Budgeting software has totally changed the way that we think about our money. They give us the ability to customize our budget which can help us: 

• Get out of debt.
• Save more money. 
• Cut expenses. 
• And make our hard-earned dollars go further. 

With budgeting software applications on our mobile devices, we can take them with us everywhere to inform our spending and saving decisions. They have given us intuitive and easy-to-use tools that make budgeting easier. With so many budgeting software and applications on the market though, how can you be sure which one is going to be the best for you? 

Modern budgeting tools simplify managing your money. Some of these tools don't cost anything, but some can still really benefit you for only a small fee. Mint and Quicken are perfect examples of these tools. 

Mint is free, while Quicken will cost you a small fee. However, both can be extremely helpful and keep your finances organized. Let's take a closer look at both of these great budgeting apps. 

There was a time when monitoring your financial situation was relatively complicated. Whether it was balancing a checkbook or writing expenses in a ledger, you had to input everything by hand and do a lot of math to get accurate results. 

Thankfully, we’re living in the golden age of technology. Instead of using old-fashioned financial tracking methods, all you need to do is download an app, and you’re ready to go. However, with so many options available, it can be a bit overwhelming to determine which one is best for your needs. Fortunately, we’re here to help with our review of Mint vs. Personal Capital. 

Like it seems for just about every service profession today if you want to go the DIY route and figure it out for yourself, just Google it and you’ll be on your way. I swear I think there is a YouTube video for just about every DIY project you’re attempting to do around the house, with some being easier than others.

While it’s not quite that easy when it comes to managing your finances or becoming your own financial advisor, it can still be done. As long as you have the time and willingness to learn, you certainly can go at it yourself. Many people handle their personal finances themselves and do a great job.

Since the novel coronavirus began spreading across the globe, it has impacted everything about our daily lives. However, while some of the effects were immediate, such as quarantines and lockdowns, one of the less obvious was how it would impact retirement planning. 

In this article, we want to look at the various ways that COVID-19 has disrupted retirement plans. To help understand these effects better, we’re going to look at the three stages of planning - early, pre-retirement, and retirement. We’ll also pay attention to the various legal changes that were inside the relief bill passed in March. 

The Financial Freedom Blueprint® Is Now An Online Course

We have some super exciting news around here at NextGen Wealth. We have taken our trademarked financial planning process, The Financial Freedom Blueprint®, and turned it into a do it yourself online course.

So, if you’re the do it yourselfer type when it comes to your personal finances, you now have a financial planning process laid out for you that will take you through every step of the way.

President Trump signed into law the ‘Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement’ Act (SECURE Act) on December 20, 2019. It became effective on January 1, 2020. The SECURE Act is considered a part of the government’s spending bill and will affect retirement savers inevitably. 

The legislation puts into place several provisions that are designed to strengthen retirement security across the country. It also includes several common-sense reforms that are considered long overdue. These reforms are designed to make retirement more accessible and easier for many Americans.

When discussing retirement planning, it’s crucial to prepare for the most significant expenses you’ll be facing. While you can control some of these, one cost that will only get higher is healthcare. Unfortunately, as you get older, your body will require more maintenance and upkeep, which can lead to more hospital visits, medications, and other treatments.  

To ensure that you’re ready for rising healthcare costs, we want to outline the best way to plan for them during retirement. Whether you’re going to retire in a few years or a few decades, it’s never too soon (or too late) to prepare. Here’s what you need to know. 

Remember when saving for retirement used to be so easy? Yea, I don’t either because I wasn’t alive back then. However, if you were, all you had to do was work 40 years at your employer, get your pension and social security and then sail off into the retirement sunset.

Today, on the other hand, it's a totally different story. It now basically falls completely on your shoulders. There are so many questions. How much should I save in my 401k? What do I even invest in? What about a Roth IRA? The list can go on and on. Let's take it step-by-step to get you moving in the right direction so you can get to retirement – or what I like to call financial independence – sooner rather than later.

Now that the holidays are over, it’s back to reality. For many – hopefully, not you – it means paying off all the debts you racked up from your extremely generous giving. Let’s just hope you had already budgeted for it and you were merely using your credit card to get the free rewards.

Regardless of whether you have debt or not, sometimes, unknowns pop up in our lives where we need to get access to money. If you don’t have it sitting in a savings account – which I’m sure you do if you’re an avid reader of this blog – you have to find it somewhere.

Let’s face it; saving for your children’s college is quite the challenge. However, just as challenging is actually finding the right spot to send them off to college. There are so many choices with only so much money you can realistically spend without you and your child completely being indebted for the rest of your lives.

Sounds like a real pleasant experience, doesn’t it? Well, for most parents, it can really be a gigantic pain to find the right college for their children. Today, though, I’m going to explain how to make it a much more comfortable experience where everyone will understand and be happy.

We’re headed for another recession. At least, that’s what people are saying, both on the news and elsewhere in the media. However, with an economy that’s thriving right now, where is all of this recession talk coming from? 

While we’re not going to dive into the many variables that are included in modern economics, one element that has financial analysts shook is the inverted yield curve. However, outside of stock exchanges and broker offices, chances are that you don’t understand what this curve is and what it means for the economy. 

Long term financial planning is not an easy task. You have to consider a myriad of potential setbacks, changes and opportunities that will arise over an extended time period. It can be exhausting to map out your plans, but still more draining to do what you need to do when sticking to those plans. 

Fortunately, once your plans are set you can put them out of your mind unless there is a major life transition. It’s those transitions that are the hardest to plan for financially.

What kind of legacy are you going to leave when you die? If you haven’t pondered that question yet, now is the perfect time to start. If you have money or any property that you want to pass on, it’s well past time to get a plan in place for when the inevitable happens. 

However, when it comes to estate and legacy planning, you will want to include your children in this process. It may be tempting to try and figure everything out on your own, but it’s often much better to keep them involved. 

As the old saying goes, the only constants in life are death and taxes. However, while you can’t avoid paying your share to the government, you may be able to lower your tax burden. Income shifting is a well-known tactic for moving money around so that you don’t have to pay as much in taxes. Today, we’re going to dive into this strategy and see how income shifting might be able to lower your taxes. 

What is Income Shifting?

The name of this tactic kind of gives it away. To reduce the amount you owe, you simply shift your income to another person. Let’s say that you’re in a relatively high tax bracket (i.e., 35 percent). So, instead of paying all of your income at that rate, you give part of it to a relative in a lower tax bracket (i.e., 10 percent). 

No matter how old you are, it’s never too late to start thinking about retirement. Although you will want to put money away in a variety of different accounts, one of the most reliable is an IRA. You may already be familiar with Traditional and Roth IRAs, but the fact is there is a way to move money from a Traditional to a Roth, which is considered a Backdoor Roth IRA or a Roth Conversion.

Both actually do the same thing in a slightly different way. A Backdoor Roth IRA is typically in relation to converting a Traditional non-deductible contribution to a Roth IRA. A Roth Conversion is normally in relation to a larger amount being converted from a Traditional to a Roth. Again, they both do the same thing but just have different names. Today, we’re going to focus on the Backdoor Roth IRA.

For many individuals, the primary concern is to save as much money as they can before retirement. After all, the bigger your nest egg, the less likely you’ll run out. 

However, even if your retirement accounts are bursting at the seams, budgeting is still a necessity. In many cases, without a budget, you could wind up having to dust off the old resume because your funds are starting to run low. 

As a financial advisor, I meet with individuals and couples who hope to retire early all the time - I mean, who doesn’t. Once I sit down with them for some basic number-crunching, we work together to create a long-term financial plan that will guide many of their decisions. 

This can include how much to invest, when and where to invest, and ways to increase cash flow and returns while keeping long-term costs and taxes to a minimum. 

The average person needs between 70 and 80 percent of their income each year when they retire. If you have that already saved, you're probably in good shape. 

However, there's always more you can do to help you stretch your retirement funds without sacrificing your quality of life. It just takes planning and know-how.

Do you have a 529 plan? Do you work with a financial advisor? Do you have a 529 plan that’s managed directly through your financial advisor?

If you answered yes to the first question, then that’s perfectly fine. If you answered yes to the second question, that’s great as well. However, if you answered yes to the third question, well, that’s where I tend to differ from a lot of financial advisors… and yes, that’s coming from a financial advisor.