Building personal cash reserves will improve your financial security and prepare you for anything that comes up in the future. Whether you experience a medical emergency or want to make sure that you have something to pass on to your heirs, building cash reserves isn't difficult as long as you take the right approach. By utilizing the financial pyramid technique, you can more effectively reach your financial goals and increase your cash reserves.

The Roth IRA is a retirement savings plan that lets you save money for retirement while also paying tax on the income. You can contribute to a Roth IRA in any amount of your choosing, but there are limits on how much you can contribute each year and those limits change as your income changes.

If you are a small business owner in the State of California and do not carry a retirement benefit plan for your employees, the deadline for the CalSavers Program is quickly approaching. If you have 5 or more employees and do not currently offer a workplace retirement plan you must register by June 30, 2022.

Many equate saving with investing. Yet the two concepts are not entirely interchangeable, there is a difference between saving and investing. Saving is putting money away that is for later use with little to no risk of loss. While you save in order to invest, you then take on some risk by investing in assets which ideally will increase in value but that doesn’t always occur. Here are some of the key differences to understand.

Insurance is the base of the financial pyramid, creating a solid foundation upon which you will build your wealth. It provides protection against any unforeseen event that can potentially jeopardize your long-term goals. The most important idea to understand about insurance is that it is pure and simple the best way to protect yourself against the risk of loss. If you do not put anything aside for your financial protection you are exposing your plans to risk.

Starting in July, Americans who have children aged 17 and under, will be receiving payments for the Child Tax Credit that passed legislation under the American Rescue Plan. The IRS will begin sending out monthly payments of $250 or $300 through December to qualifying families.

While there are several individuals in great need of the stimulus payments from the government for others it is a windfall. Likewise, tax refunds can be unexpected bonus income that you are not relying on for your regular expenses. So, what do you do with this money?

Pay yourself first

You know the scenario, it’s payday and before you know it bills are paid and you’ve already planned three dinners out with friends. Your budget is wiped out and you did not add to your savings. One of the best methods to ensure that you are hitting your savings goals is to pay yourself first.

Talking about money with your children does not have to be complicated. The best way to accomplish this is to use day-to-day activities and turn them into learning opportunities.

Younger children often do not understand money and its’ value. This is most apparent when you are giving your child coins. For example, if you give your child the choice between a penny, a dime and a nickel they will almost certainly choose the nickel simply because of the larger size. It is highly important to teach your child value at a young age.

It’s Graduation time!

We all recognize the difficult and unprecedented time that we are in and how that is affecting all our graduates. Whether your loved one is graduating high school or college or finishing up their master’s degree, they are somehow being shortchanged in this rite of passage. We see huge window displays and yard signs and drive by parade’s hoping to honor the work and accomplishments our graduates have achieved.