Pearls of Wisdom Our Financial Planners Tell Their Friends

Use Gift Cards for Guilt-Free Spending

For small costs that can quickly add up over time—like that daily Starbucks habit or iTunes purchases—consider buying yourself a gift card and load it with a set, budgeted amount at the start of each month.

Ease Into Merging Your Money

If you’re just starting to share in financial decisions with a significant other, Stephany Kirkpatrick, CFP®, suggests keeping a “slush fund” bank account into which you each set aside money every month to use for one or two joint expenses.

Be Smart About Insurance

So many people get talked into buying extended warranties on electronics or insurance on their cell phones,” says Tom Gilmour, CFP®, who tells his friends to skip these purchases and consider using that money to buy term life insurance and disability insurance instead.

Treat Yourself

Yes, some CFP®s do tell their loved ones to spend their hard-earned money, in addition to saving it. Jot down all of the things under $30 that are little, feel-good splurges—and when you need to treat yourself or someone special, pull from this list,” Kirkpatrick says.

Draw Up a Postnup

I recommend prenups and postnups,” says CFP® Brandie Farnam. “If you think about it, people are most inclined to be fair and equitable when things are happy and stable in a relationship—not when you’re fighting for things while parting ways.

Practice Living on One Income

Thinking of having a baby and trying to decide whether you can afford for one parent to scale back at work or quit altogether? Farnam tells her friends to completely bank the income they’re thinking of dropping (or reducing) for six months—and only relying on the other salary to cover expenses during that period.

Set Up a 529 Plan for a New Baby Right Away

Speaking of kids, Gilmour tells all of his new-parent friends to consider setting up a 529 plan—even if they can’t immediately afford to start saving for college themselves. Why? “You can use it to deposit monetary gifts received from grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends.

Don’t Forget to Save for Fun

Taylor tells all of her friends to consider opening a “fun account,” so they can splurge without guilt every once in a while. Taylor and her husband used their own fun account to buy a used elliptical machine, pay for a private Pilates trainer and go on a post-maternity wardrobe shopping spree.

Help Make Investments Mindless

Don’t want to hire an investment adviser or don’t have the confidence to manage your own portfolio? “Consider using an all-in-one asset allocation fund to help ensure you always have a diversified asset allocation,” says CFP® Elizabeth Sklaver.

Make Sure Both Partners Are Saving for Retirement

Staying home to raise the kids? If possible, you should still be saving for your golden years, notes Kirkpatrick. “I tell my girlfriends that if they choose to leave their jobs, they should maximize a Spousal IRA or Spousal Roth IRA,” she says. “This way, retirement savings is accumulating in their name, in addition to what their spouse saves for the future.”

Fill Out Beneficiary Forms—and Keep ’Em Current

Kirkpatrick says she’s amazed by the number of people who go through the major effort of saving for retirement or signing up for life insurance benefits—yet skip the simple step of filling out a beneficiary form.

Give Back

One of Blaylock’s favorite tips? Donate some of your hard-earned money. “We all want to be more charitable, and it’s my belief that those people who set aside money to support various organizations live richer lives.

Review Your Employer’s Benefits

Yes, your eyes may glaze over when you’re reading the fine print. But really understanding what’s offered to you can help you take advantage of any “free money,” like a 401(k) matching program, health savings account or a pretax commuter benefit, says Gilmour.

Create a Budget

It doesn’t sound very insider-y, but CFP®s often say they are shocked by how few people have a budget.