MoneyTip$

Iowa’s Healthiest State Initiative now includes encouragement to take advantage of great low-cost outdoor fun!   It’s called “Healthy and Happy Outdoors” (H2O for short).  People who join H2O create an on-line account, and then simply record each time they take advantage of one of Iowa’s great parks or recreation areas.  Every activity recorded becomes an entry in a drawing for PRIZES!  The prizes, not surprisingly, are related to outdoor recreation – free outdoor activities worth hundreds of dollars!

If you participate in H2O, you may or may not win one of the official prizes.  But you are guaranteed the prize of enjoying your favorite outdoor activities in some of the most beautiful parts of our state — all at little or no cost!  That’s what I call a great return on investment – no cost, guaranteed return!  Even if you don’t care about the official “prizes,” check out the website  http://www.iowadnr.gov/Recreation/HealthyHappyOutdoors to learn more about the terrific outdoor opportunities available near you!

Personally, my plan is to get my bike tuned up (it has been sitting idle for a few years).  What’s your plan for enjoying Iowa’s outdoor treasures this summer?

~Barb

Saving, Smart shopping

With summertime upon us, first look around your community! There are many things that your family can take participate in.

Your local opportunities might include:

• Visit the park or local community festivals
• Go for hikes or bike rides
• Have a family picnic at the park.
• Go swimming at the local pool
• Take advantage of free programs offered at the local library, museums, community bands or other free community events.
• Check out books, music and videos for free from the library.

Fun entertainment can also be found at home:

• Have a family game night
• Rent or borrow movies, pop some popcorn and have a family movie night at home
• Bake or cook together as a family
• Read stories to one another
• Take an evening walk together

Show your children new skills and ideas:

• Have a family garden
• Teach a craft skill to your children and enjoy spending time doing these things
• Let your child learn about the environment, news, politics, helping others and be a part of the community opportunities

-Susan

Saving, Spending plans Local Resources

Dramatic changes in the health insurance market have occurred as a result of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Change continues with the creation of the Health Benefit Exchange (referred to as “Exchanges”), open for enrollment October 1, 2013. Exchanges are a new mechanism for purchasing health insurance coverage. Think of the Exchange as a travel website, such as Travelocity, essentially a web portal created so you can shop and compare insurance plans. The Exchange is one stop shopping with “apples to apples” comparisons. Exchanges will create a more organized and competitive market and will primarily serve smaller employers in Iowa and Iowans who will be purchasing insurance on their own. 

Iowa is currently setting up its Exchange, and public input is wanted!  You can have a voice in creating and planning by participating in a consumer survey from the Iowa Department of Public Health, which is part of the interagency work group responsible for planning and implementing the Affordable Care Act in Iowa.  Developed with the University of Iowa Public Policy Center and College of Public Health, the intent of the survey is to gather consumer preferences for purchasing health insurance, receiving information, and desirable features and content on the Exchange.

 The information gathered will be valuable in designing the Exchange and targeting the education and outreach in Iowa. You can access the survey at http://iowahealthinsurancesurvey.com/. A factsheet that gives more detail on what the health benefit exchange is can be accessed here: http://marketplace.cms.gov/GetOfficialResources/Publications-and-articles/about-the-marketplace-english.pdf 

Suzanne Bartholomae, Ph.D.
ISU Extension State Specialist, Family Finance

Thanks to Suzanne for this guest post!  We encourage everyone to improve the process by taking the survey!

Insurance, Smart shopping

Helping people distinguish wants from needs is a basic lesson found in many financial education programs. Unfortunately finding foolproof examples is a challenge. The human mind has the ability to reason any obvious want into a need if given enough time and the right sales pitch. Technology is a new villain in this story.  My new camera includes two DVD’s that require a minimum of a computer with a Window’s XP operating system. It’s the oldest operating system on the list, which tells me an upgrade is likely to be “needed” in the near future. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the first time I connect the two devices they’ll be instant friends and communicate with each other.

A curriculum I was reviewing had a nice trick for keeping the brain focused on truthful needs.  It challenged you to ask, “How did I get along without this item in the past?” It’s a good exercise to remind yourself of the resources you already have available. Another strategy that helps when shopping is to have a list and stick to it. Businesses usually place the “needed” items in the back of the store, forcing you to spend the maximum time walking past attractive displays and tempting merchandise.  Unfortunately,  I don’t have a solution for the changes in replacement items like my camera that come with unexpected requirements.

What strategies do you use to keep your purchases limited to “needs”?     Joyce

Smart shopping

Once teens hit college, they will be the target of every card company and their persuasive ads.  It is for this reason that parents should include a lesson on wise use of credit before they leave home. The best way for parents to teach their teens about credit is by providing an opportunity for them to learn through their own personal experience.

One of the easiest ways for a young person to establish good credit is to use a credit card wisely. There are a couple of ways that parents can make this happen. A joint account, shared with a parent enables the parent to strictly monitor what the child purchases and destroy the card after the first time the bill is not paid in full. Another option would be to try a secured card where the teen would have access to a set amount of money ($500 – $1000) that is already deposited in the bank. A debit card would work the same way, which would get them used to using plastic and spending on a budget.

Be sure to look at credit card options and include the teen in the process, so they learn how to compare offers. Look for one with no annual fee, a low interest rate and a 20- to 30-day grace period. Stay away from cards that charge a processing fee or have low introductory rates that shoot up after a few months.

There is no easy way to teach a teenager about credit cards, but it is crucial they learn when they are young. Parents must monitor closely how their teen uses the credit card and above all stress paying the bill on time. Once they leave home, it becomes more difficult to monitor, teach and instill your values about the use of credit.  ~Brenda

Credit

I read an interesting article about a parent that used PayPal to pay their kids for doing jobs around the house. They started this system when the kids turned 13 and were old enough to have a PayPal account.

There were certain chores which the kids were simply expected to do as members of the family…dishes, take out the trash, clean their rooms…; but other jobs like cleaning the garage or painting the fence were up for bid.

When the chores were posted on Saturday morning, the kids had to act fast. A $20 job today would be worth only $10 tomorrow.  When the job was completed, the money was texted or emailed to the kid’s account using a PayPal app on their smart phone. The money showed up in the kid’s account instantly.

The money was held in an account attached to a debit card. If they wanted to buy junk food, they had to swipe the card at an ATM; that extra impediment was often enough to keep them from blowing all their money on Snickers and Chips.

As the kids got older, they became more motivated to work…for gas money. I see this system as a good way to teach money management in a plastic world and possibly a way for kids to pay for books and entertainment in college without fear of over spending with a credit card.  What are your thoughts? ~Brenda

Credit, Saving

Earlier this year I replaced a dishwasher. That went well, but then three days later, I found I had water on the basement floor. In this case, Murphy’s Law meant there was need of a plumber to repair a leaky pipe. Just when you think everything is under control, something will happen.

Emergency saving is a constant work in progress.

One way to be ready for Murphy’s Law is to have an emergency savings fund. I had a friend that called it the “inevitable fund” –  you don’t know exactly how the money will be used when you start saving, but you know it is inevitable that some need will arise.

One easy way to save is to collect your change weekly for the fund.

Another way is to Pay Yourself First – just like the bills you are paying, make an automatic “bill” to pay to a savings account from your checking account. You may want to have the savings account in a different bank – and watch it grow.

Things will happen, and your emergency saving will take a hit, so don’t stop saving! There will be another Murphy’s Law in your future.
-Susan

Goals, Saving Emergency, Savings

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a study that looked at 1001 consumers and their credit reports from the three credit reporting agencies (CRAs) – Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. FTC hired researchers to help consumers identify errors in their reports.  One in four consumers in the study found an error in a credit report.  Consumers were denied loans due to errors.

The study also found that 5 percent of the consumers identified errors in their reports that could lead to them paying more for mortgages, auto loans or other financial products.

The way to protect yourself is to review your credit report by calling 1-877-322-8228 or visiting this  website www.annualcreditreport.com This free site gives consumers access once in every 12 months  to their credit reports from each of the credit reporting agencies.  You will be asked to share your social security number and birth date and will need to answer a few questions regarding previous loans.

If you find an error, submit your dispute online to the appropriate credit reporting agency.   The CRA has 30 days to respond to your dispute.  The CRA will contact the lender under dispute.  If a fix is made, the lender must alert all three CRAs of the error.

Another option: you can contact the lender directly regarding the error and ask the lender to provide the CRAs with correct information.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is authorized to write and enforce rules for the credit reporting industry and to monitor the compliance of the three agencies.  To file a complaint: www.consumerfinance.gov/Complants.

~Susan

Credit, Saving Check Credit Report

Tax season is over for most folks.  If you filed early, your refund may be gone by now.  But before you close the book (or file cabinet) on tax season, take a moment to think things over.

If you received a big tax refund, ask yourself:

• Was I struggling to make ends meet each month during the year?
• Did I pay late fees or interest because money was tight?
• Would I be better off with an extra $50, $100, or $200/month in my paychecks?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, then you might want to consider having less tax withheld from each paycheck.  That would increase your weekly or monthly take-home pay, making more money available for routine expenses and reducing financial stress throughout the year.

Yes, it would also mean that next year’s tax refund would be smaller. But that trade-off might be worthwhile if it helped you stay ahead throughout the year.  And consider this — if you used a good portion of your refund to pay off bills you got behind on during the year, then having more money in your paychecks might prevent that.  You’d actually come out ahead (avoiding interest or late fees) by changing your withholding.

Before taking this step, make sure you can expect next year’s tax situation to be similar to this year.  Will your income, marital status and dependents be about the same? Will you be eligible for the same deductions and credits? If the answer is yes, then it should be safe to have less income tax taken out of your paychecks.  Ask your tax adviser if you’re not sure.

A final note: many Iowans get large federal refunds, but not state.  If you are one of those households, you might consider changing your federal tax withholdings, but leaving your state situation the same.  Your employer’s payroll department can help you with this.

~Barb

Saving

Since this is Money Smart Week, there’s no better time to do a personal financial check-up!  Extension specialists at Rutgers University (New Jersey) have developed a “Financial Fitness Quiz” to help you do exactly that.  www.njaes.rutgers.edu/money/ffquiz/

It’s called a “quiz” but it’s not about how much you know.  Instead it is a check-up of your financial status – your habits and the protections you have in place.  It takes less than 10 minutes, and gives you a score in when you are finished.  I encourage you to check it out!

Assessing where your finances are already strong, and what areas need improvement is the first step to improving your financial well-being!

~Barb

P.S. At www.njaes.rutgers.edu/money/ Rutgers has posted a few other financial assessment tools, as well, if you want to look deeper into a certain aspect of your finances.

Credit, Goals, Insurance, Retirement, Saving, Spending plans