Read any retirement planning book these days and one piece of advice will stand out – start saving early! Well, this is all well and good, but, the truth is that many of us are already in the final years before retirement.

The decisions that we made in our 20s and 30s are set in stone. Now, we want to know what we can do to make the most of our money in the years that we have left!

Fortunately, we don’t have to be alone as we go through this process. With the right professional advice (hopefully from a Fiduciary Financial Advisor), we can still make a big impact on the quality of life that we have in retirement, even if we are already in our 50s or 60s.

So, to dig into this issue, I recently interviewed Pam Krueger of Wealthramp, a website that helps people to find personally vetted, independent Fiduciary Advisors. If anyone knows how to get the most from your relationship with your Financial Advisor, it’s Pam. So, I hope that you find the conversation useful (and profitable!)

Here are the topics that Pam said we should consider discussing with a Financial Planner in the years leading up to retirement. Of course, none of the information in this article is intended to be financial advice. But, I hope that it gives you plenty to discuss with a financial professional.

First Things First… Talk to the Right Person

Before we even got into the topic of what to discuss with a Financial Planner, Pam reminded us that not all financial professionals are created equal. For example, Pam points out that fiduciaries have a different set of rules that they must apply when it comes to helping you to manage your money.

As she said, “The fiduciary [has] a much higher standard; legally, they are on the line for their advice. They have to put your best interests ahead of their own.”

When I talk with the women in my community, they are amazed when they learn that many financial professionals have a much lower legal standard that they have to follow – basically, they just need to recommend financial options that are “appropriate” for your situation. This means that they could still have conflicts of interest and could legally put their own interests above yours!

If you are looking for a Fiduciary Advisor, I highly recommend checking out Pam’s website, Wealthramp.

What Are Your Life Goals?

As we dove into the topics that you should raise with your Financial Planner in the years leading up to retirement, Pam started by talking about the relationship between life goals and financial goals. She pointed out that, while your financial goals may be narrow in scope, your life goals are much broader.

As a result, she said that most people should start by making sure that their financial planner really understands their situation – where they live, what their family life looks like, what your priorities are, etc.

As she said, “When you go to a really good Financial Planner, one of the best things you can do is to collaborate on your life. Because a Fiduciary Advisor is not there to sell you products, [the conversation] should be all about you! Then, you can start to look for patterns and habits that you can change.”

Would You Please Audit My Investments? Am I Paying Too Many Fees?

For most of us – even the fortunate few among us who saved a significant amount for retirement – our investments are a bit of an accidental mess. Maybe we had a small pension plan at one company… and a 401K (probably filled with expensive, actively-managed mutual funds) at another… and a few CDs that we stuck some money in… and that jar under the bed. Regardless of where our money is stashed away, chances are we haven’t looked at the details in a long time.

One of the top requests that Pam says we should all make of a Financial Planner is to audit our investments. This way, they can look at whether we are sufficiently diversified, whether we are paying too many fees and whether we could benefit from a different strategy.

This is not the time to be shy. None of us like opening our financial lives up to another person. Doing so means that we need to face the consequences of our decisions. But, this is the only way to reset our financial lives in the years leading up to retirement.

Do I Have the Right Insurance?

Most of us don’t think about insurance as being a part of our retirement plan, but, according to Pam, this vehicle is so important.

A Fiduciary Advisor can give you objective advice because, quite frankly, they don’t have anything to sell! This means that they can help you to understand whether you are overpaying and, if so, by how much.

As Pam said, “They are in the unique position of being able to evaluate, in an unbiased way, your insurance situation.” This should include life insurance, homeowners’ insurance medical insurance and any other insurance plans that you have.

Do I Need Long-Term Care? How Will I Pay for it?

For most of our lives, we worry about not living too long enough. Then, as we reach our 60s, we begin, ever so slowly, to start to worry about living too long!

According to Pam, a good Financial Planner can help you to think about the financial tools that you need to have in place to prepare for the possibility that you will need long-term care in the future.

As she said, “There is [long-term care] insurance that you can buy when you are getting ready to retire… but, you need to make sure that you get the right policy.”

This interview with Pam Krueger was wide-ranging and I have only been able to scratch the surface of the great advice that she gave us. I highly encourage you to watch today’s video to get even more details about the questions that you should ask a Financial Planner in the years leading up to retirement.

What questions did you raise with a Financial Planner in the years leading up to retirement? What did you think of the 4 questions that Pam recommended we each ask? Let’s have a conversation!

Brielle Biermann’s Striped Maxi Dress on Instagram

Don’t Be Tardy Instagram Fashion 2020

Considering her show has been tardy in making a comeback to our screens in 2020, it’s definitely been a minute since we’ve reported on Brielle Biermann here on our site. However she’s totally caught our attention on Instagram with this super cute striped maxi dress that she wore while celebrating her birthday in the Bahamas (pre-social distancing obvs), which we have to say paired perfectly with the beachy backdrop and her fabulous Big Blonde Brown Hair. 

Fashionably,

Faryn

Click Here to Shop Her LoveShackFancy Dress on Sale

Photos: @BrielleBiermann

Originally posted at: Brielle Biermann’s Striped Maxi Dress

No matter how much money we make, most of us go through life without really ever getting control of our finances. While we are building our careers, we worry more about increasing our income than decreasing our costs. And, “small” charges like unwanted website subscriptions or the occasional overdraft fee fall by the wayside.

Then, as we start to approach retirement, things start to change. Even if we still have stable jobs, we start to realize that we have fewer peak-earning years ahead of us than behind us. And, as we check our retirement accounts, we suddenly discover that we aren’t as prepared for 20-30 years in retirement as we thought we would be.

So, determined
not to end up on the street in “the best years of our lives,” we start to
tighten our belts and look for ways to reduce our costs. Some of us actually
manage to do this before we retire, but, the great majority of us wait until we
are forced to reduce our spending.

Unfortunately, after years of fairly relaxed spending, many of us have forgotten the art of fighting for every single penny.

So, today, I wanted to focus on one example of how we can reduce our monthly expenses… not because it is a huge cost, but, because it is symbolic of the small little financial piranhas that nibble away at our financial future.

What Are Overdraft Fees?

Of course, you
probably already know this by now, but, since most of us don’t pay attention to
them when we have a regular salary payment going into our accounts, it’s not a
bad idea to do a quick review.

Overdraft fees
are additional charges that your bank takes when you spend more money from your
checking account than you actually have. Or to put it another way, overdraft
fees are what the bank charges you for spending money that you don’t have.

In absolute
dollar terms, overdraft fees aren’t the end of the world. You might be charged
$35 for a single transaction. But, if you’re not careful, you can get multiple
transaction fees in a single day, which can add up… especially if you are
already in retirement and are relying on a fixed income.

The crazy thing is that while overdraft facilities are often portrayed as “services,” they are really only good for two things: 1. Collecting fees for the bank and 2. Making sure transactions go through – once again, this benefits the bank, who doesn’t want commerce to slow down for any reason. After all, the more people spend, the more they make.

Just how big of a business are overdraft fees for the big banks? According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), banks made $11.16 Billion from insufficient funds fees in 2015. That’s 8% of their entire revenue base.

No wonder they want to keep them around!

How to Get Your Overdraft Fees Waved (Including My Own Script)

Banks walk a
tight line when it comes to fees. On the one hand, they make tons of cash by
nickeling-and-diming their customers. On the other hand, thanks to new
innovations in the financial space, it has never been easier to switch banks if
you are unhappy with your current one. As a result, the bank will go quite far
to keep you as a customer.

The easiest
way to get an overdraft fee waved is simply to ask for it. If you have been a
good customer for several years, the bank should be willing to help. And, if
not, what does that say about how much they value your relationship?

The good news is that, most of the time, you can get an overdraft fee waved with a single call. Here’s an example of a less than 5-minute conversation that I had several years ago.

Margaret:
“Hi! I just noticed an overdraft fee on my statement. This is the first time
that this has happened to me and I’d really love to get this waved. Is this
something that you can help me with?”

Note: I’m
asking him to “help me.” This puts us both on the same side of the table.

Bank Representative: “Well, first, thanks for being a loyal Bank of Many Fees customer. I’d love to help you, but, unfortunately, our overdraft policy doesn’t give me any flexibility. I’m really sorry. Is there anything else that I can help you with today?”

Margaret:
“I totally understand what you’re saying. Here’s the thing… I’ve been with your
bank for 10 years. I’ve always payed my bills on time and this is my first
overdraft fee. Is there any way that you could make an exception in this case?
I really appreciate your help.

Note: I
always find that it’s best to acknowledge a person’s situation (“I understand
what you’re saying…”) and I find that “here’s the thing…” is a nice gentle way
to voice an objection.

Bank
Representative: Let me just check something. Can I put you on hold for 1
minute? [Elevator music] You know, I just checked and I think that we’ll be
able to make an exception in this case. I’ll go ahead and take care of this. Is
there anything else that I can do for you today?

Note: Bank representatives
will almost never say “yes” to a request that costs the bank money on the first
try. But, in my experience, if you are polite but firm, you can usually get
them to say yes eventually.

If you
continue to get a negative response, I find that speaking to a supervisor
usually does the trick. Sometimes, the bank representative that you are
initially connected with is just having a bad day and there is nothing wrong
with going around them. Or, you could call back a bit later and speak with
another representative.

How to Stop Overdraft Fees Forever

The easiest
way to avoid overdraft fees is to opt out of overdraft protection. When you do
this, any transaction requests that exceed the amount of money that you have in
your account will simply be rejected.

So, if there
is such a simple solution to overdraft fees, why don’t more people take
advantage of it? Because banks convince them that overdraft protection is a
service. It’s all about spin and marketing taking precedence over what is
actually good for the customer.

If you want to
opt out of overdraft protection, simply contact your bank. Ask them to confirm
that, once you opt out, any transactions that exceed the amount in your account
will be declined with no additional fees to you. And, voila! Less money for the
bank = more money in your pocket!

It’s Only $35! Who Cares?

At the end of
the day, this article really isn’t about getting overdraft fees waved. It is
about developing your negotiating muscles. It is about refusing to accept
charges which, while small individually, add up to hundreds (or thousands) of
dollars.

The truth is that most people fail at negotiating because they fail to negotiate. Or, they fail to persist when they get an initial “no.”

Overdraft fees are a great place to start training your negotiating skills because they involve low-risk discussions. Then, when you are negotiating something bigger, like a rental agreement or debt reduction plan, you’ll have some experience to draw on.

Besides, if you are ignoring small feels (like a $35 overdraft charge), chances are you are also missing other avoidable costs. It’s all about taking control of the little things so that they don’t distract you from the big things in life.

Have you ever managed to get an overdraft fee waived? How did your conversation go? What other small fees or costs have you eliminated as you have started to think about retirement? Let’s have a conversation!

Sonja Morgan and Dorinda Medley’s Face Masks in The Hamptons

Real Housewives of New York Season 12 Episode 4 Fashion

For those of us wondering how the RHONY ladies have the magical ability to wake up looking fresh as a daisy after a night of drinking more than college girls at a frat party, we finally got an answer from Sonja Morgan and Dorinda Medley on this week’s episode in The Hamptons: patch face masks. Which may not erase your antics from the night before, however still seem like a perfect way to save face.

Fashionably,

Faryn

Click Here to Shop the SiO Beauty Facelift Pack

Click Here to Shop the Super LipLift Patches

Click Here to Shop the Super EyeLift Patches

Click Here to Shop More SiO Beauty Products

Info: @SonjaTMorgan

Click Here to See Sonja’s Sold Out Sonja By Sonja Morgan Pajamas

Dorinda’s Pajamas are Sold Out at J.Crew

Originally posted at: Sonja Morgan and Dorinda Medley’s Face Masks