Lincoln Savings Bank is back with more tips to help you turn your hectic finances into a smart, easy-to-

manage part of your life. Be sure to take a look back at our post from earlier in the week to see what the easiest ways are for you to take the stress out of your life. Without further adieu, here we go!

• Create and emergency fund- this takes discipline for many people, but there may come a time where you’ll be thankful you have it. Three to six months of living expenses should give you peace of mind.
• Simplify your investments- “diversified” and “simple” aren’t mutually exclusive. You should be able to describe what you’re investing in and how it works.
• Buy and hold- the market is a fickle thing, so quit trying to “time” the markets. It only causes additional stress.
• Make a list of all your possessions- okay, so making the list may not be simple, but the purpose is simple. You can see which of the things you own are unnecessary and it will give a much needed wake up call to consume, spend and own less. Then…
• Sell half of your list in a month- have a garage sale, put your stuff up on eBay, list it on Craigslist. You’ll make some cash, reduce storage costs and learn what you really need to live well.
• Whatever it is you do well, do more of it- what gives the most value to your employer? Find out and replicate it as much as possible. No matter where you’re at in life, find out what extra value you offer and focus on that. You can’t be everything to everyone.
• Learn to negotiate- this may seem foreign and even rude to some of us kind Iowa folks, but learning how to haggle (respectfully) can pay off in more areas of life than you might think.

Which of these tips speaks the most to you?

We hope that these and our previous bits of advice give you something to think about (and hopefully act on!) when it comes to your financial life. If you need help simplifying things, Lincoln Savings Bank is just a phone call away!