الجمعة، 26 أكتوبر 2018
Affordable Care Act Open Enrollment Starts Nov. 1. Here’s How to Sign Up
Starting Nov. 1 and ending Dec. 15 (in most states), uninsured Americans can sign up for coverage under the Affordable Care Act or renew the coverage they already have.
If you want coverage in 2019, you must enroll during these 45 days unless you later have a qualifying life event, such as getting married or divorced.
Some younger and healthier people may not think coverage is worth the monthly premiums.
But think again, says Gerald Kominski, a professor of health policy and management at UCLA.
“There’s the idea that ‘I take care of myself, I live a healthy lifestyle, I eat well, I don’t smoke — I’m going to be healthy and live forever,’” he says. “Nobody knows what the future holds. People with perfectly healthy lifestyles get sick every day.”
What’s New This Year Under the Affordable Care Act
For the first time since the Health Insurance Marketplace — a federally run service where people can shop for and enroll in private insurance — opened five years ago, Americans will not have to pay a financial penalty for failing to obtain insurance. But experts say it’s still critical to buy coverage.
It costs up to $7,500 to fix a broken leg, about $30,000 for three days in the hospital and into the hundreds of thousands of dollars to treat cancer, HealthCare.gov says. The average visit to an emergency room in 2016 cost $1,917, according to the Health Care Cost Institute.
Most working people can’t cover that kind of expense with their salaries or savings, says Kominski — who, three decades ago as a graduate student, needed an appendectomy that cost $15,000. Because he had a student policy, he says, his share was less than $100.
In addition, health insurance plans that provide free or low-cost preventive services and promote the early identification of problems reduce the likelihood that more expensive and extensive treatment will be needed later, said Jay Wolfson, professor of public health, medicine and pharmacy at the University of South Florida. Thus, they benefit even people who are healthy — or appear to be.
And when healthier people buy insurance, it costs less for everyone, he said.
How To Shop For an Insurance Plan in the Marketplace
Start by going to HealthCare.gov and clicking “get ready to apply” if you plan to enroll for the first time or “get ready to keep/change” if you had a 2018 plan through the Marketplace, also known as the “exchange.”
Some states operate their own exchanges. If you live in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington or the District of Columbia, you must apply through your state.
Application deadlines are slightly later in California, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Rhode Island, so be sure to call or check your state exchange’s website. In general, coverage begins Jan. 1, 2019.
Online, you’ll learn how to estimate your 2019 income for the application and find a checklist of information you’ll need, such a such as household size, the Social Security numbers and birthdates of your family members, W-2 forms or pay stubs and policy numbers of any current health insurance. Coverage is available only to U.S. citizens and legal residents.
With insurance through the Marketplace, you’ll pay a deductible and coinsurance — a percentage of a covered health service — of 10% to 40%, depending on which plan you choose. You’ll have to pay only up to an out-of-pocket maximum, and there are no yearly or lifetime dollar limits.
You’ll also get the benefit of discounts that insurance companies negotiate with health care providers. People without insurance pay almost two times as much for care, according to HealthCare.gov.
How to Apply, What’s Covered and What Help Is Available
You can apply by phone, in person with help from a navigator — a person specially trained to walk you through the process — through an agent or broker or by mail with a paper application. Volunteers certified by the Marketplace also may be available through nonprofit organizations such as community health centers or hospitals.
Coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace is intended for those not covered by insurance at work or by government programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, Tricare (for members of the military, veterans and their families) or CHIP, the Children’s Health Insurance Plan.
Plans that comply with the Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare, cannot discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions. They also must cover birth control and breastfeeding equipment and counseling, plus 10 “essential” services:
- Outpatient care.
- Emergency services.
- Hospitalization.
- Pregnancy, maternity and newborn care.
- Mental health and substance abuse services.
- Prescription drugs.
- Mental and physical rehabilitation for people with injuries, disabilities or chronic conditions.
- Laboratory services.
- Preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management.
- Pediatric treatment, including dental and vision care.
You’ll pay different premiums and out-of-pocket costs depending on the plan you choose. The government will subsidize your premiums if your income is between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level.
Currently, that’s $12,140 to $48,560 for a single person and $25,1000 to $100,400 for a family of four. Income eligibility levels are expected to rise slightly for 2019; the new figures won’t be available until Nov. 1, 2018.
The lower your income, the higher the premium tax credit you’re eligible for (i.e. the help you’ll receive).
What Kind of Plans Are Available?
Insurers sell plans in four categories: Bronze (the least coverage and the lowest premiums), Silver, Gold and Platinum (the most coverage and the highest premiums). Depending on where you live, you may find several types of plans at each level.
You’ll want to make sure your doctors are in the plan you choose and that your prescription medications are covered.
You may have a choice of:
- An exclusive provider organization (EPO), which covers services provided only by doctors and hospitals in a network, except in an emergency. You aren’t required to choose a primary care provider.
- A health maintenance organization (HMO), which requires you to obtain care from doctors who work for or contract with the HMO, except in an emergency. You may have to live or work in the HMO service area.
- A point of service plan (POS), which charges less if you use health care providers that belong to a network and requires you to get a referral from your primary care doctor to see a specialist.
- A preferred provider organization (PPO), in which you pay less for in-network providers, but you can go to out-of-network providers for an additional fee. You don’t need a referral to go to a specialist.
Average unsubsidized premiums vary widely from state to state. The price of the Silver plan for a 27-year-old single nonsmoker ranges from a low of $278 per month in Indiana to $709 per month in Wyoming, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The figures apply only to the 39 states that use the HealthCare.gov platform. About 9 million people have coverage through those exchanges, according to the federal government.
Catastrophic Insurance
Catastrophic insurance is another alternative available to people younger than 30 and those who can claim a hardship exemption, such as homelessness, domestic violence or bankruptcy. You must apply for the exemption.
On the upside, catastrophic plans cover the 10 essential health benefits, offer specific preventive services for free and cover at least three visits to a doctor annually before the deductible is met. They also cost about one-third as much as more comprehensive plans.
The large downside is that the deductible — the amount the patient has to pay before the insurance company starts sharing the cost — is $7,900. Additionally, these policyholders aren’t eligible for a premium tax credit.
Kominski of UCLA suggests that consumers compare the coverage and cost of a lower-tier plan in the Marketplace before choosing a catastrophic plan.
Coverage That Doesn’t Meet Affordable Care Act Standards
As of Oct. 1, 2018, low-cost health policies became available for a one-year term, renewable for up to three years. Previously, they were sold for a three-month period of coverage only, and were considered stopgap insurance plans for people between jobs or otherwise temporarily without insurance.
It’s important to be aware that these policies don’t comply with the mandates of the Affordable Care Act, meaning they don’t have to cover people with pre-existing conditions or pay for any of the services the act deems essential.
Kominski warns that low-cost policies may seem attractive — until you need medical care. He compares them to a car that’s cheap, but only because it doesn’t have airbags or comply with air-quality standards.
“If you’re shopping for price, you’re going to get what you pay for,” he said. “If you want to expose yourself to risk, we can make health care really affordable.”
Susan Jacobson is an editor at The Penny Hoarder. She also writes about health and wellness. Follow her @SusanJacobson44.
The Penny Hoarder Promise: We provide accurate, reliable information. Here’s why you can trust us and how we make money.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
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FTC Report Shows Seniors Twice as Vulnerable to Scams — Here’s What to Know
In 2017, consumers ages 60 and above reported the largest individual monetary losses to fraud, according to the Protecting Older Consumers report.
Even among seniors, reported median losses increased with age. In fact, people ages 80 and above reported median losses of $1,100 — more than double the median amount reported lost by any age group under 70.
How Seniors Get Scammed
Phone calls were the most frequent method of fraud against seniors. Tech support, business imposters and sweepstakes claims were the most commonly reported scams from this age group.
Seniors were most likely to be defrauded by way of credit card payment. But they reported far greater losses when they paid scammers via wire transfer. In 2017, people ages 60 and older paid $104 million via wire transfer to fraudsters.
Here are a few of the greatest hits from recent FTC cases against scammers:
A company claimed that seniors could get grant money to pay their personal expenses like credit card debt or medical bills. Victims were charged an upfront fee and told they could get their grant money faster if they paid additional fees. The FTC is still pursuing this case.
A personalized mail scam told victims they had won or could win a big cash prize in exchange for a nominal fee. “Many people, including seniors, paid the fees several times before realizing they [had] been deceived,” the FTC noted. That case is also ongoing.
In another scam, telemarketers tricked older consumers into buying tech support they didn’t actually need.
But one scam might surprise you: apartment listings. The FTC identified a large-scale scam that advertised housing for low-income families, the elderly and persons with disabilities. “The FTC alleged that these claims are false or unsubstantiated and that most of the listed properties either were not available or do not accept Section 8 housing vouchers,” the FTC noted. That case is ongoing as well.
How to Protect Yourself (and Your Parents) From Scams
The old adage stands: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Remember that technology companies don’t routinely call customers about their computers. If you have a concern about a piece of technology you own, contact the company’s support desk on your own.
Received a mailer or phone call that you’ve won a prize? Keep your guard up, and don’t share your financial information. Chances are, it’s a fake.
If you’re looking for legitimate resources for housing information, tech support or financial assistance, stop by the reference desk at your local library. These experts are well-versed in sharing local, trustworthy resources with patrons.
Suspect you’ve been scammed? Don’t be embarrassed — take action to control the damage and alert others. You’ll want to report the scam to the FTC, and you may need to notify your banks, credit card issuers and credit bureaus.
Lisa Rowan is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder.
The Penny Hoarder Promise: We provide accurate, reliable information. Here’s why you can trust us and how we make money.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
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How to Deliver Relevant Marketing Content by Segmenting Your Email Subscribers
Email marketing needs to be a top priority for your company’s content strategy.
80% of retail brands named email marketing as the top driving factor in customer retention. Plus, email has the highest ROI per $1 spent compared to other content strategies.
On average, for every $1 you spend on your email campaigns, you can expect to receive $40 in return.
That’s why it’s so important for you to get more email subscribers without annoying your website visitors.
But having a huge list of subscribers is useless if you don’t know how to manage your content. If you are sending the same campaigns to everyone on your list, I bet your results aren’t that favorable.
People on your email list shouldn’t be grouped into one category.
Why?
For starters, these people are very different. In addition to their demographic differences, your subscribers will have separate wants and needs.
It’s unlikely you’ll be able to run an email campaign relevant to everyone on your subscriber list.
Irrelevant content is the second most common reason why people unsubscribe from email lists.
You worked hard to get them to sign up, but all of that will be thrown away as soon as they unsubscribe. You need to avoid that.
Email segmentation is a must if you want to deliver relevant marketing content to your subscribers.
If you’ve never segmented your email lists or your current segmentation methods need improvement, you’ve come to the right place. I’ll explain what you need to do to elevate your email marketing strategy with segmentation tactics.
Encourage your customers to create profiles
Often, businesses don’t segment their email lists because they simply don’t have enough information to do so.
How can you segment your subscribers if the only piece of information you have about them is their email address? Email addresses alone won’t be enough.
That’s why you should encourage your customers to create profiles on your website.
You’ll use these profiles to improve their shopping experience. Then they can store their payment information, billing addresses, manage their order histories, etc.
But these customer profiles will benefit your segmentation strategy as well.
You’ll get more information about each customer. And you can use that information to segment your lists accordingly.
That said, customer profiles shouldn’t be a requirement.
Some ecommerce shops force customers to create profiles just to buy something. I strongly advise against this strategy.
In a perfect world, yes, they’ll create profiles. But you don’t want to lose conversions because of this.
Instead, try to give them a reason to sign up. Here’s an example from the Lululemon website:
As you can see, they list the benefits of creating a customer profile.
No hard sell or any pressure to do so. People who create a profile will benefit from:
- tracking orders and returns
- stored payment information
- favorite products
- customized shopping experience
When the customer creates a profile, you’ll collect more information about them. We’ll talk more about what type of info you should be asking for as we continue through this guide.
Don’t ask for too much information right away
If people want to sign up to receive emails from your company, they shouldn’t have to submit a blood sample to do so.
Obviously, I’m exaggerating here. But you’d be surprised at the number of form fields some brands require when a customer signs up for email content.
I understand your reasoning behind this.
The more information you get from your customers, the easier it will be to segment them into different categories. However, if you ask for too much, it will turn people away from signing up in the first place.
Why should they trust you with personal information that’s, in their opinion, irrelevant to their shopping experience? They just won’t sign up.
Plus, you can still come up with effective segmented lists with just a few form fields.
Here’s a great example from the Champs Sports website:
In addition to asking for a website visitor’s email address, Champs also requires them to give their first name. While this won’t necessarily help them segment their subscribers, it will help them personalize their messages.
With the information on this list, Champs can segment new subscribers based on:
- age
- gender
- location
That’s plenty. You can create multiple lists with just those three pieces of information.
For example, one group could be females between the ages of 18 and 25 living in New England.
The content they receive would be significantly different from a group of men between the ages of 35 and 50 living in southern California.
Limit the form fields on your opt-in page. There’s no reason for you to know their favorite color or mother’s maiden name.
The more information required to sign up, the fewer people will subscribe.
Let your subscribers customize their content
Another way to deliver relevant marketing content is by simply asking your subscribers what they want to receive.
If they can customize the type of emails you send, they won’t be surprised or annoyed when they get a message. Everything delivered to their inbox will be extremely relevant.
Set up these options through your customer profile settings, which we just talked about.
In addition to letting people customize their email content through their profiles, you can give them options on the types of content they want to receive when they initially sign up.
Here’s a great example of this strategy used by Lowe’s.
Lowe’s only asks for the customers’ email addresses and zip codes. They can use this to segment their audiences by location.
But look at how Lowe’s offers customizable email options.
By default, everything is checked. However, people can uncheck the types of content they find irrelevant.
For example, let’s say someone wants to receive only marketing promotions from this company.
Any time they got a message about home improvement tips or upcoming events, they would be annoyed. These newsletters are irrelevant to them.
They can opt out of those by simply unchecking the appropriate boxes when signing up in the first place.
Use the double opt-in strategy
When I work with other businesses, I see this problem all the time.
They have many subscribers on their email lists that don’t belong there. That’s because some people provided their email addresses without realizing what they were getting into.
To get more subscribers, some websites have a default setting during the checkout process to join their email lists.
But the customer doesn’t realize they’re going to get bombarded with marketing emails just because they wanted to buy something.
While I don’t have a problem with this strategy overall, it needs to be implemented with a double opt-in to complete the signup process.
Your content won’t be relevant if it’s being delivered to people who subscribed by accident. Double opt-ins help ensure that subscribers actually want to receive marketing messages from your business.
The easiest way to implement a double opt-in verification message is with a welcome email:
Once a new subscriber confirms they want to be on your email list, you can segment them based on the factors I previously discussed and will continue to cover moving forward.
If a customer doesn’t complete the process, don’t send them emails unless it’s related to their order.
Segment based on engagement
Another way to segment your subscribers is based on how they responded to previous emails you sent.
You should be tracking actions such as:
- opens
- clicks
- conversions
Then, segment your subscribers accordingly based on this behavior.
For example, someone who never opened an email could potentially get a similar promotion in the future. Whereas a subscriber who already opened that message shouldn’t receive it again. It’s irrelevant to that person.
This tactic will help you improve your open rates and other metrics due to your segmentation strategy.
Segmenting based on engagement is another way to take advantage of your customer profiles, which I discussed earlier.
When someone browses on your website while logged in to their customer profile, you can segment them based on their browsing behavior, purchase history, and the frequency with which they visit your site.
Someone who is on your site weekly shouldn’t get an email saying “we miss you.”
That type of message is only relevant to subscribers who have been inactive for several months.
Understand the needs of your B2B clients
Segmenting email subscribers is extremely important for B2B companies. It’s a great way to improve your overall B2B marketing strategy.
Those of you who operate a B2C and B2B company should have those two categories segmented, at the very least. But you should take that one step further on the B2B end.
Your B2B lists should be even more specific than your B2C lists.
The number one factor contributing to B2B marketing success in the previous year was creating higher quality and more efficient content:
Understand who will be receiving these emails.
You can segment these lists based on a job title. Company owners who have more buying power and final decision-making should not get the same messages that a warehouse manager would.
Segment your B2B lists based on industry, company size, and marketing budget.
Your clients that spend $50,000 a year on your products and services shouldn’t be getting the same marketing content as B2B clients that spend $5,000 annually.
Put your subscribers into customer groups
My last point leads to the next one: not all your customers are the same.
Put them into groups based on a number of factors related to their status as a customer as opposed to general factors such as their age and location.
For example, new customers shouldn’t be getting the same emails as people who subscribed over a year ago.
A great way to start communicating with your new subscribers is by creating a series of actionable drip campaigns.
If you put all your customers into one group, you won’t make as much money from them. Here’s what I mean.
Your customers who spend the least amount of money shouldn’t be getting emailed about your most expensive products. Instead, send them promotions that entice them to spend a little bit more or shop more frequently.
That’s why segmenting your subscribers based on spending is an effective strategy.
Targeted emails based on this type of segmentation yield an average of an additional $14 in sales per subscriber.
Some of you may have nearly 10,000 or more subscribers on your email lists.
So do the math. These additional profits will add up quickly.
Send birthday emails
As we’ve seen throughout this guide, age is a great way to segment your subscribers for a number of reasons.
But you can do even more with that information if you have it.
It may sound cheesy, but sending birthday promotions to your subscribers can go a long way. You can take advantage of their birthdays more than just once a year.
Take a look at how The Hook Up uses this strategy to send an email on its subscribers’ half birthdays:
This personalized content is extremely relevant to the recipient.
It’s unique to each subscriber. Discounted dinner for being a half year older? Sign me up.
You can even start birthday promotional messages early.
For example, let’s say your email lists are segmented by birthday months. Everyone who has a birthday in November can receive a message in October about getting ready for their birthday with a new pair of shoes or something along those lines.
Obviously, you’ll tailor the message accordingly based on your business, but you understand what I mean.
Start small
Right now, some of you might not be segmenting your subscribers at all. Don’t get overwhelmed and bite off more than you can chew when you start.
Research shows that half of businesses aren’t segmenting email lists. So you shouldn’t be too alarmed yet.
Don’t try to come up with dozens of different lists right away.
Start by trying to segment your existing subscribers. Send a poll to the people on your email list about their interests, and group them accordingly.
Change your current landing page to get more information from new subscribers.
You need to walk before you can run. Starting slow will help you make sure you get things right.
The last thing you want to do is put people on the wrong list. That strategy will backfire because your content will be more irrelevant to them than ever before.
Conclusion
Segmenting your subscribers is the key to email marketing success.
If you learn how to segment your customers accordingly, your marketing content will be more relevant. As a result, fewer people will unsubscribe from your list, and your email campaigns will be more profitable.
Encourage your customers to create a profile. Just don’t force them to give you too much personal information.
On sign-up, let your customers customize the type of content they want to receive.
Use a double opt-in landing strategy to make sure people actually want to be on your email marketing list.
Segment subscribers based on engagement, browsing history, and previous purchases.
Understand the difference between your B2C and B2B clients. Your B2B lists should be even more specific.
Group your customers based on spending habits.
If you’re new to email segmentation strategies, start small. Focus on the basics before you try more complex tactics.
Ultimately, this will help you deliver relevant marketing content to all your subscribers.
How is your brand segmenting subscribers on your email lists?
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US Economy Grew at Strong 3.5 Percent Rate in Q3 on Track for Best Year in 13 Years
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I’m Afraid My Co-Workers Think I’m a Deadbeat Because a Debt Agency Called
Getting a call at work from a debt collector is tricky business, so let’s go over some details to remember in case this ever happens again.
Debt collectors may ask your employer for your contact information, but they are not permitted to share details of your situation with your employer. Nor are they allowed to call you at work if you inform the debt collector you’re not allowed to take personal calls at work.
If a debt collector contacts you via your employer — especially after you’ve requested they don’t contact you at work — you can file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and/or the Federal Trade Commission. Wage garnishment can’t be used to collect on your debt unless a judge has approved it, so the details of your situation already make me feel a little skeeved out by this debt collector’s practices.
But OK, debt collector aside, you still have to face your office every day. I usually advocate for being open and honest about your finances, but in this case, your situation was not revealed on your terms. You can choose to keep this one as close to the vest as you like.
If you choose not to address the incident again, it sends a message that you’re not concerned about the call and it’s not worth gossiping about.
If you’re comfortable approaching your colleague, you could say something like, “Thanks for taking that call for me the other day. I took care of everything. I’d appreciate if you could keep it between us.” That’s it! If you don’t treat it like a big, secretive deal, your co-worker is likely to see it as just a passing matter too. And, worst-case scenario, if word does get around your office, you can be ready with a simple response along the lines of, “I took care of the situation.”
But a single call from a debt collector? If that’s worth gossiping about to your co-workers, they need to find some juicier news to talk about.
Have a tricky money question? Write to Dear Penny at https://ift.tt/2ReIveg
Lisa Rowan is a personal finance expert and senior writer at The Penny Hoarder, and the voice behind Dear Penny. For more practical money tips, visit www.thepennyhoarder.com.
The Penny Hoarder Promise: We provide accurate, reliable information. Here’s why you can trust us and how we make money.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
source The Penny Hoarder https://ift.tt/2OPmtC9
The Failure of Bargaining with Yourself
“If I get a better job, then I’ll start paying off my credit cards,” thought to oneself while feeling self-pity about their employment situation.
“If I win the lottery, then I’ll fix up my finances,” thought to oneself by the person sitting around waiting for their ship to come in.
“If I get a raise, then I’ll start saving for retirement,” thought to oneself while worrying a little about whether they’ll ever retire.
“If my youngest will just move out, then I’ll start making extra house payments,” thought to oneself while trying to nudge a child out of the nest.
“If only I can get through this crunch time at work, then I’ll start making more meals at home,” thought to oneself at the drive-thru after work.
All of these thought processes – and many others that revolve around this kind of “if/then” structure – fall under the umbrella of bargaining with yourself. “If this certain thing happens, then I’ll behave in a better fashion.”
“If/then” thinking is a giant waste of time and energy. Bargaining with yourself in this way is a giant waste of time and energy. I know from experience. I spent most of the last year before we started our financial turnaround bargaining with myself.
“If our son is born and everything is fine, then I’ll start fixing up our finances.”
“If our son starts going to daycare and Sarah goes back to work, then I’ll start fixing up our finances.”
“If the spring conferences get finished up without any major issues, then I’ll start fixing up our finances.”
“If we can get through the summer, then I’ll start fixing up our finances.”
The first three “bargains” there came and went, and I didn’t change. The fourth one was ongoing – it was another arbitrary fake “deadline” for change that I wasn’t going to follow through on.
There are two big issues with that kind of bargaining.
One, you already know what that better behavior is, but you’re finding a reason not to do it. You know that paying down your credit cards is the financially sensible thing to do, but rather than doing so, you’re hanging on to elements of a more affluent lifestyle than your income can afford. You know that saving for retirement is the financially sensible thing to do, but you don’t want to face a small reduction in your take-home pay because it would force you to make some real choices about how you spend. You get the idea.
Two, the trigger for better behavior likely won’t actually cause you to change anything. If you’ve already decided that the way you’re doing things right now is acceptable, even if you recognize it’s not the best, the “trigger” that you’re looking for won’t change that. If you’re okay with your current lifestyle, a job change or a raise isn’t going to make you start being frugal with your money.
What’s actually happening here is that you’re wrapping at least two different decisions together in the same sentence, when they’re actually very separate decisions.
First of all, you’re making a decision to be less financially responsible right now, even though you clearly know it’s a poor long term choice. You’re not choosing to avoid paying off your credit card debt because of your current job. You’re choosing to do so because you like aspects of the life you have now more than you value the prospect of financial improvement.
There’s nothing strictly wrong with that decision, but you need to be honest with yourself about it. If you truly rank getting out of debt or saving for retirement below some of the other current elements of your life, that’s a personal decision that you should acknowledge and live with and abide by. Live honestly and intentionally with your choices and you’ll never feel bad about them.
However, it’s very likely that if you’re bargaining like this, you actually respect the high value of financial improvement. You know that the best thing to do long term to improve your life, at least compared to the things you’re doing now, is to spend less, accrue less debt, and use the lowered spending for positive financial moves.
Stop thinking about a hypothetical future. Stop thinking about the “if.” Look at your life right now and be honest with yourself. Is it a better decision for you, both now and later, to be better with your finances? If it is, then start making changes now.
On the other hand, you’re making a “decision” about the future based on your thinking right now, but it’s a “decision” you’re very likely to break. You’re likely to break it because the situation you’re going to be in when that “if” comes to pass is different than the situation you’re thinking it’s going to be. Right now, you’re thinking of your life and expenses as they are today, but will they be the same a year from now? Furthermore, will your thinking be the same when that “if” comes to pass? Probably not.
Here’s the hard truth: if you genuinely want change in your life, start doing it to the best of your ability today. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a little or a lot. Change starts today or it probably won’t start.
Figure out a way in your life to come up with some extra money today and start making that change. Cut your most foolish spending off at the knees starting today. Start making those extra debt payments today. Sign up for a 401(k) or a Roth IRA today. Go through your closet and sell off some unwanted stuff to kickstart your financial turnaround today. Start buying all store brands today. Start eating at home for every meal today. Start making meals from staple foods today. Start calling your various debtors and service providers and negotiating down to lower rates today.
But how will I pay for it today? Start looking through your life for the dumbest spending you make and cut the bottom 25% or so. Stop going to convenience stores. Stop smoking. Stop blowing money on your hobbies, especially if you’ve got unused hobby stuff at home.
But I can’t do much today! You know what? That change you’re making isn’t going to be perfect. It probably would be a more dramatic change if you waited until the moment you’re bargaining about. The truth of the matter is that there will never come a perfect moment to change things about your behavior. That future you’re imagining where everything lines up and makes it easy and powerful to change? It’s never, ever going to be a real future.
Instead, do what you can do today and focus on correcting your mindset. Start making choices in your life that involve less spending. Look for ways to cut the required spending in your life (buy store brands, negotiate bills, etc.).
So, what was it that did make me change? One day, I realized how bad of a financial hole we were digging. Literally the next day, I started making changes. I realized that if I kept waiting around for some hypothetical perfect tomorrow, it was never going to come and the hole was just going to get deeper and deeper. It was just a weak excuse I was using to not change anything right now because I was too cowardly to deal with actually making changes.
Don’t wait for tomorrow. Don’t wait for some hypothetical future when it’ll be easier. Don’t bank on some change that may or may not happen (and you probably won’t follow through even when that change does happen, for other reasons).
Stop bargaining. Start doing.
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