The Mom’s Summer Guide To Saving Money

Ice cream, ice cream, we all scream for ice cream. For moms across America, summertime can be both a blessing and curse at the same time. While it’s exciting not to worry about packing lunches and dragging the kids to the bus stop, it is also a time when you might feel like you constantly have to entertain your children. This may mean a lot more discretionary income will go out the door than you have coming in each month. We put together our smart money moves guide for 10 moves moms can make over the summer to manage your family finances. 1. Have a budget – Whether you use a spreadsheet, 50/30/20 rule or www.youneedabudget.com, it is important to set expectation for everyone around how much cash flow you have for fun and entertainment. 2. AAA membership – There are lots of great discounts especially hotels, rental cars, & amusement parks. So when you are planning your family vacation ...

Five Apps That Will Pay You To Shop

Shopping is usually an activity that makes you spend money. In fact, with the ease of debit cards and credit cards today you can rack up big bills by simply turning your computer on to one of the major shopping websites. So, I thought going into the summer it might be interesting to see what apps you could download that might actually pay YOU money to shop. Ibotta (www.ibotta.com) – Did you ever thing you could get paid to scan receipts from your phone? Before you go shopping, you complete a few simple tasks and then you begin to unlock rewards. With over 187 participating stores (and you can link loyalty accounts as well) it makes it very easy to make money with Ibotta. Really, you end up just scanning bar codes and then taking pictures of your receipts. Swagbucks (www.swagbucks.com) – With over $132,470,000 of gift cards that have been awarded to users, Swagbucks is an app that will ...

Where To Invest Under A Trump Presidency

Americans aren’t quite sure what to make of this three ring circus we are calling a Presidential election. With the nomination fairly certain to be Donald Trump on the Republican side, there has been major discussion about what a Trump President might look like for the future of our economy. Will he borrow more money? Will he balance the budget? Will he build a wall? Will he bring jobs back to America? These are amongst the many issues that have been speculated about on the media outlets across the country. Here are my smart money moves on where to invest under a Trump regime. Infrastructure- While I cannot give you specific stocks, mutual funds, or exchange traded funds (you’ll have to call me or e-mail me for that info;), I will divulge that this will be one of the best opportunities under a Trump presidency. Consider this for a moment. . . If you have a parent or grandparent that ...

How The New Overtime Rules May Affect Your Business

The Department Of Labor is at it again, now changing the game for businesses as it pertains to overtime rules. Since, that is what we really need . . . some more rules. If it wasn’t challenging enough for small businesses dealing with making payroll and figuring out to maintain the costs of health insurance, now you’ll have to pay double attention to these new overtime rules which will become effective December 1st. Here’s a bet I’m willing to make on the record. The cost for businesses across the country to manage and track all of these changes will far supersede the benefits that will actually be paid for people working overtime. The administration believes by making these changes that many hard working Americans will earn overtime, but let me clue everyone in on four your smart money moves secrets. Right now, if you are a salaried worker who makes in between $23,660 and $47,476 and you have a reasonable ...

5 Steps to becoming a LinkedIn Leader

These days there are so many social media platforms it is overwhelming. Each service caters to a specific social activity. When it comes to doing business, LinkedIn stands out at the top of the pack. If you already have a LinkedIn profile, you know it serves as a kind of online resume. But if you just hope someone is looking at you, then you are missing out. No matter what business you are in, using the site to form connections can be a great benefit. So how do you increase engagement on the site to become a LinkedIn leader? Try these steps. Request connections/send messages regularly. Spend at least 30 minutes each week searching for new connections to build your network. Ask your current connections for introductions to relevant people in their networks. Also look to join groups that will drive the type of connections you are looking for. Send ‘thank you’ messages when you make a new connection. Make ...

What They Called Me Then, What They Call Me Now

In today’s workplace, we see new kinds of titles popping up all over the place on how companies name their people. Our good friend Cody Hicks who works as a leader at Atlanta Eats (you must watch the show) carries the title Chief Brisket Officer. When we started with our first employee at the front desk of oXYGen Financial, we used the term Director of First Impressions instead of some bland front desk title. I have also seen titles in large companies such as Chief People Officer, Chief Revenue Officer, and Chief Technology Officer which have replaced old antiquated titles. But, when is enough . . . enough? There are so many new titles today that I miss the titles that really described who people are and what they really do for a job. Here is my list of what they called me then and what they call me now. THEN NOW BARTENDER MIXOLOGIST GARBAGE PERSON SANITATION ENGINEER HAIRDRESSER COSMETOLOGIST ...

Is It Time For A “Back Door” Roth IRA?

There are many individuals and families who make a high income and believe they cannot do a Roth IRA. However, there is a part of your financial house you may not have realized that existed called the “Back Door” Roth IRA. So, why do so many people miss this great opportunity? According to the Investment Company Institute, only 18.6 million U.S. households (about 15.7%) owned Roth IRAs in 2011. Do that few Americans want tax-free income in retirement? Who can generally contribute to a Roth IRA? There are three ways to fund a Roth IRA–you can contribute directly, you can convert all or part of a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, or you can roll funds over from an eligible employer retirement plan. In general, you can contribute up to $5,500 to an IRA (traditional, Roth, or a combination of both) in 2016 ($6,500 if you’ll be age 50 or older by December 31). However, your ability to make ...

Five Ways To Travel Safe With Your Money This Summer

Topic: Five Ways To Travel Safe With Your Money This Summer Taped 5/31/16 Listen every Tuesday morning at 8:00 a.m. on ROCK 100.5 | Atlanta’s Rock Station to “Your Smart Money Moves” with The Rock 100.5 Morning Show and oXYGen Financial. Ted Jenkin, CFP® and Kile Lewis, CRPC® are the founders of oXYGen Financial, and our chief financial officers. All your money questions answered Breathe easier at http://oXYGenFinancial.net ...

How To Save Money On Summer Camps

For many families in America, sending your children to summer camp is a family tradition. When I went to camp at Speers-Eljibar in the Poconos as a child, I can distinctly remember learning how to canoe, ride a horse, and most of all having fun playing tons of games and activities. However, summer camps can cost your family and arm and a leg if you aren’t careful on how to look out for a bargain. Here are some your smart money moves tips on how to save money on summer camps. Ask about the “group” discount- Even though your children may want to go to different summer camps, some camps will offer a discount if multiple children attend the same camp. If you can get some consensus amongst your kids, this can save you a few bucks going into the summer. Be an ‘early’ bird- Just like registering for a conference, camps like it when they know that guaranteed income ...

My High School Was Ranked #144th Last Year

U.S. News and World Report (source: www.usnews.com) just came out with its recent ranking of the top high schools in the United States last year. U.S. News evaluated more than 28,000 schools to determine the top public high schools nationally, and in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Five hundred high schools received gold medals, 2,173 schools earned silver and 3,545 took home bronze in the national rankings. Texas and Arizona has the most schools while Maryland had the most number of schools that qualified for silver and gold medals relative to those schools that were eligible. Just as any good parent would do, I immediately scanned the list to see where my chlidren’s school fleshed out on the list because we moved 10 years ago to get into a good school district. It turns out that Milton High School (with over 2,000 kids) place #255th nationally and was also ranked #7 in the state of Georgia. Looking at how ...