One Year to an Organized Financial Life
One Year to an Organized Financial Life is a unique week-by-week plan to make saving money simple, automatic, and stress-free. It shows readers the steps to improving finances within a manageable timeframe. From sticking to a budget to getting out of debt, curbing spending to maximizing retirement savings, One Year to an Organized Financial Life makes it possible for anyone to live more richly on less. In this book, Leeds shares personal stories of her own money battles and gives the reader insight into how her clients have dealt with their own financial chaos.
Leeds neatly lays out One Year To An Organized Financial Life by month, with each month containing four weeks of financial activities, lessons, and stellar money tips.
With help from her co-author, NAPFA certified financial advisor Russell Wild, Leeds sorts through financial jargon in a readable and easy to understand way.
“This is an excellent start to creating a solid financial foundation and future.”
— Publishers Weekly
“From sticking to a budget to getting out of debt, One Year to an Organized Financial Life is essential and accessible.”
— Tucson Citizen
“One Year to an Organized Financial Life is the portal to a lifelong practice of money clarity and order.”
— Atlantic City Weekly
“A nuts-and-bolts guide to organizing your files, paying your bills, and cutting costs and clutter…[Leeds’] advice is simple, practical, and essential…Calm and empowering, this handy guide is so well thought-out that just leafing through the pages might make you feel more in control.”
— Boston Globe
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
January: Take Control
Uncover the Origins of Your Relationship with Money
Clean Out What You Carry
Streamline Your Home Office Space
Set Up a Financial File System
February: Assess Your Finances
Pay Your Bills on Time
Determine Your Income and Fixed Expenses
Determine Your Variable Expenses
Take a Fresh Look at Your Expenses
March: Get Ready for Taxes
Decide Which Documents to Save
Stop the Paper Stack
Prepare Your Tax Returns
Signed, Sealed, Delivered
April: Spend Less, Save More
Reduce Your Expenses
Harness Your Marketability
Working with Your Budget
Banking Made Brighter
May: Borrow Smart
June: Build a Nest Egg
Establish a Retirement Plan
Calculate How Much You Need to Save
Assess How Much Risk You Can Afford
Max Out Where It Pays
July: Make Long-Range Financial Plans
Decide Whether You Need a Financial Advisor
Maintain Your Portfolio
Draw Up a Will and Trust
Review Your Beneficiary Forms
August: Refinance and Downsize Options
Look for Downsizing Opportunities
Clear the Clutter, Room by Room
Hold a Yard Sale
Determine If You Should Refinance
September: Children and Money
Frugality for Parents
Educate Your Children about Money
Save for College
How Your Child Can Contribute
October: Protect Your Assets
Medical Insurance
Homeowner's and Renter's Policies
Disability and Long-Term Care Coverage
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
November: The Season for Sane Spending
Holiday Budget
Gift-Giving
Family Gatherings
Holiday Travel
December: Year-End Money Moves
Tasks for Every December
Tax-Loss Harvesting
Charitable Giving
Move Smoothly into the Future
Acknowledgments
Resources