Financial goals make it possible for you and your partner to achieve the things you dream about. Here are several action items to create – and achieve – financial goals as a couple:
Start talking sooner rather than later. Finances can be hard to talk about. People sometimes feel guilty about debt or ashamed that they don’t make more money than they do. More than that, many people consider money to be a private thing that shouldn’t be discussed with others.
However, the first step to setting financial goals as a couple is to start talking. And the sooner you start talking with your partner, the better prepared you’ll be to make positive financial decisions. Saving for a big purchase, for example, takes time and planning. Having a discussion early gives you more time to start saving.
Agree on your goals. Once you’re talking about your finances, you’ll want to agree on your goals. Would you like to pay off your credit card debt? Save for a big family vacation? Have more of a financial safety net?
After you’ve agreed on what you’d like to achieve, start talking about how you’ll work together to achieve it. The best financial plans require both partners to contribute to the financial goal – whether that means each agreeing to contribute monthly to a savings account or cutting back on personal spending.
Keep the conversation going. Plans need maintenance to succeed. That means continuing to talk about them, and checking progress on a regular basis. It’s important for both partners to know all the numbers, even if one partner is the primary manager of the finances.
Scheduling a regular financial conversation is one way to keep you and your partner on track to achieving your goals. This financial date night is a good way to ensure that things are proceeding as planned. It’s an opportunity to check in and adjust the numbers accordingly.
With open communication and commitment from both partners, you’ll be well on your way to reaching your financial goals.
While U.S. savings habits are improving, nearly 50% of Americans have no more than $500 in the event of an emergency. If you want to ramp up your savings, every little bit helps. Consider these 3 rules to jumpstart your savings and start building wealth.
Create a budget. Track your expenses for one month to discover how much you really spend. Be sure to track everything, including food, utilities, household items and debt payments. Take your total expenses and multiply it by 6. This the amount of money to aim for saving in your emergency fund.
Make household debt your enemy. If you’re juggling credit card, vehicle and mortgage payments, your savings accounts may be starved. And without enough cash to cover emergencies, many people resort to credit cards and lines of credit to cover unforeseen expenses. So the debt cycle continues. Since you now have a budget, you can see exactly how much debt you have to pay off.
Review your income. With your current level of income, calculate how long it will take to pay off all your debt, then build up your 6-month emergency fund. Depending on your financial goals, consider whether it makes sense to start a side gig, or continue upgrading your current skillset, to continue growing your income.
How to Stay on Track
Treat your savings like a monthly bill. Once you have an emergency fund, treat your savings as your most important monthly bill. Write a check to your savings account first, or have money automatically deducted from your checking account or paycheck and transferred to your savings account.
Contribute to retirement accounts. Tax-deferred retirement accounts offer a smart way to save money for retirement. If your employer offers a 401(k) or SIMPLE retirement plan, contribute as much as you can. If your employer doesn’t offer a plan, consider opening an individual retirement account (IRA). The money you contribute to a retirement account can reduce your taxable income and grow tax-free until withdrawn.
Control your spending. When it comes to saving, think control. For example, control the use of your credit cards. The amount you pay each month in finance charges could go towards savings instead. Also control the use of your ATM card. Get in the habit of giving yourself a regular cash allowance, and try to live with it.
The number of independent workers continues to soar in the U.S. According to MBO Partners, there were 64.6 million independent workers in 2022, an increase of 26% from 2021. The number of full-time independent workers increased to 21.6 million, up from 15.3 million in 2019.
Succeeding as an independent contractor, however, can be challenging because it requires understanding a different set of key success factors than being a full-time employee. Here are some tips on developing your skill set as an independent contractor and where to turn to if you need help.
Contract for companies with generous payment terms. The time required for companies to pay its bills to contract workers varies from business to business. Investigate a company’s policy for paying its contract workers to make sure it’s what you’re expecting. Remember, cash is king!
Market your services by creating an online portfolio. If being a contract worker is your full-time job, you’ll need to always be looking for your next gig. One great way to market yourself to prospective businesses is to create an online portfolio that showcases the work you can perform. You can choose to build a website using a do-it-yourself service or hire a developer to create a custom website.
Stick to a budget. As a full-time employee, you know the exact date you’ll receive your paycheck and usually the exact dollar amount. As a participant in the gig economy, however, you could earn a bunch of money in one month and hardly any money the following month. Prepare a financial budget so you can use income earned during your good months to cover costs during low income months.
Stay one step ahead of the IRS. Paying taxes is now your responsibility. Participating in the gig economy requires more knowledge about how to meet your tax obligations, so ask for professional help. You can also find more information by visiting the IRS Gig Economy Tax Center.
Get advice from others. Working primarily by yourself can leave you isolated from fellow workers. Join a local group of self-employed workers that meets on a regular basis to network and learn what other workers are doing to be successful.
Remember that you are not alone. The complex nature of tax obligations for contractors can be navigated with professional help.
Here are several ways to make sure that your tax return is prepared and filed as quickly (and as accurately!) as possible.
Keep tax documents in one place. Missing tax documents are one of the biggest reasons that filing a tax return gets delayed! If you receive documents via both physical mail and e-mail, it’s even more important that you have one place to store all your documents once you receive them.
Organize your tax documents by type. To help make filing your tax return as easy as possible, sort your tax documents in tax return order. Glance through last year’s tax return and create a folder for each section including income, business and rental information, adjustments to income, itemized deductions, tax credit information, and a miscellaneous bucket.
Create list of special events from the previous year. You receive a Form W-2 from your employer every year. If you’re in business, you probably receive a Form 1099 from certain clients each year. But certain tax documents you won’t see each year. Selling a home doesn’t happen every year for most people. Likewise with getting married (or divorced) or sending a kid to college. So create a list of special events that have happened over the past year, as some of these occasions may affect your taxes.
Don’t forget your signature! You (and your spouse, if married) must sign and date your tax return if physically mailing it to the IRS. Forgetting your signature could delay the processing of your return (and potential tax refund!) by up to several months. If e-filing, don’t forget to sign Form 8879. This form authorizes the e-filing of your tax return.
E-file your return. The IRS has struggled over the past 3 years to process paper-filed tax returns. In 2021, this backlog reach more than 20 million tax returns. You can avoid getting your physical return potentially misplaced by the IRS by e-filing. Even better, you can typically receive any refunds within one to two weeks when e-filing.
These are some of the more common reasons why the preparation and filing of your tax return may get delayed. Be prepared and file your return this year without a hitch!
With competition abounding for virtually every product or service, businesses need to hone every advantage available to them. One of the ways you can set your business apart from the pack is to create an awesome customer experience starting with the first interaction that continues through the entirety of the relationship. How does one foster this level of customer service? Here are several ideas to help you get there:
Make a great first impression. The first impression a potential customer gets about your business can come from many different avenues. Strive to make all of them impressive. Is your website fresh? Are your customer service reps easy to talk to on the phone? Does your social media offer timely, relevant information? Is your lobby clean and organized? All details matter. A poor initial impression may drive your potential customer to the competition without a second thought.
Manage the outcome. With every customer interaction, there are three potential outcomes: positive, negative and neutral. In all cases, your goal must be to leave them feeling positive about your business. For example, assume you receive a call from a customer looking to hear about a new service. The employee that handles the service is not available and you are limited in your knowledge. The worst thing you can say is, “I’m sorry, the person responsible for the service is not here at the moment.” In the customer’s mind, you immediately removed the possibility of a positive outcome! Instead, engage the customer to hear about their needs, gather as much information as possible and commit to finding the answers for them and calling them back immediately.
Search for useful feedback. No matter how well you strive to offer top-notch customer service, there will always be some instances that are less than favorable. Oftentimes, customers are more than willing to tell you about it, but you need to have a system in place if you want to hear the story in a helpful way. This can be as simple as response cards at the front desk or an automated email campaign looking for feedback. Encourage loyal customers to let you know how you are doing so you get a holistic view of your performance.
Turn problems into opportunities. Knowing your strengths can reaffirm your approach and help you set customer service performance goals. On the other hand, learning about a bad experience from a customer’s perspective will give you great insight into how you can improve. Use these problems to focus your activity. Over time the results of this continual improvement can have a tremendous impact on your business.
Creating a culture that excels at customer service is attainable if you put in the effort to know your customer’s needs and understand that every impression matters!
