5 Savings Tips for the Fall
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1. Cook & Freeze Meals

The average family spends upwards of $3,000 a year eating meals outside their home, that’s $250/month out of their monthly budget!  This is in addition to another $4,000 a year for groceries. Consider reducing your dine out budget by cooking and freezing more meals at home. The number one reason people eat out is due to convenience. Why not have the meals all ready to go from your freezer to eliminate the temptation of eating out?  Whether you choose to make a month’s worth of meals in a day, or join a meal planning subscription, there are lots of good resources to help in this area.

2. Adjust Your Thermostat

By making small adjustments to the temperature in your home (both while you’re in it and while you’re away) you can shave dollars off your heating/cooling bill. Save on your monthly bills by being more aware of your thermostat.  If you’re going to be out of your house most of the day, don’t keep your house at a toasty 72 degrees while you’re gone!  Little changes can make big impacts.

3. Take Advantage of Free Events

Not sure what to do this weekend?  Instead of automatically going to a evening movie or paying to attend another entertainment event take a look at what might be going on in your area for free.   Take a look at this Fall Festival Guide for Kansas City to get some ideas.

4. Have Your Furnace Checked

We just had our furnace guy come out to make sure everything’s on the up and up with our furnace for the winter.  Doing so can not only avoid some unwanted surprises (like not having heat when it dips to 10 degrees at night!), but it can also save you some change by being proactive.   Here is a list of some tips and tricks for maintaining your furnace.  If you’re like me, I would rather hire a professional to do it, which is a separate tip in and of itself.

5. Review Your Budget

Christmas is right around the corner!  Fall is a good time to assess where you are with your budget for the year (what you planned  to spend versus what you’ve actually spent).  Knowing if you’ve already overspent or not can help you as you plan out your Christmas season budget.  Planning ahead can help avoid any budget or credit card surprises in January!


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Smart Things To Do (That Many Won't) In A Down Market

By Brent Hoskins • 13 Jul, 2022
When the stock market declines, the resulting steady drumbeat of negative news reports can drive many people to flee the markets. Making decisions out of fear (or any other emotional trigger) rarely leads to successful long-term outcomes. It's hard, because one of the most unsettling aspects of market downturns is the fact that they are out of your control. Here is a list of suggested actions to consider - which historically have resulted in helping to weather market lows. Tune Out The Noise It's ok to not check your portfolio balance when the market is falling. Turning off the financial news might be smart if it keeps you from making mistakes based on emotional decisions. Revisit Your Asset Allocation If you happen to be near retirement or in retirement, or if you simply lose sleep over downturns, you may need to reevaluate your risk tolerance. Together, we can figure out the balance of stocks and bonds best suited to your comfort level with risk and other personal circumstances. Control What You Can: Costs Expenses eat returns, and their bite is particularly painful during market corrections. We can explain options for removing high-cost investments from your portfolio in ways that minimize the taxes due from their sale. Set Realistic Expectations U.S. stock and bond markets have posted remarkable returns in the past few decades. Statistically speaking, it would be prudent to expect lower returns in the future. Together, we can develop a plan that still achieves your goals, despite potential headwinds of lower returns. Stay Diversified Downturns offer case studies in how different asset-class and sector exposures can help to insulate your portfolio. Having conversations about risk tolerance, as mentioned above, helps us to better understand your investing style and what's most important to you. With this greater insight, we can go over diversification options for your portfolio that blunt the impact of downturns while putting you on track to achieve your financial objectives. Remember, you don't have to follow the crowd and you don't have to make emotional decisions. Stick to sound investing principles, have a plan, and let us know if we can help. About the Author- Brent Hoskins is a Kansas City-area fee-only financial planner . Focal Point Financial Group provides comprehensive financial planning and investment management to help individuals and families organize, grow and protect their assets through life’s transitions. As a fee-only, fiduciary, and independent financial advisor, Brent Hoskins is never paid a commission of any kind, and has a legal obligation to provide unbiased and trustworthy financial advice.

Chasing the Wind: The Futility of Materialism

By Brent Hoskins • 01 Jul, 2022
Attempting to find meaning in "things" can often lead down a dangerous (and unending) path toward dissatisfaction and can put people in a vicious cycle of desiring more and more and yet feeling as if they never have enough. Solomon shares a number of helpful insights on materialism in the book of Ecclesiastes. I love the way author Randy Alcorn summarizes and paraphrases some of Solomon's statements from Ecclesiastes 5:10-15 : “Whoever loves money never has money enough” (v. 10). The more you have, the more you want. “Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income” (v. 10). The more you have, the less you’re satisfied. “As goods increase, so do those who consume them” (v. 11). The more you have, the more people (including the government) will come after it. “And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them?” (v. 11). The more you have, the more you realize it does you no good. “The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep” (v. 12). The more you have, the more you have to worry about. “I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner” (v. 13). The more you have, the more you can hurt yourself by holding on to it. “Or wealth lost through some misfortune” (v.14). The more you have, the more you have to lose. “Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand” (v. 15). The more you have, the more you’ll leave behind. So here we have someone (Solomon) who never lacked having enough money, concluding his remarks by stating: "When I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun" Ecclesiastes 2:11. Money is a tool... not something to endlessly pursuit, or you (like Solomon concluded) may just be "chasing the wind". About the Author- Brent Hoskins is a Kansas City-area fee-only financial planner . Focal Point Financial Group provides comprehensive financial planning and investment management to help individuals and families organize, grow and protect their assets through life’s transitions. As a fee-only, fiduciary, and independent financial advisor, Brent Hoskins is never paid a commission of any kind, and has a legal obligation to provide unbiased and trustworthy financial advice.
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