Whether you have your family in mind, or lifelong friends, you want their futures to be safe and secure. You want the people you love to prosper in life. And what better way to show your devotion and appreciation than by ensuring your hard-earned money and investments go to them—after your passing?
So, how do you keep your money in your family or within your circle of closest friends rather than lost to legal fees or government portions?
By Jessica Searcy Kmetty
In Part I of this blog series, we introduced you to Meredith, a self-described community creator, home curator, minimalist, hipster mama who is raising 3 “wonderful wilds” in NYC. We talked about how she manages finances for her family, how she and her husband discuss their money scripts, and her philosophy on debt and spending. In Part II, we’re going to dive deeper into something she has been trying out with her family – no spend months.
The Cambridge Dictionary defines “prepare” as making or getting ready for something that will happen in the future. It also states: “to expect that something will happen and to be ready for it.”
A capricious planet Earth makes natural disasters inevitable. Some years are worse than others, and relatively brief stretches of recorded history demonstrate the ferocity nature can superimpose on unsuspecting civilizations.
Three generations. That’s all you have. And then you’ll be forgotten. Completely. Only your name may remain. Memories of you will have long since passed into the annals of parochial history.
“There is no remembrance of those who came before; and of those who will come after there will also be no remembrance,” wrote Solomon thousands of years ago.
By Jessica Searcy Kmetty
It’s always interesting to hear how other people approach life and finances, especially when they have a strong philosophy to share. A Midwest gal living and raising a family in NYC? Debt avoidance? No-spending months? Children who earn livings by modeling? Sounds like an interesting story to me!
Our guest Meredith is a self-described community creator, home curator, minimalist, hipster mama who is raising 3 “wonderful wilds” in NYC.
When I sat down to introduce you readers to Meredith and share some of her stories and philosophies about money and life, many ideas came to mind. But in the end, I decided she told her story better than anyone and there wasn’t much you needed to hear from me. So, enjoy this peek into our conversation:
Many people would like to leave a mark on the world, whether large or small, in the form of their legacy. Whatever your passions in life–from philanthropy to family–your legacy should reflect these passions. At its core, a legacy is built on your personal values and how you choose to share those values to make an impact on the world. Your legacy also comprises your experiences as a person. Sharing your memories, stories, and perspectives with family members can connect them to your values and familial history.
Furthermore, a legacy isn’t just what’s left behind when you’re gone; it can be a part of creating a purposeful and satisfying life for yourself, and your family, in the present. Comprehensive legacy planning allows you to not only transfer wealth but to intentionally pass down values, memories, and traditions. In this piece, we discuss the importance of consciously creating a legacy based on your values and show you some steps to help you get started.
There are many reasons to embark on a family history project: to find your family’s place in history, to develop a closer connection to your family’s roots, or to learn more about distant ancestors. Whatever your personal reasons for tracing your family’s history, it can be a wonderful way to build a stronger family identity and document your unique heritage.
By Jessica Kmetty
Life moves very fast these days. Between juggling schedules for multiple children, personal commitments, professional commitments, and squeezing in some “me-time”, the need for flexibility in our lives as moms is crucial. It’s crucial for happiness, yes, but sometimes it’s crucial just for existence. It’s no wonder that so many women are taking their careers and finances into their own hands and building businesses that allow for this flexibility. The Survey of Business Owners data shows that 9.9 million US firms are women-owned, they’re generating $1.4 billion in receipts, and nearly 90 percent are nonemployer firms. Mom-bosses are following their passions, doing it for themselves, doing it for their families, and succeeding in ways they always knew were possible. As a mom doing all these things myself, I am sharing my top financial tips for the savvy mom-bosses out there:
Financial envy is even more of a thing now than it was back in 1913 when cartoonist Arthur R. “Pop” Momand debuted the comic strip “Keeping Up with the Joneses,” which centered on the misadventures of Aloysius P. McGinnis and his family, who were always trying to keep up with their never-seen neighbors, the Joneses.
Today, we not only have television shows displaying lifestyles of the rich and famous, we’re punched with images and status updates in social media, too. We not only see the “Joneses” on television, but we are likely connected on social media to colleagues and friends who post frequent photos and statuses about their new luxury car, boat, or 3-carat diamond ring.
Every year around tax time, reports of email phishing scams increase, though no season is immune to its own set of scams. Phishing is the act of using computers to fraudulently acquire sensitive information such as credit card numbers, social security numbers, and user names & passwords. To accomplish this, thieves will send electronic communications designed to look like they are coming from a trustworthy entity. One example of a recent phishing scam appears to come from the IRS: