Blog - Women’s Money

07Oct 2022 by Tammy Camp

8 Unemployment Lessons From the Last Recession

Just a few months ago, I wrote about how I quit my job during the last recession and how I was terrified I would do it again. Well, here we are! I recently gave notice, and started my sabbatical, and the markets continue to plummet. The Nasdaq and DJIA are both down over 20%; and even more notably the normally more stable bond markets have taken a huge hit too. So now what? Surprisingly, I’m not as scared as I thought I would be. First, I saved a considerable amount to be ready for my sabbatical, and I can get health insurance. But, I must admit I’m still a little bit nervous. So I spent some time reminding myself of the unemployment lessons I learned during the last recession that…

29Sep 2022 by Tammy Camp

Is Capital One Cheating You Too? The Secret You Must Know About Your High-Interest Account

banking

Are you a Capital One savings account customer? If so, you could be losing thousands of dollars a year and should check your accounts immediately. Here’s how to find out if you're impacted and what to do about it. Background As diligent as I am with my money, I recently discovered I was losing thousands of dollars a year in interest. I thought I had a high-interest bank account with Capital One, but it turns out, my interest rate was only 0.30%. Why was it so low? Because apparently several years ago Capital One essentially archived certain legacy accounts – the “360 Savings Accounts”– and instead created a competing product that actually earns high interest. (These new accounts are called a deceptively similar name - the “360 Performance Savings Account”…

24Sep 2022 by Tammy Camp

How to Exchange Old British Pounds From the U.S.

banking

My grandmother-in-law passed away several years ago. Among her things were some very old British Pounds. The pounds were from the 1970’s and 1980’s - so old enough to be difficult to cash, but not so old as to be valuable as antiques. We hung onto them for several years because we didn’t know how to exchange old British Pounds from the US. But eventually we figured it out and have quite the story to tell. First Options for Exchanging British Pounds Try Your Bank Your bank may allow you to deposit British Pounds at a branch. I visited our local Wells Fargo and they had a book of currency that showed pictures of what the teller was allowed to exchange. Unfortunately, because of the age of our British Pounds,…

17Sep 2022 by Tammy Camp

How Do You Calculate Estimated Taxes When You Quit Your Job

Uncategorized

When you quit your job, the last thing you are probably thinking about is your tax bill. But, as they say, there are two things certain in life: death and taxes. And given the changes that quitting your job can bring, it's best to be prepared when tax time comes. So, how do you calculate estimated taxes when you quit your job? Follow these simple steps: How To Calculate Estimated Taxes When You Quit Your Job Get a copy of your last pay stub. If while working at your company you logged into a software to get your paystub, you might not have access anymore once you’ve left the company. You should get a copy of your final paystub by mail or email (or both) within 2 weeks of your…

30Aug 2022 by Tammy Camp

How to Redeem Citi Premier Card ThankYou Points for Cash or Statement Credit

Credit

To my regular readers, this post is a little off topic today; but I feel it’s an important Public Service Announcement. Background of Citi Rewards Card I’m a huge proponent of mindful use of credit cards to earn and maximize credit card rewards. As part of my sabbatical and having more time and space in my life, I recently did a credit card review and inventory. I signed up for the Citi Premier card as they were offering 80,000 bonus points if you spent $4,000 within 4 months of signing up. Given that our health insurance premium is over $800/month, I knew we would easily meet this. Even with a $95 annual fee, that’s still $700 bonus dollars (tax free!) I downloaded and activated the Citi Mobile App. I found…

24Aug 2022 by Tammy Camp

How to Get Health Insurance If You Quit Your Job

Sabbatical Sundays

Are you thinking about quitting your job but worry you can’t quit because you’d lose health insurance? Or maybe you’ve just quit your job and are now panicked because you got a COBRA statement and it’s insanely expensive? The good news is I’ve been there and done that and am here to tell you all about it. The better news is you can get health insurance coverage too. If you quit your job for any reason you have at least two and maybe three options for health insurance coverage. I’ll lay them out here along with additional details I have from personal experience. (For more on my personal experience, here are 9 Lessons I Learned from Quitting My Job to Take a Sabbatical. And if you are really unsure if…

16Aug 2022 by Tammy Camp

What Does Freedom Mean to You?

Sabbatical Sundays

Women’s Money is about helping you to fund your freedom. What does this mean? It means affording the life you want. But what exactly does freedom mean to you? Every person has her own definition. For you, is freedom being free from something? Or being free to do something? Are you looking for freedom from a job? From a boss? From a salary? Maybe you’re looking to move. Maybe you’re looking to be free from a person. Or you want the freedom to choose when and how you work? Do you want the freedom to buy whatever you want? Fly first class around the world at the drop of a hat? Or does freedom look like spend an afternoon hiking in a local park, with no constraints on your time?…

26Jul 2022 by Tammy Camp

Should You Take Money Out of a 529 Account While the Market is Down?

Uncategorized

When the market is down, it’s worth reviewing everything in your portfolio. Even your child’s 529 plan. Are you comfortable with your allocation of funds? How does your risk tolerance feel given the bear market? Is tax loss harvesting worth it for you? But I have another more unique strategy to consider: taking money out of your kid’s 529 plan. That’s right. I’m suggesting selling off the college savings fund for your precious child. And not just at any time, but when the market is down! Hear me out. Perhaps you’ve been investing diligently in your son or daughter’s 529 account for the past few years. Let’s assume you already have invested $30,000 in the account. But due to market timing and the downturn, you now have just $33,000 in…

14Jul 2022 by Elizabeth

Is Tax Loss Harvesting Worth It? 9 Things to Know

Saving & Investing

When the market it down -- like it is now -- it's a good time to be thinking about tax loss harvesting. What is tax loss harvesting? And is tax loss harvesting even worth it? Here are 9 things to know. Tax Loss Harvesting is a Great Technique to Save on Taxes Tax loss harvesting may sound like something you only need if you’re uber wealthy or a day-trader. But anyone with a non-retirement investment account can benefit. During down times of the market, or if you have any individual stock or fund that you’ve lost money on (regardless of the market) you can benefit from tax loss harvesting. It’s much simpler than it sounds. As I’ll detail further, it’s a great way to save on taxes. Tax Loss Harvesting…

07Jul 2022 by Elizabeth

How to Buy I Bonds for Kids

Uncategorized

With inflation extraordinarily high, and interest rates on general accounts quite low, you may be asking yourself “how can I buy more I-Bonds?” I-bond rates right now are over 9%. Unfortunately, the amount you can purchase is capped at $10,000/individual. So you can only purchase $10,000/year in I-Bonds. If you’re married, your spouse can also purchase $10,000. We use I-bonds as part of our cash management/long-term emergency savings fund. Since you can cash the bonds in at any time after holding for 12 months, and have to just pay a 3-month interest penalty on them (when held for under 5 years); it’s a great way to keep long-term emergency savings. Side note, I wouldn’t recommend putting all of your emergency savings into I-bonds though as if you need some cash…