Stacy’s Savvy Financial Advice
Stay Savvy with our founder Stacy Francis’ latest articles on financial planning, budgeting, debt management, investing, divorce, retirement planning, and more.
Stacy Francis founded Savvy Ladies® in 2003 with the mission to educate women about their finances and empower them to make proactive choices. Inspired by her grandmother who stayed in an abusive relationship due to financial reasons, Stacy has been determined to never let another woman become powerless by financial instability.
Get the resources, knowledge, and tools you need to make smart and informed decisions about your money and your life.
In addition to being the Founder and Board Chair of Savvy Ladies®, Stacy is the President, CEO of Francis Financial, Inc., a boutique wealth management and financial planning firm. A nationally recognized financial expert, she holds a CFP® from the New York University Center for Finance, Law, and Taxation, and is a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® (CDFA®), a Divorce Financial Strategist™ as well as a Certified Estate & Trust Specialist (CES™).
Stacy has appeared on CNBC, NBC, PBS, CNN, Good Morning America, and many other TV & Financial News outlets. Stacy too is ofter sought out for her advice and can be found quoted in over 100 publications such as Investment News, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today. She shares her wisdom and expert financial advice here for you to learn and get savvy about your finances.
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STACY’S $AVVY ADVICE
Five Things to Ask Yourself about Your Retirement
by Stacy Francis, CFP®, CDFA
My mom flew in from Michigan last week to spend some time with us here in New York. We just went out for dinner celebrating the anniversary of her retirement and how smooth and easy this transition from employed to retired has been. She was beyond thankful for the crucial-yet-easy-breezy questions I had her answer many years ago, to make sure she wouldn’t hit any bumps on her way from the workplace. For those in a retirement state of mind, I thought I should share.
1. Have you taken a thorough look at your retirement needs and wishes, and translated this into dollars? Make sure you consider things like living expenses, airfares for visiting family, vacations, transportation, food including restaurant visits, and of course a realistic number for medical expenses.
2. Are you contributing enough to retirement accounts such as 401(k) plans and IRAs for your retirement goals to be realistic? Meaning, at the rate you are setting money aside and that your money is growing, will you have enough when you retire?
3. Are your investments suitable for your risk tolerance and time frame?
4. Do you use the ideal type/s of retirement account/s to make the most out of your invested money? Are there other types you should consider?
5. Do you review your investment portfolio regularly to make sure your investments bring you the best possible returns? If they don’t, do you rebalance your portfolio?
Don’t sweat if you have answered “no” to some of the questions above. It’s better to implement some changes now than later. Working with the right financial planner – or simply a financially savvy friend or family member – you, too, can transition successfully from career woman to the retirement of your dreams.
Great Ways to Shop More and Spend Less
by Stacy Francis, CFP®, CDFA
Shopping tips from the recession in 2008 still hold true today, if not more so.
Online shopping is the norm today in 2022 and looking to compare pricing online makes it easier to find the best price for what you are looking for.
Savvy Ladies founder Stacy Frances shares her top shopping tips which still top the list to help you save money today.
My husband and I went shopping this weekend, to stock up on fall clothes for our son and us. We expected to find oodles of blowout sales and bargains.
We didn’t. Even though it was a Saturday, the mall was as deserted as classrooms in July. But the prices . . . let’s just say I haven’t paid retail for clothing for a long time. These days, obviously I’m not the only one keeping tabs on my spending. For those of you dying to shop even with a thinner budget, below are some ideas.
Top 5 Shopping Tips to Save Money
1. Outlets. Spread across the country, these are to bargain hunters what Paris is for gourmets. The outlet stores are worth checking out these days.
2. Online. All brands can be found online via online shopping links either via their own online stores or on Amazon. With free shipping part of the offer, shopping online is a great bargain.
3. Sales. Though obviously not as frequent as I thought, sales do happen. When they do, it is not unusual to come across discounts of more than 70%.
4. Vintage. Far from the last resort that they used to be, vintage stores are turning into fun and hip options for the label lover on a budget.
5. Coupons. No longer only in the Penny Saver, coupons for luxury items can be found on sites such as billiondollarbabes.com. Many times, you can find the coupons you need by visiting the website of the store for which you are headed.
Being financially savvy does not mean losing your style or having a boring time. By using ideas like the ones above, you can stretch your budget and shop more for less.
What Are Living Trusts and How Do They Work?
by Stacy Francis, CFP®, CDFA
During a charity dinner last night, one of the women mentioned that she and her husband are drafting a trust. The discussion then went from wills to trusts and back to wills again as the other people at the table tried to grasp the differences.
With this in mind, here’s the 411 on living trusts.
- The main difference between a will and a living trust is that trusts are confidential.
- There are two main types of trusts: revocable and irrevocable. Revocable trusts can be changed; irrevocable ones cannot – so you’d best be beyond sure of what you want to do before you commit to one.
- One may ask, then, why anyone would draft an irrevocable trust, when they could just write a revocable one? The answer is money. When you die, the assets in your irrevocable trust are not considered part of your estate, so they are not taxed.
- If your estate is under the estate tax exemption amount (currently $2 million, but it will be $3.5 million starting next year), you may not need a trust, but may be fine with just a will.
- Finally, a trust may be a good idea if you want to provide for children, disabled relatives, or others who may not be able to manage their own assets, as this duty will be transferred, seamlessly, to your elected trustee.
Everyone should have either a will or a trust. Which one is more beneficial for you will depend on your circumstances.
Creating a Safety Blanket in Case of a Lay-Off
by Stacy Francis, CFP®, CDFA
I was recently on the Today Show talking about how to recession proof your finances when facing a layoff. Not the most upbeat interview. Not only is NBC covering this story but watching the evening news last night was depressing to say the least. It was all about lay-offs, a dwindling economy, and people losing their homes. As I am not the only one watching the news, many of my clients have been asking lately if there’s anything they can do to create a safety blanket, just in case the lay-off nightmare becomes a reality for them. Here’s my advice:
- If you haven’t already, create an emergency account with enough cash to keep you afloat for six months. This is advisable even in the best of economies — but now more than ever. Give yourself plenty of room to get back on your feet, should disaster strike.
- Network. Even if you’re not actively seeking a new job, it never hurts to have the right contacts. Hand out business cards, stay in touch, and half your job hunt will be done already, should your company let you go.
- Don’t get stuck in a rut. The fact that you’ve had the same job for years and years so you’re excellent at it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take steps to boost your value on the job market. Sign up for a class, ask your boss if you can manage a new type of project, or learn that new software. Not only will your boss be impressed and work harder to keep you around, but the skills could score you both a higher salary and a shorter job search time if you do end up on the market.
Suze Orman on Limiting Holiday Spending Damage
by Stacy Francis, CFP®, CDFA
I read an excellent Suze Orman article last night, and thought I should share. Use these five easy techniques, and it will make all the difference this holiday season.
- Consider credit card interest rates. If you plan to pay off your holiday shopping slowly over time, you need to double each dollar you charge in your head to get an idea of the real damage.
- Be boring. Before you hit up the mall (or go online), make a list or a spreadsheet tracking your budget, the people for whom you are shopping, and how much you can afford to pay for each gift. Whenever you buy something, deduct the price from the grand total to find out how much money you have left.
- Reject store cards. Not only will the discount tempt you to spend more – by the time the bill shows up, you will have forgotten all about it and be in it for a cold shower.
- Stay clear of the gift card trap. For instance: someone gives you $100 at Nordstroms. You seize the opportunity to snag the Prada boots of your dreams for $100 cheaper, even if you end up contributing a couple of hundred from your own stash. This is a real killer. If your gift card is $100, spend $100 and not a dime more. That way, whatever you choose from the store remains a gift.
- Lastly, and most importantly, remember that even though so many of us try, when it comes down to it, we cannot buy love. Your family isn’t going to love you more because you spend another $50 – on credit and that you can’t afford – on their gifts. If you are in a financial crunch, tell them. You will know they love you back when they say they understand and want what’s best for you.
The Postnup
by Stacy Francis, CFP®, CDFA
One of the main topics at my latest seminar was prenup’s younger cousin, the postnuptial agreement, or postnup. “I didn’t sign a prenup,” one woman confessed, “and my husband’s spending habits are keeping me up at night. But if I demand that we draft a postnup, he’s going to think I want to divorce him.”
A common dilemma indeed. While postnups still lag far behind prenups in terms of popularity, they do fill a crucial function. Signing one does not mean you don’t trust your partner, or that you are getting a divorce. It is simply a way to take control over your finances. If you are contemplating one, here’s what you should know:
- As postnups are newer and fewer cases have been tested in court, they lack the solidity of their pre-marital counterparts.
- Child support issues cannot be settled in postnups.
- There can be no skeletons in your closet, should you go for a postnup. If it turns out you failed to include (or simply forgot) any assets at the time of the drafting, the postnup will lose its validity.
- You only need one lawyer in order to draft a postnup, but you need two to put it into practice.
- Postnups can be – and frequently are – used to update prenups. This is great news indeed. As your life together changes, you are not stuck but can adapt to the new circumstances.
Marriage and Money
by Stacy Francis, CFP®, CDFA
One of the most common reasons women call me up is that they are dissatisfied with the way their husbands handle finances. They would therefore like to learn more, so that they can take over this crucial part of the household management. I had three of those calls just this morning!
It is true indeed that the topic of money always land near the top in surveys about what makes couples fight – and ultimately split. The good news is, much of this damage is preventable. Even more so if you address the following topics before you walk down the aisle.
- Financial goals. What are your expectations for the future in terms of wealth, work-life balance, retirement, etc? Don’t be alarmed if your hubby-to-be’s goals differ slightly from yours. This is normal – and natural. As long as you are aware of where your partner stands, you can make compromises that you are both comfortable with.
- Financial freedom. Some couples merge everything from their credit cards and bank accounts to stock trading accounts and Blockbuster cards. Others keep their finances separate to avoid fights about different spending habits. Still others keep a joint account for household expenses, and the rest separate. Find the solution that works the best for you.
- Existing debt. In today’s society, few people are completely in the black. A bit of debt is therefore not a red flag, as long as you can craft and commit to a plan to eliminate it.
- Risk tolerance. If you prefer CDs and bonds while your husband likes to speculate with biotech stocks, chances are you will end up hating each other before you know it. Find a compromise that works for both of you – and stick to it.
Shopping Triggers and How to Curb Them: Depression
by Stacy Francis, CFP®, CDFA
At a seminar today, a woman desperate to take control over her finances confessed that her worst shopping trigger was depression. Whether she was feeling lonely, overworked, fat, poor, or just blue in general, the only way she could cheer herself up was through shopping. While this may sound ludicrous to some, her problem is far from uncommon.
When everything else goes wrong, we reason, can I at least have a Dior lipstick? And for many of us, shopping does create a buzz not all that different from a glass of wine or a divine bar of chocolate. We do feel better, as owners of that gorgeous lipstick that makes us look so special. But just as with any short term high, the problem is, when the warm fuzzy feeling disappears we are worse off than we were before. Because the next time we are feeling lonely/overworked/far/poor/blue, we need to add to the equation that we are also in debt.
In a way, shopping to cure depression can be compared to drinking to cure depression. Sure, our chances for liver failure are significantly smaller, but credit card debt can be a major hassle – and make you feel a whole lot worse. There are other ways to cheer up and lose those gloomy feelings: exercise, spending time with friends, meditation, choosing better foods, etc., etc. – and these are things that will help you in the long term as well. Next time, opt for one of those.
What Size Allowance Should I Give My Child?
by Stacy Francis, CFP®, CDFA
At the park today, the moms were discussing allowances. At what age should a child start to receive them, and how much is appropriate? All at once they stopped and asked me, “You are the expert, tell us what to do!” Talk about pressure. I took off the mom hat and put on my financial planner thinking cap.
There are almost as many theories for this as there are experts in the field. The most common system seems to be to give the child $1 per week and years of age. Meaning, for instance, that my son would receive $3 per week, and my friend’s six-year-old daughter $6. But of course, the right amount will also depend on other factors such as
- Your child’s attitude toward and awareness of money. Before he or she appreciates it, there’s little point in throwing cash his or her way.
- What sorts of expenses your child is expected to cover in exchange for the money. If he or she, for instance, needs to cover friends’ birthday presents and some or all of his or her own clothes, he or she will need a lot more than he or she would if the money were for entertainment only.
- How much you expect your child to save. Many parents take care of their children’s savings for them, but if possible, I always recommend that you give him or her enough money to set some aside and watch it grow. For many children, this is an invaluable lesson.
Of course, both the sum and the level of responsibility will change as your child grows older. The most important thing of all is therefore to keep an open mind and constantly rework your allowance system as your circumstances change.
