#mombassadorchat Happy Tax Day!

Sure no prob@twins1987, happy to help anyway I can

OK thanks girl @txyogagirl

@mom.life_usa, we need a group chat for this topic we have them for everything else

@erikasmiles123, are u going to be making a group chat I think u should it would be helpful to lots of moms

@twins1987, here is the chat

I would love to join!

These are a couple things I recently did...

You can get free ebooks audio books and magazines from these apps if you have a library card. Hoopla, Zinio, Flipster.

Get 3 hours free bike for cycling in many trails using Zagster app.

Oh I meant that its recommended that you do 10% but if that is to much to do what you can afford.

@smilingwithmyawesome4kids, no prob happy to help I should have mentioned that number is for the Roth . As I said above the traditional is diff and the rollover is none.

Thank you @txyogagirl for the advice

@erikasmiles123, @smilingwithmyawesome4kids, @c54steele, ladies u can't put as much as u want sorry. The max for the contributions into an Ira are 5,500 a year. If u have a traditional Ira there is not a exact number set for everyone bc traditional has an entire set of guidelines and goes off the percent of money made on your tax return. Also for majority of people that are starting retirement later in life, have their own business, or making a larger amount of money per year in order to be making more than the 5,500 contributions. Also one is pre taxed while the other is post tax so ur taxes are paid entirely different. I hope that makes sense.

Thank you @erikasmiles123 for the advice

@smilingwithmyawesome4kids Great question! They say you should be putting 10% of your income toward retirement but I personally would say do as much as you can that won't break the bank

Wowww thanks!!! Thiese are awesome tips

I would love to know how much we should be putting toward retirement @erikasmiles123

@txyogagirl, Thanks 😊

@c54steele, with powertochoose u input ur zipcode then if gives u a list of companies n your area I will say this watch the strings some are so so cheap but have lots of things that u have to do some example are no debit only auto draft, monthly kw minimums, very short 3m contracts, long contracts, no paper bills etc. I have pretty much had them all I can chime in on different companies if u would like once ur shopping. Some people don't want the hassle of calling every 3m or not being able to pay certain ways or even not being able to get paper bills etc. for registering ur meter well it help bc if u have a plan with limits on kw u need to make sure u meet the limit or u could get extra charges. It even breaks down the kw per mins and I notice at peak times 8am when waking or 6pm when cooking getting home example the kw is dramatically increased I have even went to extremes in my home turn on dryer iron lots of lights dishwasher all same time to see the peeks and first thing I did was bought a clothes line after also helps with my cloth diaper 💩 stains lol. I honestly don't look at my meter charge online until 3-5 days before my bill cycle is up bc I have learned to balance now. But it's a great tool for beginners. Also I may mention call ur water billing ask for a summary as far as they can go back to see the actually amount of gal used get ur calculator out see where u can be more conservative find ur average pay just a bit more than ur average every month don't pay what's owed that way in ur high months June July aug u won't be paying more bc u will have month left on ur acc from ur low months Jan feb etc. we added rain barrels so we harvest our water. as for retirement everyone need to be saving for retirement. If ur not start today period. Our president has already made our stock markets increase more in the last year then in seems like forever. 👍🏼👍🏼 I couldn't be more happy. If u don't have an Ira u need one asap everyone should have a diversified portfolio. Multiple investments are good. If u have a 401k and ur no longer working for the company (my experience) check for fees for maintaining. Consider converting it to a rollover Ira. Contribute your yearly maximums every year. Find your risk tolerance, think about your age before you become to conservative. You can ask me any more questions u like happy to help but I hope I covered ur questions

I use cash and that limits spending.

@veganlife, I will have to check it out it's awesome that u can be vegan I didn't eat meat for my entire pregnancy and didn't miss it. But I don't wish to give up eggs so I'm never going to become a vegan but awesome some people are 👏🏼. @erikasmiles123, yes a plan is key. @mom.life_usa, thanks yes I have paid .01 per kilowatt before crazy to think some are paying .14 and not even paying attention to it. I will also say new windows new roof new attic insulation and new inside and outside units made such a difference in our home.

@erikasmiles123 nope. Graduated years ago

@txyogagirl what do the powertochoose and smartmetertexas thing help and how do you do it? Please and what tips do you have about retirement?

I struggle with food budgeting mostly but overall i write down everything i spend and keep all of my receipts in a plastic bag and review them at the end. Plus i do a monthly budget

If you're like me you should try writing a balance sheet!

I put all my expenses in a list with the date that they are due. It keeps me organized and on top of things. Then on the bottom I write my income. So whatever I have left I can spend money on the stuff I want or you can put it in a savings account :D

@txyogagirl, awesome tip! Energy costs are so high

@daradee01 Are you still in school?

Yes free events are the best! One of my favorite things to do. I also pack sandwiches when we go to events like that instead of spending all that money on food 😂 For my son I can never go wrong going to a park.

@txyogagirl yes I have a process that I go through it is always a good to have a plan beforehand. Thank-you for that awesome tip on how you evaluate you electricity bill! I will definitely be checking that out!

@txyogagirl, 🌺 👏 I would also like to add, you can go out a lot for free like kid events, Library 👏, museum, history, local city events, etc. Most cities have a lot of Free Events. Heck, I changed my life completely and became vegan after seeing a book at the bookstore scanning through it and then got it at the library and renewed it several times 😂 until I finished the book, called "skinny bitch". 👍

If you are like me and have bills that are over due this seems to help me. Instead of me stressing out on trying to pay the entire thing off I pay as much as I can at a time. Even if it is a simple $10 here and there it will help in the long run! Soon enough it will be payed off! Take a breather and do as much as you can. You can do this! 1 step at a time.

I really try to use as much coupons as I can get when I am out shopping for groceries it will save you a TON of money! Coupons are free which is a plus. You can get some at your grocery store or online. Also buy as a bulk! It will save you a ton of trips to the store and less money that you spend in the long run.

@erikasmiles123, yes it's an awesome feeling. Everyone wonders the same for us. Ladies I know this is not my group so not taking over or anything but wanna share a tip I use with my husband bc he was never a saver until we married. You have 2 choices make more or spend less it's that simple. That's what u need to think 24/7 like everything cost so u need to eliminate that cost or u need to make more to afford that cost. We choose to do both in my house but have a good balance. I would say we're more on the spend less side or things than the make more. Second tip I wanna share is have u evaluated ur electricity bill. I use powertochoose website when shopping and I use smartmetertexas.com when monitoring if u ladies have questions about these I'm happy to help. Also any questions about retirement happy to help.

The #1 way that I make money is selling stuff on facebook! It is a fast, easy way to make money. I'm sure everyone has one especially mom 2 mom sales. When I don't have stuff to sell I make things like blankets, decor, stuff that I know moms would buy at a affordable cost. With that money I put aside and save it to something that I really need or want. Plus it could help if your a stay at home mom or a working mom :)

Hey all!! :) please tell me someone has money saving tips for student loan debt/payoff????

I am so bad at budgeting, I need as many tips as I can get. My husband and I are about to move out on our own. We've been living with his parents for 2 years. We are full time college students,parents, and work full time. I want to save as much money as I can!

Me too! Everyone always wonders how I do it and I love helping others do the same! @txyogagirl I totally need to start my own garden as well! :D

I'm the worst at budgeting and saving money. I'll take any tips and advice you give haha

Were off to a rough start but we have very few bills and i control where most of the money goes for exspenses.

@erikasmiles123 I love to save money as well. I have a small garden, am part of a garden CSA, buy in bulk, try to make everything homemade, sew, stay home as much as I can. Don't have much debt only our home. Frugal with everything. I know we would get along I love to chat about money budget retirement finances