Child-free coastal progressives do not an entire world make. Very few people in developed countries today have enough children to make a difference, and as other’s have noted, it’s corporate pollution and consumerism that is the grave danger to the environment. If you’ve gotten on a plane for fun in the past few years, hold back on criticizing a family for having more kids than *you* think is appropriate.

I’d love to hear more about budgeting for families with kids (however many!) in different settings – rural, urban, suburbs.

I’m in NYC with 1 kid and a spouse it feels cost prohibitive to have more without having to make serious sacrifices – like needing one or both parents to take on a second job.

I have never commented on a blog before and this blog is literally the only social media I have or follow but these comments are making me feel so upset I can’t not comment ha. Loving how people preach inclusion and non judgment but then are totally hypocrites and stigmatize people who aren’t like them because of the amount of children they have..? Thanks NO thanks Sharon for basically calling Anna a liar – I’m truly amazed at how rude and condescending people can be. Seriously unless you also have 8 kids and ARE HER, you don’t know her life and don’t tell her how much she is spending!. Fayana – how dare you single her out and say her carbon footprint must be huge trying to shame her for bringing children into the world?! She’s obviously awesome and while sticking up for herself remains polite and kind. (I know I’m not following her example and taking the higher road here but we’re not all saints). Anna you seem like a great person and mother – congratulations on your baby!
If you ask me, WHAT IS GOOD FOR THE PLANET are good parents and families who raise children (one or ten) to be kind compassionate people who will respect and love the earth AND the people in it and make it a better safer healthier place to be.

Families come in all shapes and sizes, let’s support them all. I think this would be in keeping with the typical COJ community vibe. More support and kindness, less judgment. Il

I bet there’s a correlation between big, upcoming political events and the tone of the comments on COJ.

Something that I’ve learned over the years as a female business owner/money manager – ask the hard questions with any potential loan officer/banker/financial advisor you might be working with.
When my business first began to turn a profit and I started investing, I hired a financial advisor and, embarrassingly enough, didn’t even ask how they make their money. When I finally had the courage to ask and got my answer, I found I was paying 3.5%. It may not sound like a lot, but opposed to companies like Vanguard at 0.04%, it is hundreds of thousands of dollars over a lifetime. (My initial investment would have been worth $210,000 at a 3.5% rate versus $464,000 at a 0.04 fee rate). Ask the hard questions. Be clear on where you are putting your money. And know the fees you are paying.
And finally, read the book The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins.

Saving and investing for retirement is so incredibly important. As one reader already stated, social security is not enough to provide a comfortable lifestyle for most people. We have longer life expectancies, higher healthcare costs and many people buy homes and start families later in life than our parents generation. Saving for retirement in a 401k or IRA or regular brokerage account and investing in low cost index funds is critical for a long, financially secure life!

These comments really showed me how mean the internet really is. So rude behind your computers.

Mine is to actually make money.

If love to learn more about setting my 13 year old up for financial
Success in the future. How soon can I start teaching him about a credit card? What’s the best way to set up an investment account for a minor that is not directly related to college? Something they can see grow and make choices about investments?

i love these pictures and echo the other commenters’ request for investment information! i really enjoyed this post, though, and appreciate these every time they come up.