Financial and Lifestyle Resources for Vermont

Since buying a 1929 Dutch Colonial a few years ago, my wife and I have been trying to reduce our energy bill and improve the interior temperature and comfort of our home. We’ve invested in weatherization, cold climate heat pumps, a heat pump hot water heater, and other energy efficiency upgrades with support from a local lender. After we completed these upgrades last year, I’ve been curiously exploring what else we could modify for further efficiency. Enter the heat pump dryer!

Marc Anthony once said, “If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” When you choose something you love, you are willing to pull out all the stops to make sure it is successful and enjoy every moment of it.

As of May 13, over 35% of Americans have been fully vaccinated thanks to the hard work of scientists, medical engineers, and state government officials. The result is a declining number of positive COVID-19 cases and death rate, leading many states to slowly begin reopening. Here in Vermont, we currently rank first in the nation for rate of vaccine administration! With all this good news, it might soon be safe to travel again and perhaps reschedule that trip you canceled in 2020. In fact, CNBC reports that 65% of Americans plan to travel more in 2021 than in years prior to COVID-19! Here are a few things to keep in mind as you plan your post-COVID adventures out in the world.

Spring is finally here and, with it, more hours of daylight, warmer weather, and greater opportunities for outdoor cycling. Biking is a great, gas-free alternative to cars and can save you money and improve your physical health all at once. So, dust off your bike and get it out of storage and onto the road. However, before you do, it’s a good idea to give your bike a tire-to-tire once-over.

“Stop! Back up!” I shout enthusiastically to my spouse Ryan every time we drive or bike past a pile of free stuff on the side of the road. Next comes a debate between us over whether the discarded items are worth taking home or not. Most often, I say “yes,” Ryan says “no,” we take it home anyway, and Ryan ends up thanking me later for grabbing it. I find a lot of satisfaction in giving objects a second life, but is this obsession truly saving me money?

Credit unions and banks offer a similar experience but operate from a very different structure and philosophy. One is not necessarily better than the other, but one may be better for you, depending on your values and your needs. Which one makes the most sense for you? To determine that, here is a list of questions you can ask, and some answers to help you consider the options.

Do you feel like your finances are a mess? What exactly qualifies your finances as a ‘mess,’ anyway? There are lots of rules of thumb and general advice out there—you should have two months’ worth of wages saved as an emergency fund, you should have three times your salary saved for retirement by age 40, and the like. What if you don’t; are your finances a mess? If you’re like most Americans, that may be the case. The truth is that about 63% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck and 30% of Americans struggle to come up with $400 to pay for an emergency expense. Regardless of your personal circumstances, here are five steps to consider taking to improve your financial situation.

It is never too late to improve your financial situation, and it is never too early to start thinking about financial planning, retirement, or saving up for a large purchase like your first home. While I am not a financial advisor, there are some basic tips and strategies to begin moving in the right direction. Having taken these steps myself, though, I can help provide some firsthand advice to improving your financial health.