Write up a brief history of your relationship with money for your partner. Think through the issues above.  What are some of your biggest financial fears or expectations? What are your short-term and long-term financial goals?

Choose a quiet place for this date, where you can share your feelings and fears.  A quiet spot in your own home, with a bottle of wine and lots of pillows- that may be where you bring out these thoughts. Perhaps you start with a walk in the park, and then settle down at a picnic table to talk. Deep feelings can surface- and that’s what we want to share.   Anywhere you can talk, share, feel and express those feelings comfortably will do nicely.

Most people don’t take the time or maybe don’t have the courage to look closely at their feelings about money.  Human beings created the concept of money, and then many of us let it rule our lives. You can take control, and build a strong and resilient relationship with your partner, harnessing its power.  This is financial intimacy. This can help cement your love into the foundation you can build your relationship on, honest and strong. 

Enjoy these moments.  

And then tune in for: Money Date: A New Look at Finance and Romance. Part Three.

If you’d like to discuss any of these helpful tips, schedule a Financial Clarity session with me at www.calendly.com/contactAGrace.

During this time period, you can ‘true up’ your full contribution for 2018, as well as make your 2019 deposit.

Brace yourself for a lot of numbers —I’m sorry! — but that’s what taxes are all about! If you have questions, or this makes your stomach hurt, just call me and I’ll help explain further (716-817-6425).

The contribution limit for employees who participate in 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans, and the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan is increased from $18,500 to $19,000.

The limit on annual contributions to an Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA) which last increased in 2013, is increased from $5,500 to $6,000. The additional catch-up contribution limit for individuals aged 50
and over is not subject to an annual cost-of-living adjustment and remains $1,000, for a total of $7,000 for 2019.

If you’re under 50, this means $115.38 per week; if you’re 50+, you can save $134.61 per week for 52 weeks to reach the total.

The income ranges for making deductible contributions to traditional IRAs to contribute to Roth IRAs and to claim the saver’s credit all increased for 2019.

You can deduct contributions to a traditional IRA if you meet certain conditions. If during the year either the taxpayer or their spouse was covered by a retirement plan at work, the deduction may be reduced (phased out), until it is eliminated, depending on filing status ( single, head of household, married filing jointly, and married filing separately) and your income. If neither the taxpayer nor their spouse is covered by a retirement plan at work, the phase-outs of the deduction do not apply, and you can save the full amount.

Call me for the ranges, if you wish, and I’ll pass them along.

If you are negotiating your divorce settlement, please don’t forget to include which filing status you will use for 2018, 2019 and on. It may make a substantial difference in the amount of tax due.

Don’t let this opportunity to save for your future, using either Traditional or Roth IRA options, pass you by. You can gain either tax advantages for your current filing year or enrich your future. Contact me at 716-817-6425 for further information.

Don’t wait too long!

Avoid the common mistakes most women make about money, especially when they are in crisis- divorce, widowed, etc.  Schedule a free consultation with me at Calendly.com/contactagrace; or call me at 716-817-6425.

If you have not planned your estate yet, take inventory. Spend a half-hour and jot down the assets you own, major and minor. Who should own these assets after you die? Your spouse should do this, too – and you should talk about your preferences. It may not turn out to be the easiest conversation, but agreement now may preclude family squabbles and legal challenges down the line. (If you have a prenuptial agreement in place, you may have already discussed some of these matters.) You should also consider two scenarios – what happens if you die first, and what happens if your spouse dies before you do.

If you and/or your spouse have children from prior marriages, there may be some dilemmas for each of you. If you die, there is a real possibility that your current husband or wife will not elect to provide for your children from past marriages. So what might you do to prepare for that possibility? You might make a child the primary beneficiary of a life insurance policy, or set up a trust for your kid(s), or place certain real property under joint ownership with a child.

If you have already written a will, it will probably need revisions. They could be considerable. You want to be extremely specific about which heir gets what; you need to state bequests convincingly, because the more convincing your bequest, the less ambiguity.

How up-to-date are your beneficiary designations? Out-of-date beneficiary decisions are an Achilles heel of estate planning. Be sure to review them; you may want to revise beneficiary forms for retirement plans, investment accounts, and insurance policies.

As you consider these revisions, pay particular attention if you have been divorced. Divorce may actually preclude you from changing beneficiaries in certain cases. Turn to a lawyer and show the lawyer a copy of your divorcee decree; ask if revising your beneficiary designations will violate it. Should you be unable to make beneficiary changes to your life insurance policy, you may want to buy another one in consideration of your new spouse.

Take a look at irrevocable trusts. They can be used to provide for your spouse as well as your kids. Some people establish a separate property trust to provide for their spouse after their death while directing most or all of their real property to their children.

Those aforementioned pre-nups can play an estate planning role as well. They allow you to designate personal assets (such as assets within a college savings account) for existing rather than future children. Post-nuptial agreements (similar to pre-nups, but drafted after a marriage) can also accomplish this. Some states do not view pre-nup and post-nup agreements as legally valid, however – and sometimes carrying out the terms and conditions of these agreements is up to a judge.

Be sure to consult legal & financial professionals. When estates become this complex, collaboration with professionals having a thorough understanding of estate planning and tax issues is essential.

Let’s start with longevity. The Social Security Administration reports that a man reaching age 65 today can expect to live, on average, until age 84.3. For women, that average life expectancy is 86.6. Women live longer than men; therefore, their retirements are expected to last longer. Quite simply – women need to have more money saved.

And then there is the very real factor of less income. Women still earn an average of 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. Earning less means not only do women have less money available to set aside for retirement, but also that their Social Security benefits will be significantly lower than what their male counterparts will receive.

On average, women have less savings. When you earn less, you save less. But even when women save aggressively, they often put other goals ahead of their own retirements, such as their child’s college tuition.

So what can women do about this very real challenge?

First, educate yourself – Devote time and effort to learning the basics of personal financial management and investing. Spending time “doing your homework” can pay off nicely down the road.

Do it now – women need to begin their retirement savings as soon as possible. If you are in the divorce process, make sure your divorce team is negotiating terms that will serve you well in your retirement.

As always, save as much as you can. It’s important to think of retirement savings as a commitment. Prioritize needs over wants in your spending, and make no mistake: Retirement savings is an absolute need.

With a commitment to education, good planning, disciplined savings, and professional guidance, there is good reason for you to expect a financially secure retirement. On the other hand, without those things, there is good reason for concern. Make your retirement savings a priority, and not a cause for worry.

Your investments. Review your approach to investing and make sure it suits your objectives. Look over your portfolio positions and revisit your asset allocation.

Your retirement planning strategy. Does it seem as practical as it did a few years ago? Are you able to max out contributions to IRAs and workplace retirement plans like 401(k)s? Is it time to make catch-up contributions?

Review any sales of appreciated property and both realized and unrealized losses and gains. Take a look back at last year’s loss carry-forwards. If you’ve sold securities, gather up cost-basis information. Look for any transactions that could potentially enhance your circumstances.

Your charitable gifting goals. Plan contributions to charities or education accounts, and make any desired cash gifts to family members. The annual federal gift tax exclusion is $14,000 per individual for 2015, so you can gift up to $14,000 to as many individuals as you like this year without tax consequences. A married couple can gift up to $28,000 tax-free to as many individuals as they wish.

You can choose to gift appreciated securities to a charity. If you have owned them for more than a year, you can deduct 100% of their fair market value and legally avoid capital gains tax you would normally incur from selling them.

Besides outright gifts, you can plan other financial moves for your family – you can create and fund trusts, for example. The end of a year is a good time to review trusts you have in place.

Your life insurance coverage. Are your policies and beneficiaries up-to-date? Review premium costs, beneficiaries, and any and all life events that may have altered your coverage needs.

Speaking of life events… did you happen to get married or divorced in 2015? Did you move or change jobs? Buy a home or business? Did you lose a family member, or see a severe illness or ailment affect a loved one? Did you reach the point at which Mom or Dad needed assisted living? Was there a new addition to your family? Did you receive an inheritance or a gift?

Lastly, did you reach any of these financially important ages in 2015? If so, act accordingly.

• Did you turn 70½ this year? If so, you must now take Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from your IRA(s).
• Did you turn 65 this year? If so, you’re now eligible to apply for Medicare.
• Did you turn 62 this year? If so, you’re now eligible to apply for Social Security benefits.
• Did you turn 59½ this year? If so, you may take IRA distributions without a 10% penalty.
• Did you turn 55 this year? If so, and you retired during this year, you may now take distributions from your 401(k) account without penalty.
• Did you turn 50 this year? If so, “catch-up” contributions may now be made to IRAs (and certain qualified retirement plans).1,5

The end of the year is a key time to review your financial “health” & well-being. If you feel you need to address any of the items above, please feel free to give me a call.

“I wish I had known.” “Why didn’t someone tell me?” “This is news to me.”

How many of us have uttered at least one of those phrases in the last few months? How about over the last few years? We want to be informed. We are smart, independent, empowered women who are ready to take charge of their future. But how, exactly, do we do that? How do we get informed?

The easiest way to start is for every woman to ask herself some questions.

1. How comfortable are you with risk in terms of your finances? Do you prefer stocks or bonds or other investments?
   1. I’d like to make enough money to be able to take care of everything while I’m still working and then have enough left over to have a vacation home or a family getaway in my retirement.
   2. I’m not sure which I prefer, I leave this up to my husband/partner/other decision maker. I don’t want to lose all my money, though.
   3. I’m very comfortable with risk and have a diversified portfolio. I’m interested in learning more about my options and how we can collaborate to come up with future investment plans.
   4. I definitely don’t want to play the stock market, but I’d like to know that I have a good nest egg saved when I retire. Tell me more about different types of investments.

Knowing your tolerance for risk is a very important step in understanding how you should develop your retirement financial strategies – from what investment product mix you should employ to how often you are willing to change strategies. Whatever your risk tolerance, there are investment products perfectly suited for you.

2. What is most important to you today?
   1. Provide for my family/protect my family
   2. Not to have to rely on others
   3. Achieve financial independence
   4. Prepare for the future

We all have priorities. Recognizing those priorities and planning accordingly will give you a better financial plan whether for the short- or long-term. Priorities also help us adjust as needed based on where we are going, not from where we have been.

For even more guidance on how to Empower Yourself Financially attend this free seminar – November 16th – Parkside Lodge, Buffalo. Register: https://empoweringfinancially.eventbrite.com/

“I wish I had known.” “Why didn’t someone tell me?” “This is news to me.

How many of us have uttered at least one of those phrases in the last few months? How about over the last few years? We want to be informed. We are smart, independent, empowered women who are ready to take charge of their future. But how, exactly, do we do that? How do we get informed?

The easiest way to start is for every woman to ask herself some questions.  

1. When thinking about your future, what keeps you up at night?
   1. My family, kids or grandkids future
   2. Did my husband put enough money away for us?
   3. How is my portfolio?
   4. Has my 401(k) done well and will it last through retirement?

No matter what it is that makes you worry about finances, there are resources available to strengthen your ability to make the tough decisions.  The key is to access those resources and make decisions about those financial matters that are unsettled.  Ignoring the nagging questions won’t make them go away!

2. How involved would you like to be with your household finances and financial plan?
   1. I’d like to have a better understanding
   2. I’m fine with things the way they are
   3. I’d like to be able to collaborate with a financial professional to make some of my decisions.
   4. I’d like to be able to have some of my decisions made for me.

I don’t think many of us are truly “fine with the way things are” especially if we have not armed ourselves with the right knowledge to make sound judgements on our financial future. Whether we are an independent thinker, or someone who likes to collaborate, making decisions in a vacuum is a sure recipe for an unplanned financial future. And that ignorance brings fear and insecurity.

For even more guidance on how to Empower Yourself Financially attend this free seminar – November 16^th – Parkside Lodge, Buffalo. Register: https://empoweringfinancially.eventbrite.com/