An inventory of some key financial issues among my current clients emphasizes once again that it is seldom a brilliant decision that makes the difference between profit and loss. Rather, it is the development of well-considered financial policies and procedures and their persistent implementation that leads to persistent profitability. The challenge is to identify the basis of the issues in order to start rooting out the weeds.
Spring may be on the way, but for a lot of smaller companies, April is a bad-news month. It’s the month of health insurance renewals for a lot of Massachusetts firms which purchase their coverage through pooled groups. So lately my clients have been getting the news of their rate increases. And it’s been almost all bad: 8 to 15% more for repeat coverage. With the average family plan, that increase can be almost $150 a month, or 5% of the pay of a $36,000/yr. employee. It almost makes me wish I were 65, at which time Medicare promises to solve my high-premium problems. Until then, like everyone else, I’m singing the health care blues.
“I’m saving up for a new car,” I said, as we sat around the Thanksgiving Dinner table a few weeks ago. “You’re what…?” said 28-year-old daughter Kate, looking somewhat incredulous. “Well, I just made the last loan payment on my car, and I told the bank to take the same monthly amount out of my […]
It’s getting brutal out there on the roads with gas at more than $3 a gallon. Wait until the airlines catch up! This will have severe implications for your travel and entertainment budget, especially in the absence of a well-established T & E policy. Here’s how to keep it under control.