Citi's Linda Descano and consumer advocate Elisabeth Leamy share advice for getting your personal finances in order. Connect: Professional Women’s Network is online community with more than 440,000 members that discusses issues relevant to women and their success. The free LinkedIn group powered by Citi also features videos interviews with influential businesswomen, live Q&As with experts and slideshows with career advice. To learn more and join the conversation in the largest women's group on LinkedIn, visit http://www.linkedin.com/womenconnect.

1. BROUGHT TO YOU BY
PUT YOUR
MONEY
TO WORK
FORYOU.

2. Linda Descano (left) is Managing Director and Global
Head of Content Social at Citi.
Elisabeth Leamy (right) is an Emmy-award-winning
journalist, speaker and a tireless consumer advocate.
Elisabeth and Linda recently answered questions in
Connect: Professional Women’s Network about personal
finance. Here’s some of their most popular advice.
MEET LINDA DESCANO
ELISABETH LEAMY !

3. Any tips on how to keep long-term savings on track? Automate your
savings––but not your spending or investing!––so that you don't think
of that money as yours. It's not! It belongs to your future self. Sign
up to have part of your paycheck direct deposited into a savings
account or investment vehicle so that you never touch it.

4. What tips do you have for sticking to a budget? When it comes to the
dreaded B-word (budgeting), here's my tip: think of it as a spending plan
that enables you to allocate your money to what matters most versus a
penny-pinching exercise that is denying you something. Attitude is
everything. For me, it's about me controlling my money and not letting
money––or my emotions––control me.

5. WAYS TO SAVE
LIKE A PRO:
• Aggressively refinance your home mortgage
• Buy a used car instead of new
• Refinance your auto loan at a lower rate. Yes, you can
do that!
• Protect and promote your credit score so you get
loans at the lowest possible interest rates.
• Request the Reissue Rate on title insurance when
refinancing. It's a discount of as much as 40%! But
often they don't offer it unless you ask. The price is
lower because they've already done the title search
to make sure your house is really yours.

6. How can I balance saving for kids’ college, retirement and home improvements?
Have you heard the airplane oxygen mask analogy? The flight attendant always says
to secure your own face mask before assisting others. It's the same for retirement
versus college. As much as you want to pay for your kids’ college, there are
scholarships and low interest loans available to them. It’s actually selfless to save for
yourself because that way, your kids won’t be in a situation where they have to save
for YOU.

7. CREDIT SCORE MAKEOVER:
Pay down debt: This is one of the fastest ways to
improve your score. If you have savings, use some or all
of it to pay down the debt.
Pay on time: This may sound like a duh, but payment
history makes up 35% of your FICO credit score.
Keep ratios low: You want to be approved for as much
credit as possible, but ideally use 30% or less of it.
DON'T close accounts: That is credit you have been
approved for and it helps your credit utilization ratio.”
Don't ignore small balances: Failing to pay a $25 bill is
almost as devastating to your score as failing to pay a
$2,500 bill.

8. What tips do you have for selecting a financial planner? Look for people with
certification, such as Certified Financial Planner Professional. Ask friends and
family for referrals. If your objective is managing debt, you may want to work
with someone who is a credit counselor or financial coach. If you are focused on
investing for the long-term, then a financial planner or adviser may be
appropriate. Interview at least 3 financial planners and have them tell you
WHAT investments they would suggest for you and WHY.

9. IMPROVEYOUR CREDIT:
Ask for a higher credit limit: Just don't
charge up to your new limit if the goal was to
pay off debt.
Ask creditors to delete single sins. If you are
normally ultra responsible but you made one
terrible late payment, ask the creditor if they
will delete that from your record. They have
that power.

10. How do I know if refinancing
is right for me? Here's a simple
rule of thumb I developed to
help people decide whether
refinancing is worth it. I call it
the RULE of 5s. Refinance IF:
• You can get a rate reduction
of .5 points or more.
• You will add no more than 5
years to the life of your loan.
(Preferably you'd use your
savings to reduce the years!)
• You will recoup your closing
costs in 5 years or less,
preferably much less.

11. WAYS TO SAVE
LIKE A PRO:
• Consider buying a dark horse car, a less popular make and
model that’s roughly equivalent to a bestselling model for
way less money. Edmunds.com uses the example of a Nissan
Altima as an alternative to a Toyota Camry, which could save
you 20%!
• Become a Guerilla Grocery Shopper, using strategies like
price matching, stockpiling and coupon-combining to score
huge savings.
• Get a cash back credit card instead of a specialty card with
points you never seem to use. I am a fan of the Citi Double
Cash card because spending isn't the only way to earn. You
get 1% cash back when you make a purchase and another
1% when you PAY for that purchase!

12. How should my spouse and I approach money as a married couple? Should one
person take the lead? Here's my philosophy: we have mine, yours and our money. Our
money is a joint checking for household expenses, which we each contribute to monthly
and decide once a year how much we contribute. We also have a joint savings for
vacation and emergency expenses.

13. Managing debt: https://www.nfcc.org/index.php
Choosing a financial planner:
http://www.finra.org/investors/smartinvesting/gettingstarted/
selectinginvestmentprofessional/
Saving on groceries: www.couponmom.com
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

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For more great tips on personal finance,
check out Linda and Elisabeth’s
discussion in Connect.
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