February, 2017 | Lifestylify

Often when people think of getting married, they think of being in love and spending the rest of their lives together. The thought of starting a family is on the minds of those who are getting married while they are young. At times, it seems as if the entire future will change and will change for the better. Others have already been married and have gone through a divorce. They may see marriage much different from a younger couple contemplating marriage for the first time. Regardless of whether you are thinking about marriage for the first time or a second marriage, the financial benefits for marriage need to be considered. The benefits of marriage are numerous, and a complete listing is outside the scope of this article. However, the following are a few that stand out among the financial benefits of marriage.

Medical insurance
If one person does not have medical insurance but the other does, it is possible to add a spouse to the insurance policy. Healthcare costs can be tremendously expensive and is one of the leading reasons for bankruptcy. Health insurance through your spouse can mean the difference between losing all of your assets or remaining solvent. If both people already have insurance, the person with the policy having less coverage can switch to their partner’s policy. If both people are working and have medical coverage, then they are both protected if one of them were to lose their job. The unemployed person can simply be added to the other person’s policy

Pooling money to invest in the future
Married couples can combine their incomes to save for a major purchase such as a house. Married couples are more likely to buy a house than two people who simply cohabitate. Marriage is a legal commitment, and a couple is more likely to have confidence in each other because of the marriage.

Lower taxes
If you listen to most people, you would think that taxes go up when you get married. In fact, it even has a name. It is called the marriage penalty, and it is true that certain couples when they marry will experience higher taxes when both incomes are combined. However, this is only true when both people have high incomes. The truth is, if one person has a high income and the other a low income, there is a likelihood that the lower income will result in a lower tax bracket for the couple. If only one person is working and the other has no income at all, the non-working spouse becomes a tax shelter, and the financial benefits are great.

Advantages in saving for retirement
Even though it may not be possible for a person to contribute to an individual retirement account because of a low income, once this person gets married the incomes of both spouses are combined. A contribution may now be possible. In fact, the contribution limits are raised; therefore, the tax break is greater.

Conclusion
Whatever your motivations for marriage are, it is the financial benefits than are critical. There is nothing wrong with being in love, but the practical aspects of marriage are financial, and for many people, it is the financial benefits that are felt by a couple everyday they are married.

A B2B CFO who wants to save money and reduce expenses faces an uphill battle. Budgets are difficult to cut; people from all over the company will object to the ideas of an established CFO. While true, if a CFO wants to keep his or her job and ensure the firm stays in order, he or she must take action. Here are four money-saving ideas for a B2B CFO.

Employee pay: Let’s face it; a company spends plenty of money on payroll. While a CFO doesn’t need to drop employees, it is wise for him or her to look at this further. Often, when trying to save money, a business will bring in contractors to complete certain tasks. Think about it, a CFO can save his or her company thousands of dollars a year just by bringing in a part-time contractor. Whether looking for someone to program a website or balance the books, a corporation can cut its expenses when hiring an independent contractor. While often an unpopular way to cut expenses, it is a quick way for a business to save money and still enjoy quality work from its staff.

Re-negotiation contracts with local service providers: If you run a mid-sized business, your CFO probably has plenty of contracts with local companies. For example, if you pay a cleaning company, shredding firm, or even a storage facility you may be overpaying. To figure this out, a CFO must contact other providers in the area and ask for a quote. With a short 20-minute phone call, a CFO can find a lower price for vital services. Often, after talking to another service provider, a CFO can coax the current provider to lower their fees slightly. If price negations are unmet to the CFO’s budget needs, then re-evaluating the need for the service at hand in general may be the next step. If the service is still generally a necessity for the vitality of the company, then often times there are situations where the service can be done in-house. For example, instead of outsourcing storage space or services, a business can find resources in bulk to purchase such as metal bins, pods, crates, etc. and keep in-house to manage at their own discretion. Since it only takes a few minutes to follow these steps, a smart CFO should do this every year or so and in the end it will come down to the company’s demands and resources available.

Outsource: A CFO should consider outsourcing. With some tasks, it is not pertinent to use employees from the United States. Whether you want to outsource your call center or tech support, you can do so with ease. Then, the company will save thousands of dollars a month as employees working in areas with lower costs of living will not demand higher pay. If not practical, a CFO should consider a moving some operations to a lower cost-of-living state. For example, credit card companies often host their tech support office in places like Iowa where expenses are lower. Either way, a CFO in a high cost-of-living city should consider outsourcing some non-essential operations to another area with lower expenses.

Online marketing: With SEO, social media and other tricks, a company can attract plenty of followers. In the past, a CFO would need to dole out plenty of cash to the marketing department. However, with a well-managed online presence, an organization will save thousands of dollars. At the same time, if a business runs a formidable campaign, it will bring in plenty of excited customers from all over the place. In the end, if practical, a CFO should divert funds and resources to an online marketing campaign.

With these four simple ideas, a CFO can help his or her company saves plenty of cash. While not always easy, when done in a tactful manner, the business will save cash and increase its profits without creating havoc or causing problems for current employees.