Your Money Matters

Monumental Move

On March 19^th, the Monument office moved into its new home at 1275 Village Ridge Point, just across the street from its original location.   The modular building that is now at 1430 Cipriani Loop  was supposed to be put on the Village Ridge Point lot in August of 2003, with permanent building construction starting shortly thereafter. 

Well, as some of you know, there is a little, brown Preble mouse here in Monument that has a way of stopping all new construction. The new building was never started, and another location was selected for the bank home.

Fast forward 8 YEARS, after ANB Bank built a branch on Village Point Road, somehow getting past the mouse.  ANB then decided to close the branch so Integrity Bank & Trust purchased the building and its contents, and finally arrived home. 

The building is absolutely beautiful and consists of eight offices, five fully functioning teller stations, 10 times more safe deposit boxes, and a conference room we share with the community. 

The Grand Opening will be held April 19^th.  Stop in and see us.  There will be food, fun and giveaways all day long.

Welcome Home Monument Branch!

I love reading articles about Frugal People. It’s amazing what people are willing to do to save a buck! I find it very inspiring, and have to admit that each time I read one of these articles I start to review my spending. I’m always curious about the grocery savings. Today I read about a woman who fed her family of 8 for $450 a month. As it turns out, she has an incredible garden, and keeps a pantry well stocked by buying in bulk when something goes on sale. This same woman paid off $89,000 of debt in 6 months.

One of my favorite things in life is helping people to get out of debt. It all starts with the budget and living as frugally as possible. There are always tricks that I share with the people I am helping through this journey. I have to laugh when I hear them say things like “I told my son/daughter they couldn’t have it because Linda said so”. It has nothing to do with me, it’s simply them changing their thinking and view of money that stops them from the purchase. But if they want to blame it on me, I’m ok with that. It makes me smile.

So, share your frugal tips with me. I want to know what you and your families are doing to stay on budget. Is there a website you like that helps you feed your family of 4 for $2 a day? I want to know about it, and so do my readers.

Annual Client Meeting

On Tuesday, February 7th, Integrity Bank & Trust held its annual client meeting. Each year we (the Trust Team) give a synopsis of the past year and talk about the upcoming year. Each year I give the update on interest rates and inflation.

Last year I reported that the Federal Open Market Committee (the Fed) voted unanimously to keep the rates at an all time low through 2013. A couple of weeks ago, the Fed came out with the pretty much the same announcement, except they said the rates would remain low through 2014.

Here is the interesting thing. It sounds like much of the same when you read it in the media, but actually, there is a difference. You see, there are 19 voting members in the Fed, seven governors and 12 Presidents of the regional banks. There are currently two governor positions that are empty so that means 17 members voted. Of those 17, 5 thought the rates would increase before the end of 2013 and 6 thought they would increase before 2014.

Obviously, this is something we are watching at Integrity Bank & Trust. A 1% increase in interest rates can make a huge difference in the price of a bond. This is known as duration.

We have seen in the past, that the mention of a change or most recently the announcement of Operation Twist, has meant a dramatic and evident change in the rate. We listen and watch for these indicators. Now more than ever, it’s important to have someone on your side watching out for you and your investments.

Update on SSHW Challenge:

This is harder than I thought. Last week I scored 450 points. Not to good considering there are 700 available. There are a few categories that I get every day. Since I am studying for my CFP, learning something new in the financial arena is easy. I usually exercise atleast 30 minutes a day. Last week I missed Saturday unless I can count dancing at the Brad Paisley Concert for 2 hours at the Pepsi Center in Denver. (The show was incredible! )

I never eat 2 servings of whole grains so I thought I would use the substitution category, but so far, I haven't bothered. :-( Do you know how hard it is to eat 4 cups of fruits and vegetables? I haven't acheived that one very often either.

The saving aspect is automatic so I always count that one, and I always bring my lunch from home if I don't have a lunch to attend for work.

Anyway, I think the whole reason the challenge goes for 6 weeks so that you have time to improve, right? I'll keep at it.

Small Steps to Health and Wealth Challenge

OK, I am going to put this out there. I signed up for the Colorado Small Steps to Health and Wealth Challenge. It starts January 15th and goes through February 25th. It is basically a point system.
The SSHW Challenge is based on the performance of ten recommended practices on a daily basis: five that involve health and nutrition and five that involve financial management. Ten points are given for performing each one for a maximum of 700 points per week and 4,200 points for the entire challenge. "The Challenge is a great way to convert ambitious New Year's resolutions, like losing weight and saving money, into daily action steps," notes Dr. Barbara O'Neill, Extension Specialist in Financial Resource Management for Rutgers Cooperative Extension.
The five daily health and nutrition practices are: eat at least 4 cups of fruits and vegetables; get at least 30 minutes of physical activity; drink water or unsweetened beverages instead of sugar-sweetened beverages; eat at least two servings of whole grain foods; and learn something new about health and nutrition.
The five daily financial management practices included in the SSHW Challenge are: save a $1 bill (or more) and/or pocket change; invest $5 or more per day (including automated retirement savings plan deposits); track money spent throughout the day; eat lunch prepared at home; and learn something new about personal finance. The latter activity, for both health and personal finances, can be accomplished by visiting Web sites, attending seminars, or by reading, listening to, or viewing media report.
I have printed out the weekly tracker and will begin the challenge. I think just having it in writing is going to make the biggest difference. I’ll be reporting on my progress.
If you want to take the challenge with me, go to http://njaes.rutgers.edu/sshw . We can encourage each other to finish and start new habits for the newyear!

Five Resolutions for Investors

I read an article on Morningstar the other day that was a transcript from an interview with Jeremy Glaser, Morningstar’s Market Editor. Jeremy was discussing five investing resolutions for 2012. They included ignoring political rhetoric, carefully checking your asset allocation, avoiding Facebook, being careful with alternatives, and finally, don’t stretch for yield. Let’s take a look at these:

Ignore political rhetoric: That is going to be easier said than done. Do you have your TV or radio on? It’s going to be difficult to keep our ears closed and our focus on our long term goals. Jeremy says there is going to be a lot of information about different plans from all the candidates . How they want to change the tax code, how they want to change different incentives. But the truth is that a lot of this just probably isn’t going to happen. We won’t know until after the election. Why worry about staying ahead of all the rhetoric and instead wait and see what actually takes place.

Carefully check your asset allocation: We continue to do that here at Integrity Bank & Trust! Weekly discussions at each Investment Committee meeting.

Avoid Facebook: There is a lot of hype about Facebook. It’s going to be almost unimaginable according to Jeremy. We are already starting to hear it and they haven’t even filed yet. Jeremy says what we need to remember is that although Facebook is an awesome company, it isn’t worth any price and there might be better entry points further down the road.

Being careful with alternatives: I have opened a lot of self directed IRAs lately. I was happy to read that Jeremy suggested we be cautious. Many of the alternative investments don’t have a long term track record. There is a lot of research that has to be done before investing in alternatives. We discuss each alternative investment that is brought to our bank to make sure it is a sound investment decision for our clients. Just because it’s an alternative, doesn’t necessarily make it a good addition to your portfolio.

Don’t stretch for yield: We need to focus on the total return and the amount of risk we are willing to take for that return. Not necessarily just on yield. I think yields are going to stay low for a while. The Federal Reserve seems quite committed to keeping it that way.

This is going to be an interesting year. There is going to be a lot of change, yet at the same time, so much that I bet stays the same. It’s important to stay focused, stay informed, and stay the course.

Happy New Year Everyone! I look forward to sharing about life and money with you in 2012. Until then, have a safe and Happy New Year celebration!

Christmas

I just realized that I hadn’t blogged in three weeks! Where is the time going? This Christmas has been different. Since I am in school, I haven’t done all the business of Christmas, and guess what? No one seems to mind! Is it just because I have teenage boys or have I spent too much time and money all the past years, and it didn’t really matter?

I’m thinking a lot of us are cutting back this year. Maybe not because of school, but because of economic conditions. Perhaps everyone else, like me, is re-examining their priorities and deciding that all those presents under the tree isn’t what it is all about. That the house doesn’t have to be decorated from top to bottom, and the most extravagant meals served.

Instead, making time to be a family, eating a simple dinner, and just being together when we can is now what we concentrate on. It doesn’t take a lot of money for Christmas, just a willingness to slow down, to be together, and to enjoy each other’s company. Time really is our most valuable asset.

May God Bless You This Holiday Season!

The Holidays Are Coming!

With Thanksgiving behind us and Christmas approaching quickly, before we know it New Years will be here. With the new year comes those pesky New Years Resolutions. Have you been thinking about yours?

There are lots of areas in our lives to make changes. Financially, this is a great time to set goals for the upcoming year. I was reviewing mine for 2011 the other day. My husband and I have reached all the goals we set for this last year. We continue to work on our intermediate and long term goals.

Maybe one of your resolutions should be to make financial goals for 2012. Only 6% of Americans have financial goals, and 3% actually write them down. Since 3% of Americans retire wealthy, I have to believe there is a correlation. It doesn’t take a lot of time, but it is definitely time well spent.

The Holidays Are Coming!, The Holidays Are Coming!

I just read an article that said that Christmas is just 8 weeks away! Usually by now, I am almost done with my Christmas shopping and planning the food. Living overseas for 6 years trained me to have all the shopping done and the gifts mailed before Thanksgiving so that they would arrive on time (without having to pay the exorbitant high prices of expedited shipping).

The only thing I have done right now is the line item on my November budget for the gifts. We will be traveling to my parent’s house for Christmas so we will have to add a travel line in our December budget.

I am in a really tough class right now and will probably have to rely on the rest of my family to take over this year. Since I have the dollars budgeted, maybe I need to look at a budget for my time. This class I am in right now is requiring about twice the study time I put in the last one. I won’t finish until December 13th. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “Time is Money”, well this year it’s “Time is Time”! Yikes!

Have you started your shopping? Is there something special you are doing for everyone on your list that you would like to share? I would love to hear your holiday suggestions. Share what works for you!