Category: Brandpoint Business & Finance

2019-04-30T08:01:00

(BPT) – If you had to grade your financial literacy, what would it be? Are you an A+ saver, investor and planner, or do you think you could do better? If you grade yourself average at best, you’re not alone.

When asked to grade their own financial literacy, more than half of Americans say they’d earn a “C” or lower, according to new data from Prudential Financial. This isn’t surprising, considering data from Prudential’s Financial Wellness Census shows less than half of Americans are on track to meet their financial goals, including planning for retirement.

“Regardless of where you are on your family’s financial wellness journey, the best way forward is through financial literacy,” says Prudential Advisors President Brad Hearn. “Researching, educating yourself and getting advice from a financial professional can help you make the best decisions based on your life stage, risk tolerance and goals.”

Hearn says each family’s situation and goals are unique, and things like life stage and personal preference will impact how they choose to prepare for their financial future. To get started, here are five financial wellness basics every family should master:

Set up an emergency fund

Life is a series of experiences, and sometimes the unexpected can hit your finances hard. Whether it’s a car breaking down, your AC unit on the fritz or even losing a job, it’s important to be prepared for emergencies. If you don’t already have an emergency fund, start saving a little each month until you reach your goal. A good rule of thumb is to have three months’ worth of expenses saved in an emergency fund. So, if your monthly expenses are $2,500, you should have $7,500 saved.

Create a budget

Saving for college? A new car? How about starting that emergency fund? Whatever your family’s financial goals are, it’s important to have a plan in place that helps you achieve those goals. Budget to manage day-to-day expenses, and include in that budget a commitment to save for bigger milestones. For tips on getting started, do some research. There’s no shortage of advice, whether you decide to go it alone or consider using the help of a professional financial advisor.

Plan for the unimaginable

If you have people who count on you for financial support or caregiving, you should have life insurance. A life insurance policy can help give your family financial peace of mind should the worst happen. There is no rule as to how much life insurance you need, but important things to consider are your annual income, mortgage debt, potential college costs for kids and other future financial obligations.

Save for retirement

According to Prudential data, of Americans who have retirement savings and debt, nearly one-quarter have more in total debt than in retirement savings (23%), while 15% of Americans say that they have no debt, but also have nothing saved for retirement. Planning for retirement is something that should start as soon as possible. If your work offers any type of matching program, make sure to take advantage. If you don’t, you’re essentially leaving free money on the table.

Seek professional advice

Retirement, life insurance and savings can be confusing. Information overload is partly to blame. According to Prudential data, two-thirds of Americans agree that the list of things they need to learn to successfully manage their finances keeps growing, not shrinking. That’s where financial literacy programs and professional financial advice can play a key role. Nearly two-thirds of Americans don’t have a financial advisor. They say they cannot afford one (42%) or don’t believe their financial situation warrants needing an advisor’s help (26%). The reality is that advice is more within reach than ever before — and it’s not just for the wealthy. A financial professional can help at various stages in life and work with you to create a strategy based on your timeline, risk tolerance and goals.

“Financial wellness isn’t always a matter of having more money,” says Hearn. “Instead, it’s a journey that takes a combination of proactive effort, dedication and professional guidance.”

Prudential Advisors is a brand name of The Prudential Insurance Company of America and its subsidiaries. Life insurance is issued by The Prudential Insurance Company of America, Newark, NJ and its affiliates.

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2019-04-24T07:01:00

(BPT) – Environmental pressures like drought confront growers across the globe, and they can exacerbate the many other demands growers face. The challenges are intertwined, coming from every direction, including profitability requirements, food-supply-chain demands and nutrient shortages.

“Across the industry, growers will have adapt to deal with those growing pressures,” says Colin Steen, who heads up operations for Syngenta Ventures, one of the world’s first venture capital groups dedicated to agriculture.

Members of the research and development group at the organization identified Sound Agriculture as a promising new startup based out of the San Francisco Bay Area. Their mission: to create a suite of products that mitigate drought stress, decrease fertilizer needs and increase crop yields.

“Sound Agriculture was looking at a common problem from a new angle,” Steen says. “They were discovering new products that could be tools for enhancing yield and resilience. We invested in them last year and have been very pleased with their progress.”

Investing for long-term results

Today, Sound Agriculture is one of more than 15 companies in Syngenta Ventures’ portfolio. There’s no one-size-fits-all formula for the ideal investment. It’s more about casting a broad net and finding companies that share the vision for making growers’ farms more sustainable and more profitable, which is viewed as a long-term partnership.

AgriMetis — a Syngenta Ventures’ portfolio company in Maryland — which develops natural products to protect crops from weeds, diseases and insects, is another example. “AgriMetis needed a little help developing its testing capabilities and our R&D group stepped in,” Steen says.

He collaborates with a team of seven professionals in the U.S. and Europe. Their talents, he says, reflect three pillars of a successful venture ag-focused group. First, the group must understand what’s happening on the farm. “That’s the key. We have to understand the stresses growers face so we can look ahead for solutions,” he says.

Second, technical expertise is essential. “The driving force for many companies we evaluate is novel technology,” Steen says. “The best way to build relationships is to speak the same language.”

Finally, Steen says that a good venture capital team must be savvy enough to make commitments and decisions that play over a long time period, often more than 5 years. Making good decisions today requires understanding future challenges.

The future of ag technology

“The ag-technology sector has completely changed and thrived in just the past 10 years,” Steen says.

Satellite imagery and drones, for example, felt like the stuff of sci-fi novels just a decade ago, but now they’re common sights in ag offices and fields across the world. One portfolio company, Phytech, draws on spatial imaging, hyperlocal climate information and agronomic modeling to help farmers improve their profitability.

“Helping to develop successful companies directly impacts the agriculture industry,” Steen says. “Our core mission is to help create new tools to make growers more profitable. For us, it’s all about the collaboration to maximize that success.”

For more information, visit www.syngentaventures.com.

2019-04-23T09:01:00

(BPT) – Whether you rent or own, a happy home means finding distinctive ways to continuously improve your space. A full renovation or re-design can be pricey, but making your home feel fresh and current doesn’t have to be. We’ve thought through cost-effective solutions to make your home a place you love.

1) Measure your moolah: Understanding the budget is a crucial first step to any home project and money can be a sensitive subject. To conquer the awkwardness, download a finance app to get a sense of your spending habits. This will give you an accurate measure of how much moolah you have to spend on your home, and could help you save a buck or two on overall spending as well.

2) Score some smart solutions: Once you understand the budget, invest in smart solutions to have the place feeling fresh and updated in no time. If you’re interested in smart temperature control, check with your local energy provider to see if they offer incentive programming or kickbacks for making the switch! Easy changes like Bluetooth-connected plugs, meat thermometers and smart lightbulbs will use less energy and make you more connected to your home.

3) Swap that showerhead: If you’re looking for more of a visual change, swap out a faucet or showerhead — an easy but impactful update regardless of rent/own status. Brands like Peerless Faucet make products specifically designed to be on trend, but easy to manage. As long as you select a faucet that matches the current setup of your countertop (e.g., single handle or double handle, with or without soap dispenser), you can swap out any standard faucet for one that matches your vibe. From the kitchen to the bathroom, investing in a few key pieces for your home will last you a lifetime, especially if you pick multi-functional pieces like the SideKick Shower System.

4) Try subscription solutions: An easy way to spruce up your tables, walls and cabinets is by signing up for subscription services that take the thinking out of upkeep. There are a number of practical subscriptions you can opt in to, like FilterEasy, a service that sends you filters for your HVAC exactly when you need them. Or, if cleaning supplies are something you continuously forget to buy, subscription services take the thought out of having home supplies at the ready, under your sink, whenever you need them. If you’re looking for a simple upgrade, you can receive art that matches your style or fresh flowers. There is a subscription for almost everything and, when used strategically, they are a great way to manage your spending while investing in your space.

5) Spark joy with spring cleaning: Speaking of cleaning, when you make the switch to your summer wardrobe and your annual spring clean, take the time to assess what, as Marie Kondo would say, sparks joy versus what has seen better days. By taking ownership of what must stay, and saying thank you and goodbye to things that are ready to go, your belongings won’t feel like a burden, because everything will have a purpose. When you begin to spring clean, think through new methods of determining what should stay and what should go.

Once you’ve done these things, if you are looking for more, below are some quick fixes:

• Add new fabrics (e.g., cushions, curtains, throw blankets) in the living area and bedroom.
• Create an accent wall with adhesive wallpaper.
• Hang mirrors to create an illusion of a larger space and spread light throughout the space.
• Go green, add plants.
• Swap out the knobs on your kitchen/bathroom cabinets.
• Change the light fixtures.

Try these simple tips to spruce up any room in no time.

2019-04-23T06:01:00

(BPT) – One of the latest business buzzwords this year is EX, or the employee experience. Organizations are beginning to realize that they need to create a positive employee experience in the same way they have focused on the customer experience. In this ever-tightening job market, it’s mission critical to keep employees happy, fulfilled and challenged. Only then can they keep their customers happy. Focusing on EX means evaluating an employee’s entire life cycle with the company, from before they even apply for a job to beyond their last day. It’s so critical that Forbes even dubbed 2018 the Year of the Employee Experience.

What is the EX, exactly? EX is not just about what it’s like to work day-to-day in the office, and it’s not about benefits, half-day Fridays, sleeping pods, beer fridges in the break room and other fun perks, though those things do enter into it. But EX is deeper and more meaningful than that. It’s about truly engaging employees. Employee engagement (EE) and EX are intertwined so closely they can be called one and the same.

The problem with EE: There’s a disconnect

In a recent study, Dale Carnegie found that 70 percent of top executives believe that employee engagement has a strong impact on financial performance. In a similar study, Deloitte found that 85 percent of company leaders say EE is an important strategic priority, but Dale Carnegie found that just 31 percent of front-line employees and managers strongly agreed that their company is actually making engagement a top priority.

Clearly, there’s a disconnect between what execs are saying and what employees are feeling. That’s because there’s a piece left out of this puzzle: the employees’ managers.

The key to aligning executive priorities with what employees are experiencing lies in the management chain. Managers need to be enabled and empowered to engage their teams on a daily basis. It means getting managers the training they need to engage their teams, by making it a strategic priority and creating a culture of engagement. Dale Carnegie programs teach the skills managers need and can help organizations do the right things to increase overall employee engagement.

Ways to increase employee engagement

Align policies with EE. You need employee-supportive policies and procedures, such as a standard performance evaluation policy. But it also means changing policies that are barriers to engagement. Are there processes and procedures working at cross-purpose with engagement efforts? If so, change them. How are your rewards and recognition programs designed? What do you reward and recognize? Are they making your employees feel valued? It requires going through your policies with a critical eye, and the willingness to change what’s not working.

Employee engagement needs to be on the top of the priority list for top executives, managers and supervisors, and that’s no easy task. But in this ever-tightening job market, with greener grass just a click away on a job seeker’s app, keeping all of your employees happy, engaged and fulfilled is the key to your company’s competitive advantage.

2019-04-19T07:27:00

(BPT) – Recent studies have shown that a record number of Americans understand that climate change is real and their increasing concern for the future of our planet is driving major corporations across the country to go green by setting and fulfilling lofty sustainability goals.

According to a recent survey from global renewable energy company Enel Green Power, over half of Americans assume sustainable products are more expensive. However, operating sustainably goes beyond the brands that are making headlines with buzzworthy products, as other household names are making large commitments that are reducing consumers’ carbon footprint behind the scenes.

The survey also found that two in three Americans would engage in sustainable lifestyle choices by making a purchase from a sustainable brand or a company that donates to an environmental cause. In fact, about half of Americans say they would pay more for a sustainable product, and of those people, half would pay 3% to 5% more. This commitment to making environmentally friendly purchase decisions continues to push companies to invest in climate solutions.

“All businesses, from world-leading big brands to small manufacturers, can play a role in operating sustainably and consumers have a say through their purchasing decisions,” said Georgios Papadimitriou, Head of Enel Green Power North America. “We are proud to work with companies that make the conscious decision to better our planet by greening their business and encourage consumers to use their purchasing power to continue this momentum.”

For example, last year, Budweiser announced its commitment to brew its beer with 100% renewable electricity. The amount of renewable electricity that the company uses is enough to produce more than 20 billion 12 oz. servings of beer annually.

Kohler aims to reduce its carbon footprint by 3% year over year to be net zero by 2035 and the company uses wind energy to supply 100% of the power needed to operate Kohler’s U.S. and Canadian manufacturing operations. The power generated is enough to power nearly 40,000 homes, and globally, the project will reduce Kohler’s greenhouse gas emissions footprint by 26%.

And telecommunications company T-Mobile turned magenta green last year, announcing its transition to 100% renewable electricity by 2021. T-Mobile is well on its way to achieving this aggressive goal and takes environmental stewardship one step further by engaging its community in conservation and reforestation efforts with its #TreeMobile campaign to plant up to half a million trees for Earth Day in partnership with The Nature Conservancy.

Adopting a sustainable lifestyle in tactical ways like driving an electric vehicle or installing solar panels on your roof has clear benefits for the environment. However, energy consumption goes far beyond turning your lights on and getting behind the wheel. The products we use in our daily lives require immense amounts of energy and materials for production, making our responsible purchasing decisions more influential than ever. Businesses are in a unique position to lead the charge against climate change. Americans’ demand for a more sustainable future will continue to influence companies’ sustainability commitments.

2019-04-15T07:01:00

(BPT) – How much data do you really need on your monthly cellular plan?

To hear the big four wireless companies tell it, the answer is simple: Go unlimited. After all, we live in an age where we can stay glued to our smartphone screens nearly every minute for news, email, social media posts, using GPS, video streaming and all the other trappings of the modern digital world.

According to Pew Research, 73% of adults ages 50-64 now own a smartphone, and nearly 50% of those 65+ have adopted them as well. But those who cut their teeth in the pre-digital age are far less likely to live that fully “plugged in” lifestyle. Many, in fact, still prefer classic comforts like a good old-fashioned telephone call over texting or Facebook; or watching news and movies on a big-screen television rather than squinting at a smartphone display. If you count yourself among these old-school, penny-wise baby boomers, you’ll likely agree: spending $75 or more on an unlimited data plan every month just doesn’t make good sense.

The limits of unlimited

Here’s what the big four don’t want you to know: in 2018, the average smartphone user consumed about 4.1 gigabytes (GB) of cellular data each month, meaning many used far less.

In addition, some carriers promising “unlimited data” will actually limit your high-speed data to just a couple of gigabytes per month. Once you use up that allotment, you’ll have unlimited access, but at much slower speeds. This makes it more difficult to load pages quickly, or to stream video, even though you’re paying a premium for “unlimited” access.

Factor in the rapidly growing availability of Wi-Fi, which lets you access a wireless Internet connection without consuming any data from your cellular plan, and this much becomes clear: For many users, “unlimited” plans are far more enticing than they are practical.

Flexible plans keep up with your lifestyle

While the big four keep coming up with creative new ways to encourage you to go “unlimited,” real deals can be found that provide what you actually need. For instance, take a look at Consumer Cellular. This 100% U.S.-based provider offers no-contract cellphone plans including data plans that range from 2GB to 20GB of data per month. Best of all, since your data needs can fluctuate from one month to the next, Consumer Cellular lets you change your data plan anytime you need to without paying any additional fees.

Start saving today

Unlimited anything sounds nice, but in reality, no one wants to buy more of something than they’ll ever use ­— or pay more than they should. But that’s exactly what most people with unlimited cellular data plans are doing.

Cellular competition is fierce, so make sure you’re getting what’s best for the way you really use your data. Check your current bill to find out how much you’re actually using, then shop around. One size never fits all, so with a bit of smart research, you’ll find all the data you really need, and for less.

2019-04-08T09:01:00

(BPT) – For the past quarter-century, Jonnie, 57, has kept a booth at the Antique Depot in Skiatook, Oklahoma. The job allows her a flexible enough schedule to take care of her elderly mother, who lives next door.

Holding estate sales and dealing in used merchandise has also made her an expert on spotting a bargain.

According to a recent Kiplinger article, switching to generic drugs from the brand-name version is a smart way to save money in your health care budget: “Generics can cost up to 85 percent less than brand-name drugs, and some plans have a $0 co-pay for ‘preferred’ generics. Your pharmacist can generally switch to a generic at the counter without asking your doctor. If your drug doesn’t have a generic, ask your doctor or pharmacist if one is likely soon.”

Jonnie couldn’t agree more. “If it weren’t for these generic medications, I don’t know where my life would be,” she said. “I can afford things.”

Jonnie manages her heart condition with Metoprolol ER, the generic form of the brand-name drug Toprol XL. According to GoodRx, Metoprolol costs around $6, which is 81 percent less than the average retail price of $33.10 for the brand.

The generic drug industry supplies the vast majority of drugs prescribed in the U.S. Generic cardiac drugs, for example, help patients live longer, fuller lives, saving $47 billion in 2017, while savings for the past 10 years total $492 billion.

Jonnie also takes Rabeprazole for acid reflux. GoodRx reports that the generic form of medicine costs around $19.60 — 92 percent less than the average retail price of $250.41 for the brand.

Americans in every state are saving money by taking safe, effective, FDA-approved generic drugs. According to the latest data, generics saved patients in the U.S. a total of $265 billion in 2017, including $83 billion and $41 billion for those with Medicare and Medicaid coverage, respectively.

Think about the prescription drugs that you and your family take. Are you getting the most for your money?

You can take the quiz, “What’s Your Generic Drugs IQ?” at https://accessiblemeds.org/.

2019-04-02T08:01:00

(BPT) – Tax reform represents the largest change to the tax code in the last 30 years, impacting virtually everyone, but carrying special considerations for small business owners, the self-employed and employees with unreimbursed business expenses.

It will take taxpayers time to untangle the full impact of reform, and as the 2019 tax season takes off, taxpayers should be aware of the unique challenges it’s likely to present, regardless of where they fall in the spectrum.

According to the tax experts at H&R Block, the group most at risk of owing when they file are those employees who deducted unreimbursed business expenses for 2017. Tax reform eliminated the deduction for unreimbursed employee business expenses.

Ramon Vasquez is a Block Advisors master tax advisor with over 12 years of both public and private sector experience, working in investments, real estate, small business, tax planning and more. He said that though all individual tax situations are unique, there are some things people can do now to aid in filing an accurate return to get their maximum refund.

“How tax reform impacts you depends entirely on your specific circumstances, so it’s important to look at your unique situation to see what you should expect when you file,” Vasquez said. “Somebody could still benefit from tax reform even though they lose their unreimbursed business expense deduction, but you may also want to talk to your employer about switching to an accountable plan, which allows employers to reimburse expenses to their employee tax-free.”

Beyond those with unreimbursed employee business expenses, there are other individuals for whom tax reform may require some additional untangling.

Small business owners and the self-employed also need to approach this tax season with a particular awareness.

“Some of the largest changes in tax reform apply to businesses, which can include some landlords,” Vasquez said. “For example, self-employed individuals, including those who have income from partnership and S corporations, may be able to deduct up to 20 percent of their qualified business income.”

As has been the case with tax season in the past, homeowners have special considerations. But this year marks a change for them, too, primarily through changes in itemized deductions. According to the tax experts at H&R Block, tax reform changes the itemized deductions some homeowners can claim.

“For example, tax reform limits the home mortgage interest deduction on new home mortgages to interest paid on up to $750,000 of acquisition debt. It also limits the deduction for home equity debt,” Vasquez said of changes in deductions. “You’ll also be limited to deducting a maximum of $10,000 ($5,000 if married filing separately) in personal property taxes, real estate taxes, plus income taxes or sales taxes combined.”

One of the most important parts of conquering tax season 2019 is an acute awareness of one’s individual tax situation. As every taxpayer is different, untangling the year’s taxes is going to require additional planning to help taxpayers avoid surprises when it comes time to file their tax return.

A major part of avoiding any surprises this year has to do with making appropriate updates through your employer.

“If you don’t like what happened with your refund this year, you can make sure it doesn’t happen again next year by updating your withholding with your employer,” Vasquez said. “Come in to an office to have your Block Advisors tax advisor provide W-4 planning when you file your 2018 tax return. Not only do we offer year-round tax consulting, we provide year-to-year tax return planning.”

Taxpayers with layered tax situations can head to blockadvisors.com to get matched with their personal tax advisor.

2019-03-26T08:01:00

(BPT) – Considering all the tasks a mom does, it may not be surprising that more than 40 percent of mothers feel overwhelmed during tax season, according to a new survey of 1,000 moms commissioned by H&R Block. Their largest source of anxiety when it comes to the process of filing their taxes is potentially owing money on their tax return (34 percent). Lynn Ebel — tax attorney, director at The Tax Institute at H&R Block, and mother of two — shared her hard-earned advice for busy moms who still need to file their taxes.

Larger, expanded child tax credit is good news for moms anxious about owing

According to the mom survey, more than two in five moms feel overwhelmed during tax season and their largest source of anxiety about filing their taxes is owing money. The good news, according to Ebel, is that families with children under 17, especially those who claim the standard deduction, are most likely to get a refund bigger than anticipated, unless they had updated their withholding with their employer at the beginning of the year.

“That’s because the child tax credit doubled to $2,000 per child and more families will qualify for it. Fifty-one percent of moms surveyed didn’t know the child tax credit had changed, so this could be a pleasant surprise,” said Ebel.

Moms anxious about paperwork, tax return prep need help their way

Together, four in 10 moms said the largest sources of anxiety are gathering the necessary documents and filling out their actual tax return. Every year, 150 million Americans file taxes and 97 percent of them rely on some type of help. Moms’ needs evolve and so does the kind of help they need and how they get it.

“If moms want help in person, online or virtually, H&R Block is the only tax preparation company to offer complete choice on how you get the tax help you need,” said Ebel. “That could mean dropping off documents at an H&R Block office, uploading files online for a tax expert to complete, stopping in to work with one of our experienced tax professionals, or completing your return yourself with the help you need from a tax professional, whether that’s answering your questions through live chat or reviewing your return and submitting it for you.”

Ebel advises that organizing the necessary documents can make tax prep progress more smoothly, and checking the documents against last year’s return or a customized tax prep checklist can help moms make sure they aren’t missing important documents.

“You can create your own tax prep checklist at hrblock.com/checklist. Remember you’ll also need information that’s not coming in a tax information document, like SSNs for your kids and their daycare’s tax identification number,” said Ebel.

Removing surprises from tax time — including tax prep sticker shock

Taxes are a source of anxiety and stress. Ebel points out this year in particular, moms are worried about how they are impacted by tax reform and what it will mean for their tax refunds. To add to the stress, the tax industry has been slow to evolve to consumers’ needs. A stressful topic and a stodgy industry have created a bad experience for many consumers.

“H&R Block is helping remove stress by providing transparency, starting with price,” said Ebel. “We’re the first major brand to remove the mystery of pricing with our new upfront, transparent pricing. H&R Block clients can know the price before they begin, with price transparency from start to finish, no surprises.”

In an H&R Block office, consumers have three simple steps to know the price before they begin. First, they can determine the base price that matches their personal situation, with categories like W-2 income only, or are paying student loans, are a family or a homeowner. Next, they can determine if they need to file any state returns. They then review a list of what happened in their life during the year. At that point, clients will know their price to have their return prepared.

Doing their taxes may be one more anxiety-inducing item on moms’ overwhelming to-do lists, but Ebel says the upside is significant. It’s not just the chance to get the most out of their tax return, but an annual touchpoint to look at their whole financial picture and plan for the outcome they want next year.

“The key is getting the help and support you need. When you’re a mom, the same things might not work for you anymore and that’s OK. At H&R Block, we can help you how you want and need,” said Ebel.

2019-03-26T08:01:00

(BPT) – –