Sneak These 5 Things Into Your Summer Family Vacation

With the 4th of July celebrations in the books, family vacation season is in full swing! School is out and well, most kids are in no mood to learn. So here are 5 simple ways to sneak some learning and skill building into the family summer vacation.

1-- Put the kids in charge of navigation with an old school Rand McNally paper map. Yes, phones, GPS and digital maps are pretty much ubiquitous, but map reading and navigation is a skill that helps with a general sense of direction, decision making, attention to detail and inevitability, recovering from a mistake. You're on vacation, so taking the long way probably isn't that big of a deal. They may also discover features and landmarks of the surrounding area that they might not know existed and may want to explore further.

2-- Put the kids in charge of the ice cream budget. Sure, there's something special about going to the ice cream shoppe and the smell of fresh waffle cones, but if you're in a rental unit or a suite with a freezer, they may be surprised to learn how many ½ gallons they could buy for the equivalent budget of a trip or two to the ice cream shoppe.

Maybe let them keep the leftover budget? Doing so would help reinforce budgeting techniques, spending trade-offs and prioritization, skills we all need whether we are on vacation or not.

3-- Put the kids in charge of one evening of family activity that doesn't involve electronics or screen time. If you go in with a plan for at least one night for a family activity with no electronics or screen time, you may find that you get some excitement heading into the activity rather than the inevitable “do we have to” attitude. Having to negotiate, plan and then participate in the activity may also lead it to becoming a regular activity rather than a one off.

4-- Turn the trip to the museum into a scavenger hunt with a trip to the gift shop as a reward. Kids eyes typically roll at even the slightest mention of museum-going. But if you do little bit of advanced scouting and identify 8 or 10 items or spots that the kids need to find or questions that they need to find the answer to, they are much more likely to be engaged as they traverse the museum. And since a trip to the gift shop is all but certain, make it the reward for having completed the scavenger hunt.

5-- Have the kids navigate the airport. If you've got a plane change layover, have the kids read the monitors and figure out where to go. For all but the seasoned travel warriors, airport navigation can be tricky.

If they make a mistake, like reading the arrival screen instead of the departure screen and you have time to work through the mistake, do it. The experience will help with problem solving, navigation and getting comfortable getting around the airport. Then when you land, put them in charge of finding where the bags come out as well as getting out of the airport or to the car rental, both of which can be non-trivial matters in most airports.

Family summer vacations create all kinds of memories and with just a little bit of effort, we can sneak some skill building in there as well.

Read other J. Bradford blog posts here.

Ask us a question or set up an appointment here.

5 Quick Tips for Summer Financial Fitness

Memorial Day is in the books and summer is officially on!

School will be wrapping up in the next few weeks and we will shortly be consumed with excitement over summer vacations, beach trips and camp reunions. Before the summer gets away, here are five simple tips for summer financial fitness.

1)   Double-check your 2016 tax withholding.

Getting a Federal tax refund may feel good, but it’s really more like giving the government an interest free loan. It’s equally bad to owe the government at the end of the year as you may have to pay a penalty on top of the tax that you owe.

Just like Goldilocks and the three bears, you want to get your tax bill just right. You can use this free tool from the IRS to see where you stand and then with the six months remaining in the year, you have time to adjust your W-4 or make estimated tax payments to ensure you end the year on target.

2)   Double check your employer match and 401(k) maximization.

Just like getting your taxes planned out perfectly, you’ll also want to make sure that you’re not on a path to miss out on employer match dollars in your 401(k). This can happen if you contribute the individual maximum of $18,000 before the end of the year. An easy check is to simply divide $18,000 by the number of pay periods you’ll receive during the year and make sure you aren’t contributing over that amount. Your individual situation can get complicated with employer specific match rules and bonus payments, so charting it out in Excel may be required, but like your taxes, if you plan it out now you’ll have several months to course correct if needed.

3)   Do one outsourced household task yourself this summer.

Summer is all about relaxing and spending quality time with family and friends. But “time is precious” and “time is money”, so many of us will work with vendors and service providers so that we can more thoroughly enjoy our time and money. Fair enough, but if you pick just one task, like mowing your own lawn, and do it yourself for the 12 weeks of summer, you’ll be able to goose your retirement or college savings more than you might realize.

4)   Save on flights with Hipmunk and try a VRBO

Here are a couple of websites to help with your summer or winter travel planning that you may not have tried yet. For flight planning, I like Hipmunk. The feature that I like best is that Hipmunk assigns every flight an “agony” rating and then you can sort the flights from least awful to most awful. I also really like their graphical view of layovers.

Instead of hotel rooms, I like VRBO/Homeaway. With this site, you book directly with property owners across the country. They typically provide many more photos than hotel properties and you can get the exact amenities and situation you are looking for, often at a much lower price.

5)   If you are staying local. Use Parking Panda and Gas Buddy to save on parking and gas.

Finally, if your summer plans are more modest, try Parking Panda and Gas Buddy. Parking is always a pain for those big city trips, but Parking Panda lets you make a discounted parking reservation in advance in most major cities across the U.S. and Gas Buddy will help you keep tabs on the lowest gas prices in the area.

If you have any questions about these products, services or strategies or would like a second opinion on the products, services or investment strategies you are using, please use the link to schedule a free consultation.

PLEASE REMEMBER:

- Investing and investment management involves risk, including the loss of your initial investment or any investment gains.

- Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

- This generic information is provided for educational purposes only and should not be construed as a recommendation for any individual to take a specific action.

- Please invest prudently and seek professional help from a financial advisor, investment manager, accountant, lawyer or other professional on matters that you are unsure of or that are unique to your personal circumstances.

- Financial Advisor and Investment Management Services provided by J. Bradford Investment Management, Nashua NH.

National Be a Millionaire Day - Will You Be One?

It's May 20th and it's National Be a Millionaire Day! You may be surprised to learn that most Americans will in fact earn over a million dollars in their lifetime.

According to inContext -"By retirement, graduates with bachelor's and advanced degrees can expect to have earned an average total of $1.8 million while associate's degree graduates only reach $1.1 million—a 61 percent advantage."

But that's probably not what most of us have in mind when we think millionaire. Most of us consider a millionaire as someone who has a million dollars plus saved or on hand. Fair enough. But 99%+ of us are not going to become millionaires by winning the lottery, answering questions on a game show or by finding that high flying stock.

We're going to become millionaire in these 5 easy steps:

1) We're going to save a bunch ourselves.

2) We are going to let the market do some of the work by investing in a risk appropriate portfolio.

3) We are going to take advantage of all opportunities to boost savings, like 401(k) employer match.

4) We are going to diversify our portfolio and periodically rebalance.

5) We are going to use optimal tax strategies.

Real simple example with very simplistic assumptions, but check it out. 30 year time horizon. 6.5% annual interest rate compounded monthly. You invest $280 every two weeks and your employer matches 50% or $140. With those and other simplifying assumptions, viola, the portfolio grows to just over $1,000,000 in 30 years.

$218,400 came from our savings and $109,200 from our employer. If we didn't have an employer match, we would have been on the hook for $327,600. But tax efficiency and a diversified portfolio invested in the market did roughly 2/3 of the work!! And that's the point. There is tremendous power in simply being invested in a diversified and risk appropriate portfolio that you rebalance periodically.

So go ahead and occasionally buy that lottery ticket so that you can dream about your life as a millionaire -- that you earned by hard work and smart investing.

PLEASE REMEMBER:

- Investing and investment management involves risk, including the loss of your initial investment or any investment gains.

- Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

- This generic information is provided for educational purposes only and should not be construed as a recommendation for any individual to take a specific action.

- Please invest prudently and seek professional help from a financial advisor, investment manager, accountant, lawyer or other professional on matters that you are unsure of or that are unique to your personal circumstances.

- Financial Advisor and Investment Management Services provided by J. Bradford Investment Management, Nashua NH.

5 Fidelity Products My Clients Rave About

First, full disclosure. I did work for Fidelity Investments for 21 years, but I am not being paid any commission or fee or receiving consideration of any kind to discuss or write about their products.

I am writing about five of their products because my clients often come to me with established relationships with various financial institutions, including Fidelity, and they like to share what's working for them and to get my opinion. So here are the five Fidelity products I hear most about and some of my insight on them.

1) The Fidelity Rewards 2% Cash Back Rewards Card. Clients love that there is no annual fee with this card and that they can get 2% of their purchases directed into either their IRA or 529 College Saving Plan to boost savings. As long as you are paying off the balance every month this is a great way accumulate a little extra every month. The new Visa is also now linked with Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Android Pay. I like this product a great deal. The Citi Double Cash Card is a similar alternative.

2) The Fidelity IRA match. I think clients love this one because of the very clever marketing and because of the parallels to the 401(k) match. Few will be able to max out the $1,950 over three years, but like the credit card, getting a boost, even a small one, can be worth it. There are other one-time bonuses that are currently available at Fidelity through a different promotion that may also be appealing to individuals. You have to be careful not to give those savings right back in high fee mutual fund products, but all things being equal, the boost is worth it and it helps reinforce good saving behavior.

3) The Fidelity ATM rebate feature. Clients love no stress ATM transactions and I do too. For Fidelity customers with a Cash Management account and a Cash Management Debit card, one of the most compelling features is the ability to have ATM fees reimbursed. All of a sudden your network of ATMs is every single ATM and you don't have to worry about getting dinged for those fees, as they are generally reimbursed. Not only are ATM fees annoying, but they really do add up over time. There are other benefits to the card as well, but the ATM reimbursements is the big one. E-trade, Schwab and USAA have similar products.

4) The Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund. With this product you can make a single tax deductible "donation/contribution" into your giving account, taking a tax deduction in the current year and then disburse the money over time to charities of your choice, potentially even growing the account through investment appreciation. This is a great option for the charitably inclined who may have received a lump sum or significant payout that is going to create a tax burden. Vanguard has a similar giving product.

5) Commission free ETFs. Clients love free. As of early 2016, Fidelity offers 85 commission free ETFs. That's a very good value considering ETF trades at most brokerage firms range from $8 - $12. There is also a fairly diversified mix of choices in that bunch that would aid in constructing a diversified portfolio. But even free isn't a no-brianer, you also have to take into account other factors such as the management fee, the early redemption fee, the tracking error and the index weighting strategy of the ETF. Still, having a base of 85 commission free ETFs to choose from is a great starting point for many. Schwab has a similar offering with over 200 ETF choices.

If you have any questions about these products or would like a second opinion on the products and services you are using, please use the link to schedule a free consultation.

PLEASE REMEMBER:

- Investing and investment management involves risk, including the loss of your initial investment or any investment gains.

- Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

- This generic information is provided for educational purposes only and should not be construed as a recommendation for any individual to take a specific action.

- Please invest prudently and seek professional help from a financial advisor, investment manager, accountant, lawyer or other professional on matters that you are unsure of or that are unique to your personal circumstances.

- Financial Advisor and Investment Management Services provided by J. Bradford Investment Management, Nashua NH.