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Open enrollment season is upon us! As I think about electing benefits for the coming year, it really brings up broader financial goals I have for 2025 and beyond. 2024 Benefits Enrollment In 2024, I maxed out my Health Savings Account (HSA), and kept a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) specifically for childcare. Because my employer also contributes to my HSA, my commitment out-of-pocket was $6,860 for the year. At this point, I no longer use after-school childcare, but I used my FSA for summer day camps. For summer 2024, I had $1,000 dedicated to my childcare FSA. 2025 Benefits Enrollment Since the HSA cap has increased, I am planning to increase my contributions. For 2025, I will max out our HSA contributions to the tune of $7,110 for the year (again – my employer contributes, as well, which brings me to the max cap). FSAs are only able to be used for children age 12 and below. While my kids are 12 right now, they will be turning 13 this summer. Additionally, I don’t have any summer camps picked out and the girls are getting to an age that they would rather just sleep in and be at home versus going to a camp (even though they’ve been lucky to do some really cool camps in the past – everything from drama camp to horse camp to sewing camp, etc.). Also, with my childcare custody schedule, I only have the girls every-other-week, so I have less need for childcare in the summer. They’re gone half the time already as it is. I’m lucky to work mostly from home. The kids can be home alone if needed. And I want to prioritize spending time together as a family when they are with me. For all these reasons, I’ve decided NOT to enroll in a Flexible Spending Account for 2025. Other Financial Goals Thinking about and planning for these benefits makes me think of broader financial goals in general. For example, I don’t want to just have that $1,000 I would have had in an FSA come back to me in my paycheck. I’d rather invest it elsewhere. And in general, my goal is to continue to increase my rate of savings and investing. My pie-in-the-sky goal is to get to a place where my savings and investments amount to approximately 50% of my paycheck. For that reason, my plan is to increase investments in three additional categories: 529 accounts, an optional 403b, and Fidelity Go account. I won’t be at the 50% threshold, but I want to incrementally work my way toward it. 529 Accounts – Pros and Cons One of my savings goals is to increase the amount I’m saving for each of my kids for college. Currently, each of my daughters has a 529 college savings account where I make a modest monthly investment ($60/month/child x 2 kids). The PROS of a 529 is that the money grows tax-deferred and, if used on educational expenses, can be
Print-on-demand has been one of the most successful side hustle ideas in the past five years. It involves coming up with a design and uploading it to a company that will use that design to make and market products ranging from prints to pillow cases. The print-on-demand company usually takes care of everything but the design, paying the artist or designer a royalty on every sale. But as print-on-demand has become more popular as a […]
Since last Wednesday, depending on your political leanings, you have been celebrating or in mourning. Or maybe you greeted the news with indifference. Now, as the dust settles, you might be wondering what this all means for your portfolio. Love him or loathe him, Mr. Trump is a disruptive force and Mr. Market hates… [Continue Reading] The post President Trump and the future of stock returns appeared first on JLCollinsnh.
To better handle customer complaints, owners of small- or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) must understand that purchases are the culmination of two arguments: a logical one based on advertised specifications and, importantly, an emotional one based on a customer’s feelings about a product. Thus, once a customer commits to a purchase, disruptions to their buying experience […] The post 8 Tips for SME Owners in Handling Payment Complaints appeared first on Make Money Without A Job.
An ad for a gorgeous cashmere jumper flashed up on my Facebook feed…apparently there was a closing down sale for Velora London in Covent Garden – and I fell for this fake scam as did many others: https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/velora-london.com Beware that these sites are scam sites: https://velora-london.co.uk/ and https://velora-london.com What they do is: Take your order 2. They won’t let you cancel once you realise it’s a fake site – in my case 2 hours, so […]
Well, that was…certainly something. Once again, defying all odds and every reputable poll (we have GOT to stop reading those), Donald Trump has once again been elected as President of the United States. When we woke up the next day and the world realized that Trump was going to win, our phone started pinging with messages from friends, family, and readers asking whether it was time to sell everything and move it all into cash. […]
Welcome to Wise & Wealthy: A weekly newsletter full of proven ideas to become smarter and wealthier. #150 – November 11, 2024 Was this shared with you? Sign up here. The End of Wise & Wealthy After 2.5 years and 150 editions of Wise & Wealthy, I’m pulling the plug. It’s not the end of my blog though. I’ve been publishing articles since 2015. And I’ve been sending out a weekly newsletter in some shape or […]
I’ve seen it over and over again with clients: they reached financial independence at some point in their 50s or 60s. And then, years later (maybe several years, maybe a decade or more), they inherited a whole bunch of money from their parents. And it’s not that the inheritance does nothing for them, but it really doesn’t change their lives dramatically, despite being a very large sum. Christine Benz recently discussed the implications of a […]
Regardless of what we are learning, researching or practicing people often use the terms and concepts of efficiency and effectiveness interchangeably. I’m guilty of this. This often happens when we talk about personal finance concepts as well. But these two concepts are not the same. Let’s break them down, and better understand what it means to be both efficient and effective. Especially when it comes to our financial goals. Efficiency: Being efficient is about doing […]
Before we explore new developments for 2025, 2024 was so chock full of Solo 401(k) developments that it deserves its own rundown. Then we will move onto 2025 Solo 401(k) changes. Vanguard Out! Vanguard transferred all of their Solo 401(k) accounts to Ascensus in 2024. Vanguard is now entirely out of the Solo 401(k) business. […]
The topic I learned the most about when studying for Certified Financial Planner (CFP) certification was tax planning. As I began working with clients, I realized this is the area I had the most to continue to learn if I wanted to truly master it. So I recently took Part 1 of the IRS enrolled… The post Know the Flow, Pay Less Tax appeared first on Can I Retire Yet?.
One reason many people shy away from competition is that they dislike losing. With often only one winner, the sting of defeat can feel too humiliating. When people stop competing, they can become more fragile over time, to the point where even small setbacks can disrupt their well being. Ironically, the best path to victory […] The post The Power Of Losing: How Setbacks Can Lead To Success appeared first on Financial Samurai.