Copy
Monthly Employee Newsletter - Please pass along!
View this email in your browser
Facebook
Instagram
Website

Finances are a common source of worry and frustration.  It can be difficult to reconfigure a budget to adjust for sudden expenses or changes.  This month's featured information is all about finances. 
Visit our website to access calculators and budgeting webinars and tip sheets.  
Read this month's article and try using the Investment Goal Calculator and learn more about what the basics of investing. Listen to the featured webinar to hear about Saving for the Future.
Website Login code - sweap
This Month's Article:
Safe Money: Weighing Savings Options in a Low-Interest Rate Environment

 

Featured webinar:
Saving for the Future

Many people do not have a healthy level of savings, despite knowing the importance of having money set aside for emergencies, purchases, college, and retirement. In this webinar, you will learn how to utilize Emotionally Charged Saving techniques that will motivate you to set and keep your savings goals. Some of the topics covered include: Savings, Your Financial Shock Absorbers, How Spending and Saving are Actually Two Sides of the Same Coin, The Reasons to Save, Why Willpower is Overrated, Positive + Negative Emotion = Massive Motivation, and The Power of "Mindless Saving".

Log in anytime this month to view the webinar, using the login code "sweap"
 

Everything in Moderation: The Money Diet

When it comes to overindulgence, money and food really aren't all that different. Both satisfy basic needs in our lives. Yet without boundaries, they can get us in a lot of trouble. Maybe it's time to take a few tips from diet experts when trying to control money problems. It's all about planning and moderation. Here are some ideas you might consider when starting a money lifestyle transition:
1. Figure out where you are…and where you need to be: We've all seen those charts that tell us a healthy weight based on our height and age. If only money were that simple. That's why you should get some help if you've never tried to assess your money health before.  Really look at where you stand, where you need or want to be and begin to formulate a reasonable plan to make that happen.  A financial planning professional can ask the right questions and develop a customized plan to figure out your starting point and, based on your age, your earning potential and new habits you need to develop, where you'll be able to finish.
2. Track your spending…in detail: Whether you do it with a pen and a notebook or a computer program, make a concerted effort to track your everyday spending. When attempting to alter diet, people often track every morsel of food they eat; with money, it's the same thing. Knowing where every dollar goes gives a quick picture where money can be saved or invested.
3. Create a financial calendar: This might be a little easier if you've tracked your spending for a year. But even if you haven't, take a big desk calendar (or an electronic calendar that allows space for lots of notes to yourself) and in each day's square where you know you'll have to make a payment, write down the reason and the expected amount. (Hint: Write very small!) That way, you'll make sure you aren't tempted to overspend around those dates. What expenses are we talking about? Everything you have to meet on a regular basis and ones you know are coming up. Here are a few examples that should get you started: Monthly mortgage, auto or rent payments; student loans, monthly utilities, home, auto, life or disability insurance; retirement savings; property taxes; tuition bills; a new car payment; big home maintenance expenses; property taxes; credit card payments (with payment amounts that exceed the minimum) and yes, vacations and special treats. What will this crowded calendar tell you? That by attacking debt, making certain sacrifices and spending and saving smarter, you can eventually uncrowd that calendar and your financial life.
4. Write down your long-term goals: You need to think about the things you really want to do with your life and what those things will cost. Putting goals in writing gives them a formality and a starting point for the planning you must do. If these goals require saving, make sure you put those savings dates on the financial calendar you made in #3.
5. Permanently change your spending habits: People who have lost a significant amount of weight - and kept it off - usually report that they've made slight but permanent lifestyle changes to do so. Money success requires similar dedication. For example, people who have rewarded themselves with unrestricted spending sprees should develop alternate behaviors that bring them as much satisfaction - meals home with friends or setting money aside to afford the occasional high-quality treat. It's all about finding out what they really value and deciding whether saving for retirement or affording their child's college education outranks buying an expensive car or clothing.
6. Don't go it alone: Leading weight-loss programs like Weight Watchers have had long term success for two reasons: affordability and easy access to information and support. Working with family, trusted friends or even a financial planning professional on an ongoing basis can help you develop the right plan and stick to it.
7. Build failure and recovery into the plan: How many diets have failed with the words, "I can't fail!" The fact is, with food or money, everyone goes off course at times. The important thing is to have a plan for corrective action if it happens or is about to happen. If you can minimize the damage and get back on course, your progress will continue.

The Financial Planning Association (FPA) & SWEAP © 2020


More articles and videos discussing " Savings and Investments in Personal Finance," "Setting Personal Financial Goals" and tons of budget and financial calculators featured this month, look for the featured bar at the top of the page after you login with code "sweap" to southwesteap.com 

Can I my partner or child use the EAP?
Of course!  The EAP covers you AND your household.  A family member can come on their own for individual sessions or a partner can join you for a relationship session.  They also always have access to the online resources, try it by Logging In and Searching for the topics in the southwesteap.com database.  Use code "sweap" to get started.

Visit the online COVID-19 Resource Center to find webinars, articles, and links to trusted sources that may help you navigate the pandemic.
southwesteap.com - login code "sweap"
Instagram
Facebook
Southwest EAP
Copyright © 2020 SWEAP Connections, All rights reserved.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp