routines

When Your Household Membership Changes
photo shows a family of 5 in silhouette watching a red and yellow sunset near a bench and a tree

Momentum carries us through many of life’s relationships. Practicing traditions and routines takes all sorts of decisions off our plate. It’s a type of comfortable efficiency. Then, sometimes, a big change occurs—and things shift. We can find ourselves suddenly reconsidering decisions that we used to be able to take for granted.

I’ve seen it unfold in your lives, clients, and certainly in my own. When my wife passed, I discovered that there were aspects of my lifestyle that suited “Mark in a couple” but did not fit in my new life as “Mark on his own.”

Upon the passing of or separation from a partner, some people realize all of a sudden that what used to be a two-kayak household is now a zero-kayak household. And they’re content with that.

It can happen when the home suddenly expands, too: it’s not just the birth of children that can change a household’s makeup. Perhaps that mother-in-law suite becomes literal, or maybe an adult sibling or adult child moves in to help manage things.

No matter how the membership of a household is changing, the new dynamic will most likely bring changes to the financial texture of life for everyone involved.

  • Are there are any lifestyle expenses that now make you feel, “I could take it or leave it”?
  • Do you anticipate changing your employment situation in a way that wasn’t possible before?
  • How might your tax strategies or insurance options change in this new arrangement?

Although many recommend waiting a year (or some other interval) after a loss or change before making big decisions, there are ways to explore in the meantime. Some people find it helpful to do their own research and talk with trusted friends as they explore options. Some prefer to work on their own personal development for a spell before reviewing their choices.

When your household membership changes, there is no right or wrong way to navigate these issues. Clients, if you’d like to talk through what this may mean for you, we’re game. Please write or call.

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Play the audio version of this post below:

When Your Household Membership Changes – 228Main.com Presents: The Best of Leibman Financial Services

This text is available at https://www.228Main.com/.

There’s the Planning and the Plan

Folks love a good before-and-after story, but big transformative goals tend to obscure the steps in between. We highlight the accomplishment, not the accomplishing. So how does the doing get things done? Making sense of your plans and planning with Mark.

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Clothes, Money, Wealth–Simplicity

© Can Stock Photo / daoleduc

When I graduated from college just before my 21st birthday and went into business, I dressed to appear more experienced than I was. Suit, tie, wing-tip shoes—you know what I’m talking about. As the years went by, ‘trying to look experienced’ ceased to be an issue, somehow.

Over time, my wardrobe evolved into a new kind of uniform. Doc Martens casual shoes, gold socks, khaki slacks, polo shirt. In winter, add a sweater. When something wears out, replace it with like kind. I might be spending about $150 or $200 per year on my business wardrobe these past many years.

One of the byproducts of this simplified wardrobe is pure efficiency. I spend no time working out what to wear. My socks are all the same color. Choice of slacks is easy: the clean ones. And the polo shirt I select each day is the one whose ‘turn’ it is. My conscious thoughts run more to how to grow your bucket, and not so much trying to match colors on my fashion plate.

Mark Zuckerburg, billionaire social media pioneer, is famous for wearing the same modest clothes every day. Steve Jobs, cofounder of Apple, had the same habit. Anybody who has seen television talent show personality Simon Cowell has noticed his ever-present trademark black T shirt. Many decades ago, scientist Albert Einstein owned a number of suits—all grey.

Some of these luminaries are on record with the notion that the simplicity of standard routines creates time for them—and time is money.

Friends, I am not promoting the idea that you should be as boring as I am, sartorially speaking. There is a different way that standard routines can replace conscious choice and enrich you.

By making your periodic investments automatic instead of the product of a deliberate, recurring decision, you accomplish two things. First, the investment actually happens on schedule, every time—it is automatic. And second, you spend no time working on it or thinking about it every month—and time is money.

This is the way 401(k) and other retirement plans work. We know people who signed up for them, paid no attention for some period of years, and were surprised to find out later that they had accumulated tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Roth IRA’s, college savings plans, and other forms of investment can be set up the same way. Automatic monthly investments may be drafted straight from your bank account, without the need for thought or action on your part.

Clients, if you would like to simplify more parts of your financial life, or talk about any other pertinent topic, please email us or call.

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.

All investing involves risk including loss of principal. No strategy assures success or protects against loss.

The Roth IRA offers tax deferral on any earnings in the account. Withdrawals from the account may be tax free, as long as they are considered qualified. Limitations and restrictions may apply. Withdrawals prior to age 59 ½ or prior to the account being opened for 5 years, whichever is later, may result in a 10% IRS penalty tax. Future tax laws can change at any time and may impact the benefits of Roth IRAs. Their tax treatment may change.