Author: Sahel Tamayo

 

Money and finances are not the sexiest topics to discuss with your spouse. This is the reason why many couples just push the conversation to the side. Most of them completely avoid talking about budgets, expenses, debts, and financial goals. Unfortunately, finances should always be the first discussion you need to have with your significant other.

The question now is, how often should you discuss finances with your spouse in the first place?

The good news is you don’t have to talk about finances every single day. However, it should happen regularly. It would also be great if you do it on a well-planned and consistent schedule. This way, both you and your partner will be ready for the discussion.

But if you are still unsure of how often you should discuss finances with your spouse, here are some tips to help you out:

Stick to a Monthly Schedule

Financial experts recommend scheduling a financial discussion at t the start of the month. According to them, this timing will let you go over and anticipate big expenses for that particular month in advance to reduce any stress that may occur because of sudden expenditures. This is the best time to plan for events where one-time payments are necessary such as birthdays, vacations, and biannual bills for car insurance.

They also advise that planning the month will let you prepare a plan and a budget specifically tailored to your needs for that month. Every month will always have different needs. If you and your spouse want to have active monthly tracking, you can also schedule a quick check-in every 15^th of the month to check if your set budget still works or if you can adjust your needs depending on unforeseen spending.

Tips for Monthly Financial Discussions with Your Spouse

Here are tips to help you get started with discussing finances with your spouse every month:

• Designate who will lead every meeting.

It will only be natural for one person to want to lead the financial discussions. However, if both of you don’t feel enthusiastic about the conversation, you can also alternate who will run the meeting, take notes, and designate action items.

• Plan in advance.

What happens during monthly financial discussions? The last thing you want is to talk only to have some surprises. Make it a point to plan. Days before the talk, check your bills, your expenses, and the current state of your investments.

If something might potentially trigger your partner, inform them ahead of time to give them a chance to react and discuss it rationally during the discussion.

• Have an agenda in place.

It is easy to just sit down clueless about what to discuss and after 10 minutes, one of you says that everything is good and both of you just go on your way without even talking about the tough stuff.

See to it that you always have a specific agenda to talk about your long-term and short-term financial goals and decisions as a couple. Things may be different every month but make sure you include upcoming and past debt, investments, credit card statements, and budget reviews.

 

If you think you are finally ready to buy your first home, it is important to learn about the available first-time homebuyer programs in your area and how they work.

These special programs may vary depending on the types of assistance they provide and their requirements for eligibility, with all of them providing some form of financial assistance. With the help of these programs, you can afford one of the major purchases in your life.

What are First-Time Homebuyer Programs?

First-time homebuyer programs are programs sponsored by the government and are meant to help people buy their first home. These programs may differ depending on the state. In general, however, they provide financial assistance in the form of down payment assistance, low-interest rates, and other forms of incentives.

Some examples of these programs include the following:

A few examples include:

• • State-sponsored programs, like the California New Home Grant Program, can assist as well.
  • The FHA or Federal Housing Administration
  • The National Association of Realtors® (NAR)® Homebuyer Assistance Program
  • The Veterans Affairs Homebuyer Assistance Program

Who is Eligible for First-Time Homebuyer Programs?

Every program has its own set of requirements for eligibility which vary depending on the state where the program is located and the program itself.

Generally speaking, however, you are eligible if you buy your first house and you meet the program’s set criteria. These criteria may include being widowed, a military veteran, being newly divorced, having a low income, and preparing to buy your first house.

You may also be eligible for the rest of the programs if you are already a homeowner. But these programs will disqualify applicants right away if they are trying to buy investment properties or second homes.

How First-Time Homebuyer Programs Work

After you have determined your eligibility for first-time homebuyer programs, your next step is to look for the program that suits your specific needs.

These programs often provide an array of incentives like down payment assistance or low-interest rates to help you buy your house.

Once you identified the program you are eligible for, you can then submit your application and then meet the requirements for eligibility.

When you get accepted to the program and you met all the eligibility requirements, you can now start preparing for your home purchase. It may include looking for a qualifying house and making essential financial commitments. Lastly, once you have completed all the necessary paperwork, and your financing is also approved, it is now time for you to buy the house of your dreams.

How to Use First-Time Homebuyer Programs

There is really no definitive way of using first-time homebuyer programs because every program has its own guidelines and requirements. But if your financial assistance has been approved, you will receive the money to help you buy a home.

These programs are typically not for house flipping or rehabbing a home. In case you need assistance to make repairs, you might want to get a personal loan for financing the home improvement. You will have a higher chance of getting approved for assistance to cover repairs compared to what homebuyer’s programs can offer.

 

It is all too easy for an investor to fall into the trap of having a long list of expectations. However, since too many expectations may lead to regrets and disappointments, it is important to learn how to manage them properly. Here are some of the best ways to manage expectations as an investor:

Always Look at the Bigger Picture

If you are just getting started as an investor, one of the first and most critical things to keep in mind is that stocks tend to go up and down.

Every time you invest, never sell dips and buy peaks. If you have done your homework and purchased a stock you believe will have good performance over time, avoid selling it if it is down to 5% when you wake up the next morning.

Although you have to know the best time for selling underperforming investments, it is also not a good idea to have a frequent rotation of your wealth between stocks.

Always look at the bigger picture that aligns with your own financial goals. If you purchased a stock you think will do well in the next 5 years or so, don’t go into panic mode if it underperforms for one quarter provided that the fundamentals stay the same.

Come Up with a Plan 

It is also a must to figure out how you will manage the building of your investment. Understanding the amount of monthly investment that you will make will help you forecast your financial growth better.

Most open banking platforms provide insights into your portfolio’s potential growth over the long, mid, and short term. This all boils down to you sparing just the money you can afford for your investments to continue working.

Allocate enough money for investments, immediate tasks, and emergencies in the form of cash. You can then follow the general rule of thumb where you deduct your current age from 100 and then allocate the residual percentage in stocks and the remaining in bonds. Simply put, if you are currently 20 years of age, 80% of your current assets should be placed in stocks while the remaining 20% should be designated for bonds.

A good plan will help you invest at a more consistent pace that won’t have any negative effects on your everyday life.

Set Clear Goals

The last and not least, new investors should also know the reason why they are investing in the first place. You will never be able to come up with a portfolio if you have no idea what your goals are.

Setting clear and definite goals will help give you a better understanding of what stocks to invest in and where to look for them as a way to generate the wealth you want.

The investing world may seem like a daunting and scary place but as long as you know how to manage your expectations, you will be able to navigate it with ease and more confidence so you can achieve your goals and enjoy the fruits of your hard work.

 

Knowing when to finally retire and just enjoy your life can be quite challenging and confusing. While others aim to retire at a specific age, some hope to save a particular amount of money for it.

However, there is more to retirement than merely being an arbitrary number. Retirement is a major transition in life that you need to prepare for years.

Whether you are nearing your retirement date or just want to be fully prepared for this critical stage of your life, here is the 8-point checklist of things you should do before retirement to ensure that you don’t forget or miss anything.

• Build Your Emergency Fund

Before pulling the trigger on your retirement, see to it that you got some money set aside for rainy days, including medical expenses, car repairs, a new roof, or other unexpected needs. Your emergency fund should be kept in a different savings account. This way, you won’t feel any temptation to spend it on other things. Financial experts suggest saving 3 to 6 months’ worth of your income.

• Create a Diverse Portfolio

Diversifying your portfolio means having different investments such as bonds, stocks, and real estate in various industries. Together with making quality and reliable investments, this will help ensure that your current portfolio won’t experience wild fluctuations and at the same time, offer a reliable and solid income stream.

• Envision Your Own Retirement

Retirement is never a one-size-fits-all thing. Be sure to envision what and how you wish your retirement to look like, from your lifestyle to your place of residence, your expenses, how you plan to spend your time, and more.

• Determine When to Withdraw Your Funds

Since there are regulations and rules in terms of when you can and must withdraw from your retirement funds, you might want to consider working with the specific institution managing your funds. Take note that you will get more if you also wait longer.

• Lower Your Debt

If your current debt is low, you are off to a great start. But if it is higher than how much you’d want it to be, you might need to work a bit longer. Try to pay at least the minimum payment for your debts every month.

• Have an Estate Plan in Place

Regardless of your total wealth, it is always a good idea to head into retirement with an estate plan in place. This will ensure the distribution of your assets according to your preferences and wishes. Your estate plan must include a power of attorney, a trust, and a will.

• Give Room for Fun Stuff

Most retirees end up missing the socialization and structured schedule that their job provided. Don’t hesitate to come up with some interests and hobbies to keep you inspired and busy throughout your retirement.

• Make an Asset Inventory

All the tips above will not be possible if you have no idea where you really stand in terms of finances. List down your stocks, source of income, insurance policy, and savings balance.

Consider other assets you have such as vehicles, properties, jewelry, antiques, and other valuable possessions. Don’t forget to add all your assets and then deduct your debts from them to determine your current financial standing.

Once you have ticked off all these, you can finally say that you are ready to retire!

These are the thing to do before retirement. Read about Covin-19 scams.

 

 

 

Real estate stocks may involve publicly traded stocks for businesses that touch the real estate market in some fashion, form, or shape. These businesses may include developers, financiers, manufacturers, real estate brokers, retailers, and technology companies.

Different Types of Real Estate Stocks

Similar to other stock market sectors, there are also several sub-sectors of real estate stocks according to their businesses. Today’s real estate sector is often segmented into the sub-sectors below:

• Commercial

Commercial real estate stocks mainly develop, own, or operate retail or office space that houses different kinds of businesses.

• Healthcare

Healthcare real estate stocks manage, buy, or build facilities related to healthcare such as assisted living facilities, post-acute care centers, and senior housing.

• Residential

Residential real estate stocks involve companies that focus on the lease and ownership of properties where tenants live such as apartments, executive housing, and condos.

• Specialty

Aside from REITs investing in core property types such as commercial and residential, you can also find specialty stocks investing in things such as entertainment spaces like arenas and other kinds of venues.

On top of the different types of real estate stocks that develop, operate, or own physical properties, some stocks also invest in certain operations indirectly related to real estate. These may include companies such as mortgage REITs that invest in various securities backed by a mortgage.

Benefits of Real Estate Stock Investment

Investing in real estate stocks offers several advantages, such as the following:

• Diversity

Investing in real estate stocks allows investors to invest in an entire property portfolio represented in one ownership share.

• Liquidity

Thanks to publicly traded real estate stocks, investors can invest in physical properties without any need to buy, manage, and identify properties themselves. Investors can also have an easier time selling shares if they want access to some cash.

• Professional Management

Shareholders get a layer of professional management from real estate companies focusing on the management of the property portfolio of the company to increase shareholder value.

• Regular Income

Those investors with ownership of REITs shares often get regular dividend payments according to their investment size.

• Tax Benefits

Tax advantages await companies that earn passive income through real estate leasing.

How to Buy Real Estate Stocks

The process of investing in stocks is rather straightforward. You can do it using online brokerage accounts. One of the biggest benefits of real estate stock investment is that you don’t need a large sum of money just to get started since you would directly purchase a physical property.

It is a great help for those who wish to embark on their real estate journey but don’t have much money to invest in it just yet. Similar to buying a property, due diligence and research are necessary to find the best opportunities for real estate stock investment.

If an investment is something difficult for you to understand, you might want to avoid putting any money in it until you do. Since stock is defined as owning a small part of a business, you need to spend more time learning about the said business first.

There are several ways to educate yourself like listening to podcasts and reading blogs or books. Below are some questions you need to ask and answer to identify if it is worth it to buy a stock or not:

• Does the present stock price seem like a great buy?
• How does a company earn money?
• How can the company make more money?
• What makes the company different or better than its competitors?
• What risk can make the company fail or lose profits in the future?

One of the biggest decisions you may ever make in your life is moving in with your partner. While this can be a very exciting time, it also involves a few daunting hurdles you need to address sooner than later. One of these is none other than your finances.

To prevent misunderstandings and conflicts down the road, here are some important money conversations you need to have before moving in with your partner:

The “Combining Your Finances” Convo

Merging your financial lives can be done in many ways and it is a must to talk about how you plan to do it before moving in together. Aside from the fact that the two of you may have conflicting ideas on how finances should work, you also need to discuss the specifics that work for the two of you despite being on the same page.

The “Money Management” Convo

In most couples, one person will naturally become in charge of money management. However, it is not the case all the time.

Determining in advance who will deal with everything from shopping around to price negotiations, bill payments, and balancing the checkbook will help you designate these chores to the one who got the time or skills to handle them.

Being on the same page when it comes to money management will ensure that you won’t have major arguments or make costly mistakes like unpaid bills.

The “Assets and Liabilities” Convo

While no one loves talking about credit card statements, student loan debt, and retirement account balances, it will be a big mistake not to know both of your financial standings before you move in together.

Couples need to be transparent and honest with each other when it comes to their financial situation. The last thing you want is to discover that your partner is neck-deep in debt right on the day you move in.

The “Major Financial Goals” Convo

At this point, it’s likely that both of you already got some basic idea of your individual goals. However, you also need to regularly talk about these goals and your plans for achieving them. As the saying goes, goals are dreams with deadlines. If you don’t discuss your goals, you will never come up with a plan on how to achieve them.

The “Money Beliefs” Convo

It’s all too easy to just see money as a matter of doing the math. However, this topic is actually a very emotional one. Starting from childhood, people hone their money beliefs, also called money scripts, which can be very tricky to change.

If you and your partner have different money beliefs, you might end up arguing often just because you don’t agree on the purpose and nature of money.

Before moving in with your partner, always take time some time to discuss your earliest memories about money. This kind of conversation won’t just let you understand how both of you shaped your present financial views. At the same time, this will bring you closer because you also get to discover your emotional development as a child.

 

True financial confidence for most people isn’t really because of having a good debt load, a hefty bank balance, or a high net worth.

Instead, habits that accumulate patterns and small wins over time are the true source of a sense of financial confidence.

Positive money habits make you feel confident, and when you are confident, you fall into a more positive routine that soon leads to a significant improvement.

Here are some tips on how to feel more confident with your money:

Come Up with an Emergency Fund

You can never tell when something will happen that can put your financial plans and budgets in complete turmoil. Car accidents, job loss, home repairs, emergency room trips, and even divorce, all of these can wreak havoc on your finances.

You can sleep better and more peacefully at night if you create an emergency fund to ensure that you don’t have to turn to your investments or credit card just to get by. Try to save a minimum of 3 to 5 months of your income in a readily accessible high-yield savings account.

If you are a beginner, even small savings can already make a big difference. You will surely thank yourself for setting aside some money to protect against some of the more difficult and unexpected life challenges.

Talk About It

The easiest and simplest way to lessen or demystify the anxiety of any situation is to just talk about it. At first, it might feel uncomfortable but little by little, it will soon become a normal part of your conversations.

Start by discussing money a bit and then talk about finances more frequently. Doing so can lower the power and control of these fears over your life and help you feel remarkably more secure as you move forward.

Know Your Numbers

As far as your finances are concerned, knowledge is always power, and ignorance is never bliss. To feel more confident with your money, it is important to know and be familiar with your numbers.

Determine your variable and fixed expenses and your post-tax income. For your life to be more profitable, your income should be higher than your expenses. Always take time to assess your current situation and document your spending.

Other numbers you should know include your credit score, your account balances, your student loan details, your debt utilization ratio, and your interest rates. After knowing these numbers, record and store them in one place.

Stay Organized

After having the numbers handy, you have to make sure that they are organized and readily available. Prepare a filing cabinet or several folders and develop a storage or filing system for your financial details. This will ensure that all pertinent details are handy every time you need them, making you feel in better control of the situation.

Some other documents you should collect and organize include your mortgage documents, receipts, bank statements, tax returns, checkbooks, insurance contracts, and other personal information.

Follow these simple tips and feel more financially confident in no time!

 

 

When you are a complete novice in the world of budgeting, trying to navigate the tricky maze may feel daunting and confusing.

Good thing there are a few simple steps you can take to get started with setting up your very first budget.

Steps to setting up a budget as a beginner:

1. Gather All Your Paperwork

To determine your monthly expenses and income, the first thing you should do is gather all your financial statements for the past 3 months or so, including your paystubs, bank statements, credit card bills, receipts, loan statements, and insurance bills, and utility bills.

2. Choose the Right Budgeting Tool for You

While the good old-fashioned paper and pen is the only thing you need to come up with a budget, it might be easier for you if you use spreadsheet programs such as Google Docs or Excel.

You can also use a budgeting app that will let you sync your banking information so you can categorize and track your expenses. This step can be as high-tech or low-tech as you want.

3. Calculate Your Monthly Income

This is now the time to calculate your take-home income. It refers to the money you pull in from your paycheck after taking out taxes, automatic deductions, healthcare, and other similar items.

If you got some side gigs or other income sources such as Social Security, investment income, or child support, you also need to include them to determine your average total income every month.

4. List Down Your Fixed Expenses

Fixed expenses are your monthly expenses paid at fixed rates like rent, cable and internet bills, car payments, student loans, phone bills, and the like. These are often simple enough to pin down because they don’t change every month.

5. Take Note of Your Variable Expenses

Listing these expenses may be a bit challenging and you might need to come up with some averages and estimates. Your variable expenses may include the amount you spend on buying clothes or dining out every month or other things that may fluctuate month to month.

Your bank and credit card statements may help you get a better idea of your variable expenses. You might not get detailed results because you might no longer recall the purpose of a certain transaction. However, it can serve as a great starting point if you want to start your journey with budgeting right away.

To get a more accurate picture, it might be better if you track your monthly spending. To do it, you can jot down all of your expenses as you go, save your receipts, and record them later. You can also track purchases with the help of a budgeting app.

6. Do the Math

This is now the time to deduct your average expenses every month from your average income per month to determine the amount left for your savings.

If your expenses are lower than your income, you are off to a great start. The extra money can be used on other aspects of your budget like paying off debt or setting up your emergency fund.

If nothing is left, it would be great to cut your expenses so you can get more money for savings for the future or other goals you have.

Budgeting shouldn’t be scary. Use these tips and be on your way to better finances!