Overview: Tune into this week’s episode of Launch Financial as we discuss and unpack the stock and bond market in April, along with anticipating big tech earnings later this week along with an interest rated decision from the Federal Reserve following their two-day meeting.
Show Notes:
As financial advisors, one of the common challenges we observe among individuals is the phenomenon of lifestyle creep. This gradual increase in spending as income rises can have a significant impact on long-term financial goals. In this blog, we’ll take a look into what lifestyle creep is, its implications, and practical tips on how you can monitor, revisit, and tweak your budget to ensure you are maximizing your wealth and financial opportunities.
So what is life style creep? Lifestyle creep, also known as lifestyle inflation, occurs when individuals increase their spending in tandem with their income. It often starts with small indulgences and luxuries that become regular expenses over time. While it’s important to always pay yourself first and celebrate the wins, it’s important to be cognizant of lifestyle creep and the potential hindrance it can have on your financial journey.
So what are some implications of lifestyle creep? Well, it can lead to reduced savings, because increased spending on non-essential items can lead to a decline in savings rates. This, in turn, affects the ability to build an emergency fund or contribute to retirement accounts. Next is debt accumulation. Lifestyle creep can contribute to the accumulation of debt as individuals finance their upgraded lifestyle through loans or credit cards. Lastly, the long-term impact of lifestyle creep is felt in delayed or compromised financial goals, such as buying a home, funding education, or achieving a comfortable retirement. Make sure that lifestyle creep is not impacting your longer term financial goals.
So while we talked about the negatives associated with lifestyle creep, let’s discuss tips for monitoring and revisiting your budget:
Incorporating these smart financial habits into your daily life can help avoid impeding lifestyle creep. Lifestyle creep is a subtle but powerful force that can often times hinder your financial stability and path. As a financial advisor, guiding clients to monitor, revisit, and tweak their budgets is a crucial aspect of fostering and maintaining a healthy financial life. By instilling mindful spending habits, being accountable, and aligning lifestyle choices with long-term goals, you can stay on the path to financial success. If you have any questions or are seeking guidance on your budget for 2024, email info@shermanwealth.com or schedule a complimentary intro call here.
April marks National Financial Literacy Month, and it’s more than just another item on the calendar. At Sherman Wealth Management, we’re taking this opportunity to dive into why financial literacy, education and empowerment should play a key role in your life.
Why is financial literacy so important? Well, because money matters. It affects every aspect of our lives, from where we live to what we eat. But understanding how to manage it effectively? That’s where many people struggle.
Financial literacy isn’t about fancy finance jargon or complicated formulas. It’s about having the knowledge and skills to make smart decisions about your money. Whether it’s setting a budget, paying off debt, or investing for the future, knowing the basics can make a world of difference when it comes to your specific financial life.
Unfortunately, school systems across the globe greatly lack financial education. With the lack of financial literacy taught through education, not everyone has access to the same level of financial education. This creates a gap between those who are more financially educated and those who are not. National Financial Literacy Month is an opportunity to bridge that gap and ensure that everyone has the tools they need to succeed and make smarter financial decisions.
When you understand how money works, you feel empowered and you’re in control of your financial future, making decisions that align with your goals and values. So, what can you do this National Financial Literacy Month? Start by educating yourself. Take advantage of resources like workshops, online courses, and personal finance blogs (like this one and others on our site. Work with financial professionals who focus on and empower financial literacy amongst their clients so you can learn as you live your life and grow your wealth. And don’t stop there – share what you learn with others and advocate for financial education in your community.
Here at Sherman Wealth, we are big proponents of financial education and empowerment. We work with many local organizations and schools to help spread the importance of financial literacy and help others around us feel more confident with their finances. National Financial Literacy Month is a reminder that empowering others to educate themselves and make smarter decisions is pivotal to our lives and our children and grandchildren’s lives. Check out our podcast episodes and blogs for more financial literacy content and email info@shermanwealth.com if you have any questions.
There is definitely a great deal to discuss on the current spring housing market. Despite the volatility and higher interest rates, many of you are still in the market to purchase a new home. Whether you’re a first time home buyer or you are upgrading from your “starter” home, there are many tips you can implement and mistakes to avoid to improve your financial situation and ensure the process is more seamless. So let’s dive in.
As you know, buying a home is a major purchase, maybe even the largest purchase you will make in your lifetime. So, it’s key that your financial house is in order prior to applying for a mortgage and taking on a large loan. So, first and foremost, ensure that your credit score and report are in good shape. Why? Because your credit is the lifeline of your financial life, and when it comes to purchasing a home, lenders will check out your credit to determine what interest rates you will be able to capture. If your credit is not so great, it may be possible you have a higher and more costly interest rate, making your home purchase more expensive than it needs to be. So, make sure you are paying your bills on time, always pay at least the minimum, pay down existing debt, and open multiple lines of credit, taking on “good debt”, that you can pay back responsibility. Check out our other blogs for more information on your credit score.
Another tip to keep in mind when preparing to purchase a home is to ensure your emergency fund is sufficient and you have saved enough for the downpayment and fees. So what does this mean? Well, buying a home comes with tons of unexpected expenses. Especially if it’s your first time, having only enough cash for the down payment and fees most likely won’t be enough to cover all the expenses coming your way. So, have an emergency fund, remember about items such as furniture, wifi, utilities, and more. You don’t want to tie up all your cash in non liquid investment vehicles when you might need it for something else in the near future. So, consider opening a high yield savings account that you can park your cash reserve in, while also earning additional interest. We also recorded a great podcast episode with senior mortgage consultant, Jody Eichenblatt of PHM Loans, on his thoughts on the spring housing market and some best practices for those of you shopping.
Along with saving enough cash for your big purchase, having a realistic and achievable budget is extremely important as well. We oftentimes see individuals stretch themselves too thin with their home purchase, making it more financially stressful to reach their other financial goals. Especially given where the economy is with inflation, we’ve been recommending individuals to re-visit and tweak their budgets. So, separating your wants versus your needs and really breaking down your financial goals is a great way to determine what your budget should be. We also recommend working with a financial advisor to dive deeper into this budget and build a strategy to hit all your goals in life. Purchasing a home is such an exciting and fulfilling achievement, so we want to make sure you go about it in the best way possible. We will continue to track the housing industry and mortgage rates as the Federal Reserve continues to raise interest rates and report back how this will impact you. If you have any questions, email info@shermanwealth.com.
Overview: Tune into this week’s episode of Launch Financial as we discuss volatility in the stock and bond market as we look towards more major tech earnings and inflation indicators this week. We will continue to watch yields and the impact its having on consumers during this spring housing market. For questions or inquiries, email info@shermanwealth.com.
Show Notes:
RSVP to Beers with Brad on May 8th!
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/883429149367?aff=oddtdtcreator
April is National Financial Literacy Month, is the perfect time to reflect on the importance of personal finance and the role of financial literacy in our lives. In this blog, we’ll explore what personal finance is, how to make smart financial decisions, and why financial literacy is crucial for a secure financial future.
Personal finance includes the management of one’s individual or family finances. It encompasses all the decisions and activities related to earning, spending, saving, investing, and protecting money. The goal of personal finance is to achieve financial stability, security, and the realization of financial goals.
It can be difficult to know how to make smart financial decisions, which is why as financial advisors, we not only advise our clients in making more impactful and positive financial decisions, but also seek to educate them and improve their financial literacy. From budgeting, saving, protection, investing, cash management, reducing debt, and building an emergency fund, there are lots of concepts to understand and educate yourself on. As you educate yourself and navigate your life, its important to build a financial plan to serve as a roadmap that guides your financial decisions.
Financial literacy is the knowledge and understanding of various financial concepts and the ability to apply that knowledge to make informed financial decisions. It empowers individuals to take control of their financial future and make responsible choices. Financial literacy empowers people to understand complex financial concepts, such as interest rates, investments, and taxes, enabling them to make informed decisions. By educating yourself or working with a financial professional, you can avoid financial pitfalls and move closer towards achieving your short and long-term goals.
National Financial Literacy Month provides an opportunity to take stock of your financial situation and make necessary adjustments. It’s a reminder to set financial goals, review your financial plan, and seek advice if needed. Personal finance is the cornerstone of our financial well-being. Making smart financial decisions, backed by financial literacy, is the key to achieving financial stability and securing our financial future. If you are looking to improve both your financial literacy and personal finance score, email us at info@shermanwealth.com or schedule a complimentary intro call here.
Overview: Tune into this week’s episode of Launch Financial as we discuss a big week of economic data, including surging retail sales, home builder confidence, earnings reports, and spiking treasury yields. We will continue to watch for more outlook from the Federal Reserve on future interest rate policy.
Show Notes:
Becoming a parent is one of life’s most significant milestones, bringing with it immense joy and responsibility. As you prepare to grow and welcome a new member into your family, it’s essential to prepare and adapt a shifted financial mindset. So, let’s discuss what you can financially expect when you’re expecting!
In conclusion, preparing for parenthood is crucial yet can be overwhelming. Adopting a proactive mindset and building out a financial strategy that works for you and your family can help ease the transition into parenthood. If you have any questions on what decisions you should be making in preparation of parenthood, email info@shermanwealth.com or schedule a complimentary intro call here.
Overview: Tune into this week’s special episode of Launch Financial joined by special guest and senior mortgage consultant at PHM Loans, Jody Eichenblatt. On this episode, we will discuss the 2024 spring housing market, outlook on interest rates and the impact it’s having on homebuyers, and Jody’s thoughts and tips on navigating your home purchase in this economic environment. For questions or inquiries, email info@shermanwealth.com.
Show Notes: For more information about Jody and to reach him about questions from today’s episode, visit www.jodyeichenblatt.com.
Cell 973-951-8077, jody.eichenblatt@phmloans.com
We all know that being a part of a couple takes work and that open, honest communications is key! We read an interesting article that spoke about how individuals choose their partners and that often times, we match with those who have similar interests and values as ourselves. However, while this may be true, Jenny Olson, an assistant professor of marketing at Indiana University who studies couples’ financial decision-making, found that “when it comes to money-management styles, opposites do attract.” As financial advisors, we have seen many cases where two partners have different backgrounds and relationships with money. It is very common for partners to have different approaches to their finances, but it’s important in how they to approach the merge them.
In order to have a relationship that is strong financially, as well as emotionally, remember to regularly discuss and review your finances and goals to help make sure that you and your partner are not only on the same track, but on the right one for you as a couple. When you become serious with your partner or even get married, many couples have to sit down to talk about both their relationship with money and how the merging of finances will work. While we know its not easy, its important in order to avoid financial lies. In fact, we read an interesting article that said financial lies between partners are way more common than you’d think. The study from Forbes Advisor found that the top three financial lies American’s tell each other are relating to debt, spending and large purchases, and spending patterns. While you and your partner may not have the same spending habits or relationship with money, but finding a happy medium or compromise to allow honesty is extremely crucial.
At Sherman Wealth, we work with many newly weds, young professionals and couples on the merging of their finances and how to find a medium that works for both parties. As we have said time and time again, communication, transparency, and honesty is key to a healthy relationship, especially as it relates to finances. We know money conversations can be awkward and uncomfortable, but they really are necessary for couples wanting to build a financial roadmap.
So, let’s take a look at some important topics couples should regularly review and discuss.
While financial topics can be difficult to discuss, they’re an important part of a happy and successful relationship. As mentioned prior, here at Sherman Wealth we help couples facilitate these conversations, especially when it comes to merging finances and creating combined goals. Make sure that both you and your partner are on the same page when it comes to finances, and set short and long term goals together to help keep you both on track.
If you need help going over your finances or coming up with a plan, you may want to seek working with a financial advisor to help point you in the right direction, based on your own goals, and help facilitate difficult, but important, discussions. If you have any questions, email us at info@shermanwealth.com or schedule a complimentary intro call here.
