Online Banking
Sign Up!
Making the decision to return to work after staying at home with children, or leaving the workforce to stay at home is sometimes a difficult decision for parents. The financial aspects of that decision will be based on the elimination of expenses incurred while staying at home, examples of which are life and health insurance premiums that may be replaced by employer-provided plans. When looking at the benefits of working, income should be considered right alongside the ability to build a retirement fund through 401(k) contributions, the cost of health and life insurance and the expenses associated with being part of the workforce.
Most people have a cup, jar or piggy bank full of change that you fill each day when you empty your pockets or clean out your purse. How much do you have? Count it up and take a look!
Getting your spending under control and in line with your income is an essential element to building a healthy financial future. Analyze your spending (including what you put on a credit card) each month to make sure you are not spending more than you are bringing in. Once you have got that under control, consider placing what 'extra' you have every month in savings. You will never know when you will need it and it is better to take money out of a savings account to pay for unanticipated expenses rather than adding it to a credit card balance.
Whether you are trying to save for big screen television, a new car or for a down payment on a new home, time, money and rate of return will all be determinant factors of when you will meet your savings goal.
Everybody wants to be a millionaire, but few have the savings discipline to get there. Your current savings, additional monthly savings and the rate of return you receive all go into saving to be a millionaire. However, it may not stop there. If you want to have a million dollars worth of purchasing power, you have to factor in inflation into your savings plan. That means that depending on the amount of time it takes you to save a million dollars you might have to have saved even more to have a million worth of purchasing power.
How interest is calculated can have a great impact on the interest earned by your account and how your savings grow. Compound interest arises when interest is added to the principal and when the interest that has also been added earns interest. You will see your account balance grow more quickly with accounts that pay interest more frequently. The "Annual Percentage Yield" or APY is the effective annual rate of return once the effect of compounding interest is factored in.
If you are already a saver, you might ask yourself the question "what if I save more"? Increasing your current savings rate by even 1% can yield significant results. Save even more, and the results are even better. The more you can save, and the longer you can save will open your savings up to the magic of compounding, or the ability to earn interest on your re-invested earned interest.
Email