SafeAmerica Credit Union

San Ramon Unified School District

• By Kevin Alvarez

Don’t Let Back-To-School Shopping Stress You Out

The National Retail Federation (NRF) is expecting this year’s back-to-school shopping season to be the most expensive ever.

Parents are feeling pressured to overspend and many are worried about hitting the stores this year. The good news is that with a little planning, you can successfully manage these additional expenses while managing your stress.

According to their survey, K-12 families will be spending about $36.9 billion in back-to-class spending. An average of of $846 per household while back-to-college spending is expected to reach $73.9 billion, an average of $1,199 per household both. the highest ever recorded by the NRF.

Here are three steps you can take to plan for the upcoming back-to-school shopping season:

1. Make A Plan Before You Shop

Take some time to assess your financial situation. GreenPath’s budgeting worksheet is a great way to get started, click here to view and download. Once you have good handle on your current financial state, determine how much you truly feel comfortable spending.

2. Take Stock of What You Have Versus What You Need

Prioritize your needs list. What do you need to buy before school starts and what can you purchase later? What really needs to be replaced versus what can be reused? If new clothes are a need, many stores will be clearing their shelves to makes way for winter clothing. This is a good time to stock up at a discount.

3. Avoid Impulse Buys

Take your needs list with you and stick to it. If your kids will be shopping with you, share the list with them beforehand. Better yet, have them help you create it.

If they want something that isn't in the budget, offer them the option to chip in their own money. Generation Z has become more involved than previous generations and are spending more of their own money on back-to-school supplies. Teaching your children about finances plays a critical role in forming a healthy attitude about money and setting them up for long-term success.

2022 Back-To-School Webinar Trends - (Webinar Recording)

Information brought to you by our partner, GreenPath Financial Wellness

Greenpath Financial Wellness

Sources:
National Retail Federation Trends

• By Kevin Alvarez

Coping with Inflation

Inflation continues to put pressure on household budgets. From groceries to gas, record-breaking inflation means the purchasing power of your money is decreasing each month. Below you will find guidance on how to best navigate a time with high inflation.

1. Take Inventory of your full financial picture. Has your household income changed? have you adjusted your budget for rising groceries, transportation, or other expenses? Check your existing budget to see where you stand and where your money is going. If you don't have a budget, it can help to create a simple spending plan or roadmap of monthly expenses. A good place to start is to use resources like a budgeting worksheet track your monthly income against current expenses.

2. Continue to build an emergency fund to tap into when unexpected circumstances arise like a medical expense or costly home repair. An emergency fund helps reduce the chance of taking on debt to cover an unplanned expense. It might be tempting to pause monthly savings as rising prices take a bigger bite out of your monthly budget, but resist the urge. Put savings on auto pilot with each paycheck. Even a small amount will add up over time.

3. Prioritize monthly spending in a time of rising prices. Rethink certain monthly expenses such as subscription or streaming services. According to researchers, the average household has 4.5 streaming services and spends an average of $55 on them per month. This may not seem like much, yet $55 a month adds up to more than $600 per year. If you’re trying to cut expenses in the face of higher prices, ditching underused subscriptions can be a good place to start. As essentials get more expensive, figure out your new baseline. Limit credit card use and curb discretionary spending (dining out, entertainment). GreenPath’s Aligning Priorities workbook can help you make these decisions.

4. Monitor debt, especially as interest rates rise. Paying off high-interest credit card debt saves you money in interest, improves your credit score, and frees up room in your budget. Choose a debt payoff strategy that works for your situation. Consider GreenPath’s Debt Management Plan which helps you pay off unsecured debt in 3 to 5years. GreenPath can work with many creditors to bring your ac-counts current, lower interest rates, and eliminate fees.

5. Shop smart. Research the best sales, coupons, and specials, especially on products that are low in inventory. Check dollar stores for deals on household items and stock up on those items where possible. Bulk retailers or wholesale clubs might be a good way to stock up on items in large quantities for a lower per-use cost. Strategically plan your higher-cost purchases. Swap out brand-name items for generic as much as possible.

6. Keep tabs on your credit history. In times of rising prices, it pays to keep tabs on credit history, which is used to calculate your credit scores. The three digit number of your credit score helps determine whether lenders approve you for new credit and what interest rates they offer. Annualcreditreport.com is a trusted “one-stop-shop” to check your reports from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion – the three industry-standard credit bureaus. You can also work with GreenPath to review your credit history.

7. Get independent guidance from a nonprofit financial counseling agency like GreenPath. Counselors look at your entire financial picture to help you ease financial stress and uncertainty, through access to clear information and a personalized action plan.

Information brought to you by our partner, GreenPath Financial Wellness

GreenPath Financial Wellness

• By Kevin Alvarez

Is My Employer’s Life Insurance Enough?

If you’re like a lot of people in the workforce, you might have signed up for your company’s life insurance program as soon as it became available. Registration was simple, and the insurance most likely costs you little or no money. Choosing to join might have been an easy decision.

But is basic life insurance through an employer enough to meet your needs? According to a survey, 29%1 of workers believe that it is. But you might be shocked to discover that it may not be.

How Does “Work Life Insurance” Work?

Employer-provided life insurance is a type of group life insurance because the plan covers everyone who chooses to participate at your company. Employers enter into a contract with a central insurance agency to provide life insurance coverage conveniently to all their employees.

Employer-paid life insurance often means that your company will pay the entire monthly bill for your insurance. But this isn’t always the case. In some instances, your employer will pay most of the cost, but you’ll still have to pay a small amount that’s typically deducted from your paycheck.

Why Do Employers Offer Life Insurance?

Group life insurance makes an excellent addition to an employee benefits package. Companies that offer free life insurance often have a hiring advantage over a business without a group plan.

One reason for the benefit’s popularity is that even workers with serious health issues usually find it easy to get insurance through group coverage. Everyone at the company automatically qualifies because the insurance company doesn’t mind accepting the risk of insuring a person with health challenges as long as most of the other insured coworkers are healthy.

How Much Does An Employer Provide?

The median coverage for a company employee is $20,000 or one year’s salary.1 Some companies may offer you a plan that pays two or three times your salary.

If you need more insurance, employers may give you the chance to purchase an additional amount of insurance through the company’s group plan. Even then, however, there are still a few points to consider before deciding whether employer-provided insurance meets all your coverage needs.

Does My Employer’s Life Insurance Meet My Needs?

Is the amount of coverage your employer offers enough for your family? Will they be able to get by on $20,000 or on the equivalent of one or two years of your salary?

One consideration may be whether you want enough insurance to help pay off your debts and provide for your children’s education. In addition, there may be other reasons why you need a larger insurance payout than what your employer’s insurance offers. For example, you may have an aging parent who relies on your income. In that case, you may want to factor in the cost of providing quality nursing care for that person after you’re gone. If you have questions about your needs, speak to a licensed agent.

Even if you are able to apply for more coverage through your employer-provide coverage, you may have to answer medical questions or get a physical. In that case, some medical conditions could prevent you from adding to your policy. Or you might be asked to pay more than you can afford.

Does My Employer-paid Life Insurance Carry Over From Job to Job?

Maybe the biggest drawback of relying entirely on life insurance from your employer is that, in most cases, the insurance provided by your company covers you only as long as you remain at the company. Typically, the insurance coverage stops when you leave, whether it’s because you resigned or because you were laid off or fired. If you see yourself leaving your job at some point in the future, you will need to think about how to replace the coverage you had. If you’re lucky, your new employer might also offer life coverage. But there’s no guarantee it will.

One Option: Convert Employer Insurance To Personal

One way around the problem of losing your life coverage when you leave your job is to convert your employer-provided life insurance to personal life insurance, if your company gives you that option. Usually, no medical exam is required when a person makes the change. But once your coverage goes from group to personal, you, rather than your employer, will be responsible for making your full monthly payments. And at that point you might be able to get a better deal on both the cost and the amount of coverage if you just leave the employer policy behind and shop around for a new insurance policy.

Should You Get Life Insurance Outside of Work?

The insurance provided by your employer is a great benefit. But it may not be enough. So, carefully calculate how much insurance your family needs and, if you need more coverage, consider purchasing a separate personal policy in addition to the group policy you have through your workplace.

SafeAmerica Can Help

Trustage Life Insurance

Life insurance can be a simple, affordable way to help protect your family if you pass away. It can provide your loved ones with money to help pay for things like mortgage or rent payments, day to day bills or medical and funeral bills. SafeAmerica has partnered with Trustage to provide you with affordable, member-only pricing on life insurance and more.

For more information and to get an instant online quote, click below. 

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1 2021 LIMRA’s Life Insurance Barometer, “Top Misconceptions About Life Insurance”.