Blog
Being unsure whether to pay off your mortgage or not is a good problem to have. It means you have significant savings and have afforded yourself some choices. While the idea of being debt-free is appealing to many, there are also compelling reasons to keep your mortgage. Let’s explore both sides of the debate to help you make an informed decision.
There are a variety of viewpoints on how social media influences our society - both good and bad. After all, some people are spending hours a day on these platforms and we need to be aware of their impact. From our vantage point, we’re paying close attention to how these networks influence our clients’ spending, saving, and investing habits.
The choice between buying and building a house hasn't become much easier in 2024. While the housing market has cooled off a bit this year, high building costs and interest rates are helping to support high home sale prices. According to Forbes, the average cost to build a new house is around $329,000 - not including the cost of land.
We can help you run some numbers on the money part. There’s a lot more that goes into a true "dream home" other than money, especially if you're thinking about living there through retirement. Discussing these three questions with your family can clarify what a home really means to you, and how the journey to your next home could impact your Return on Life (ROL).
Receiving an unexpected sum of money can be a welcome surprise, but deciding what to do with it can be a challenge. Should you save the money or pay down debt? Invest the funds or donate to charity?
While rushing to book a vacation with proceeds from a windfall may be tempting, it might be more rewarding to use the funds to shore up your finances for the long run. Here are five strategies to consider:
Mortgage rates have been rising steeply since 2021 and are now commonly found in the neighborhood of 7%. This is significant as you might remember rates in 2021 were often below 3%. The run-up has cooled the housing market considerably. Now, lenders are having to get creative to drive new business. They’re offering more incentives to find new buyers and to undercut the competition. Let’s take a look at some of these strategies (gimmicks if you’re a pessimist), to help you and those you know make smart lending decisions.
If We Set Unrealistic Expectations for Ourselves, We Never Reach True Wealth.
What does it mean to be rich? Some people live by the balance sheet, some die by it. Others don’t even know what a balance sheet is. How do you define wealth for yourself? A recent article on CNN reported that “a whopping 70% of those with at least $1 million in assets that are invested or available to invest, excluding home values, don’t consider themselves to be wealthy – only when they hit the $5 million mark (did) millionaires begin to feel wealthy.”
Our feelings about wealth stem more from our life decisions and social circles than from the numbers we see on our statements.
Teddy Roosevelt once said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” Feeling wealthy means feeling you have enough, of wanting what you have rather than being consumed with what you want.
Is Money a Supporting or Driving Element?
It's back-to-school season, which means it might be a good idea for parents to think about something their kids won't be learning in the classroom this year: how to manage money.
While there has been a growing movement in some states to include financial literacy as a high school graduation requirement, most kids head into adulthood without a good understanding of money and don’t have the knowledge to create good financial habits. Finance is often a taboo topic for many parents. They may not want their kids to worry about money or get a distorted view of the family's wealth. Sometimes parents don’t have very good money management skills themselves.
Our advice: start small. Here are three easy ways that parents can teach children the value of a dollar and start them on a path towards a greater Return on Life.
Most married couples take a “divide and conquer” approach to household tasks and chores. One spouse might handle weekly shopping, the other might handle garbage and recycling. One spouse might handle laundry and cleaning, the other might handle yardwork and maintenance. One spouse might drive the kids to school, the other might handle pickup and extracurricular activities.
But household spending and budgeting is one of those responsibilities that’s best tackled together. Money issues are one of the biggest sources of marital tension, and a leading factor in divorces. Here are five ways that you and your spouse can make sure you agree on your household spending, avoid surprises, and maximize the Return on Life ™ your money provides.
Many couples assume their attitudes about money are aligned. Then one day the roof needs an emergency repair that taps a savings account, or someone walks in the door with an unexpected splurge purchase (or worse yet, hides it!).
Stressful situations are not the ideal time for a couple to discover significant differences in spending habits. Sit down with your spouse and have a thorough review of your finances and your monthly budget. Find compromises that will allow you to save for the future while still enjoying your present.
In many households one spouse often handles all of the bill payments. This can lead to misunderstandings and arguments about where the money goes every month.
Both spouses should understand how much the household spends every month and how your bills get paid. If you’re the one who’s usually in charge of bills, take an hour to walk your spouse through your process. Show him or her which bills are paid electronically, which are paid by check, the monthly amounts, due dates, etc. This won’t just help both spouses understand the monthly cash flow, it will ensure that both spouses can handle household finances in the event of an emergency.
Newly married couples might still have banking or credit accounts that are only in the original account holder’s name. The other spouse might not find out about these accounts until a credit card is maxed out, or a checking account is overdrawn.
Again, the less stressful your reason for talking to your spouse, the more positive the outcome will be. Financial secrets tend to come out at the worst times, compounding stress, hurt feelings, and strain on your budget.
Your spouse should be a cosigner and beneficiary on all of your accounts and vice-versa. If one of those accounts carries a large liability, get out in front of the problem and talk about how to start paying it down. Discuss the ramifications of combining any large individual assets with a tax professional or your financial advisor.
If one spouse is responsible for budgeting and bill pay, that person often becomes The One Who Has to Say “No.” No eating out this week. No weekend trip to the waterpark. No new cell phones. No new clothes.
No fun!
Nobody likes being in that position, especially if you’re saying “No” to your children. Eventually, you or your spouse will resent being The One Who Has to Say “No.” You should both understand the household’s monthly cash flow and agree on how your money is – and isn’t – spent.
WFP clients have access to a tool within our financial planning software that help households set and maintain a budget. If you’re a small business owner, Intuit offers a line of bookkeeping and tax prep solutions to fit any needs. Automating select bill payments and regular contributions to retirement and savings accounts can also help to clarify your monthly budgeting picture.
Finally, if there’s a spending gap between you and your spouse that seems impossible to bridge, we can be an excellent resource. It’s important to us that we understand where clients’ attitudes about money come from, how they’ve developed, and how they can diverge between couples. Facilitating this dialogue is key to making sure both people have the best life possible with the money they have…and we can help you do that.
The housing market has been frustrating for buyers and a boon for sellers, but there are signs that those frustrations might be easing – depending on where you live.
Would-be buyers have struggled with historically low inventories, crazy bidding wars and now have to add rising mortgage rates to their worry list. Sellers on the other hand have been rejoicing as average housing prices continue to increase month-over-month and year-over-year, with average home prices jumping 15% in the last 12 months.
But sellers also face a dilemma: where do they go if they do in fact sell? And while there are signs that 2022 might see some cooling off, there are also signs that the relief will be too little – and maybe not at all in certain markets.
Will you make a New Year’s resolution this year? One of the smartest resolutions might be getting your finances in order. But as we all know keeping that promise to ourselves is another matter.
A lot of people make money resolutions. According numerous studies, the most popular resolution every year is to lose weight, followed by getting organized, and saving more money. It’s good to see that a financial-related resolution is in the top three.
Here is framework for making your New Year’s resolution stick.
