Stick to the Plan
By Amanda Goewey
As many recent college, trade school, and high school graduates settle into new jobs, their pockets may be feeling a bit heavier with money from the first few paychecks. It can be tempting (and exciting) to spend this newfound money on summer fun, but young professionals should have a plan for these paychecks. Understanding the options for what you can and should do when the money starts flowing is a great place to start.
Make a Budget and Stick to It
Setting a budget is critical for young professionals who are often balancing myriad expenses, like school and car loans, rent and utility payments, entertainment, and more for the first time. A budget is a plan that helps track and manage expenses to keep spending within your limits and help build your savings.
Budgets are built on a simple equation: your income minus your expenses equals your monthly net. To be financially stable, your expenses must be less than your income — that’s how you know you’re living within your means. If your expenses are equal to your income, you will be living within your means, but you will have nothing left over for savings.
“Setting a budget is critical for young professionals who are often balancing myriad expenses, like school and car loans, rent and utility payments, entertainment, and more for the first time.”
Create an Emergency Fund
One account everyone should have, regardless of age or career stage, is an emergency fund for unexpected costs like vehicle and home repairs, medical bills, or vet bills, if you have a pet. It’s critical to consider this fund as a part of your overall monthly budget.
Setting a specific goal for an emergency fund will help determine a reasonable timeline for reaching it. For example, if your goal is to build a $2,000 emergency fund in one year, you’ll need to allocate about $167 per month to that fund. Being consistent in saving that amount every month is critical to achieving the goal. Consider setting up a direct deposit for the amount needed from your paycheck.
Pay Off High-interest Debt
High-interest debt is ever-changing alongside loan interest rates; it’s generally accepted that high-interest debt is anything above the student loan or mortgage rates. Those interest rates are assigned when you borrow or receive money in advance, also known as credit.
So, what should you do if you’re carrying this type of debt? While simply paying it off is the best answer, actually doing it isn’t quite that straightforward, but should be a top priority before setting savings goals. Having debt, especially high-interest debt, will lead to poor credit, which can create obstacles to achieving your financial goals.
One of the most straightforward ways to pay down high-interest debt is to carefully budget and track your expenses and limit non-essential spending. There are several budgeting apps that can help track all expenses from monthly bills to groceries, eating out, and even monthly streaming subscriptions. Review where you can cut spending and make a plan for paying down the debt.
Start Saving for Retirement
Believe it or not, it is never too early to start planning for retirement, and taking advantage of employer-sponsored retirement benefits is a great way to start. Many employers offer programs such as 401(k) plans and 403(b) plans. These accounts help reduce your current taxable income, are easy to contribute to through direct deposit, provide interest rates that support significant growth over time, and can be transferred from employer to employer, if and when you move on.
When it’s time to determine your contribution, a good rule of thumb is to contribute enough to ensure you receive your employer’s full matching contribution, if offered. If your employer does not offer a retirement benefit, consider starting an individual retirement account (IRA).
Bottom Line
Your banking institution can be a helpful resource in determining what option is best for you and your financial goals. For example, the NBT Bank Wealth Management team can help you determine contribution limits, how employer contributions work, what terms like ‘vesting’ mean, and who is actually directing investments within your plan.
Getting a new job and having a new source of income is exciting, but figuring out how to manage your money can be stressful. Spending money is easy, but doing it responsibly and within a budget takes a bit more effort. The good news is, there are many helpful resources, like your banking partner, that can help you assess your current financial situation and future goals and provide you with money skills and tools for long-term success.
And remember, if you suddenly find yourself with extra money, from a bonus, birthday gift, or tax return, use it as an opportunity to get ahead of your timeline and put a portion of it toward your debt or your savings — but be sure to set aside a little bit to celebrate your new gig!
Amanda Goewey is the Massachusetts market manager for NBT Bank. With more than 15 years of experience in banking, she is responsible for overseeing retail banking at NBT’s eight branches in Berkshire County.
It is perhaps the best thing about a 40 Under Forty class. And also the most challenging thing for the judges who ultimately decide its makeup.
Raymond Berry is founder and general manager of White Lion Brewing Company, the first craft beer company post-prohibition to recognize the city of Springfield as its home. Berry, a Forty Under 40 member, class of 2010, is currently a board member at Springfield College and Blues to Green, and an attorney general appointee to the Commonwealth’s Cannabis Regulatory Committee. He also sits on the Basketball Hall of Fame Finance Committee, Diversity & Inclusion Committee for the Mass. Brewers Guild, and Philanthropic Committee for the National Brewers Assoc. Berry earned his BS from American International College, MBA from Springfield College, and a graduate certificate from Tufts University. He was a graduate in the region’s inaugural Leadership Pioneer Valley LEAP class. He has received the Spirit Award from the local housing authority, the Affiliated Chamber of Commerce’s Community Leadership Award, the Assoc. of Black Business & Professionals’ Business of the Year Award, and a Martin Luther King Social Justice Award. He has also been recognized as one of the region’s Top 100 Men of Color.
Latoya Bosworth is a life coach, author, and program officer for Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities. She worked in Springfield Public Schools for 18 years, first as a special educator and then as a behavior specialist. When she is not facilitating workshops for nonprofit and corporate clients or inspiring others with her speeches and self-published books, she is giving back to her community with through mentoring and collaboration. She was a member of the 40 Under Forty class of 2016, and one of BusinessWest’s Women of Impact for 2022.
Brian Canina is executive vice president, chief financial officer, and chief operating officer at Holyoke-based PeoplesBank. He has more than 20 years of experience in the finance industry. He is a graduate of Bryant College and is a certified public accountant. He is also a graduate of the ABA Stonier Graduate School of Banking and is a recipient of the Wharton Leadership Certificate. He is president of the Finance and Accounting Society of New England. He serves on the board of directors for Helix Human Services.
Jessye Deane is the executive director of the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce and Regional Tourism Council, and is the owner of two award-winning fitness studios, F45 Training Hampshire Meadows in Hadley and F45 Training Riverdale in West Springfield. She was a member of the 40 Under Forty class of 2021, Franklin County Young Professional of the Year in 2020, and the 2019 Amherst Chamber MVP. She has serves on more than a dozen community-based committees, and is this year’s campaign co-chair for the United Way of Franklin & Hampshire Region. 
Aundrea Paulk is the Marketing and Communications director at Caring Health Center. She is also the founder and creative force behind Soiree Mi, LLC, an event-planning and design business. Soiree Mi offers creative and personalized services for private and corporate clients. She is a member of the 40 Under Forty class of 2022. A graduate of Bay Path University, her areas of expertise include marketing, branding, communications, event planning, social media, and website content management.
Anthony Gleason II is the president and co-founder of the Gleason Johndrow Companies, which provides commercial landscape and snow-removal services, property management, real-estate development, and leasing, as well as self-storage. Under Gleason’s leadership, the company has grown into one of the largest snow-removal contractors in the country. It now boasts a number of large contracts, including the city of Springfield (250 locations), UMass Amherst and its 157 parking lots, Western New England University, and many others. Gleason was part of the 40 under Forty class of 2010, and the 2022 recipient of the Alumni Achievement Award. Gleason and his company are strong supporters of Spirit of Springfield and many other local community organizations. 
Ashley Bogle is assistant general counsel and director of Legal Services for Health New England. In these roles, she manages the day-to-day operations of HNE’s Legal Department which includes a wide range of duties, from reviewing contracts to providing regulatory guidance and maintaining licenses and accreditation. A 40 Under Forty honoree in 2021, she is a founding member of HNE’s Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Committee, which guides the organization toward its goals of embedding DEIB and health equity into its strategic plan, mission, operations, community outreach, and member community. She currently serves as president of Art For The Soul Gallery’s board of directors in addition to working on other community projects. A proud UConn Husky, she received both her juris doctor and her bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Connecticut.
Payton Shubrick is a Springfield native and graduate of Springfield Central High School, College of the Holy Cross, and Bay Path University. A member of the 40 Under 40 Class of 2019, she’s an entrepreneur, and started 6 Brick’s, a cannabis dispensary, with the help of her parents and sister. 6 Brick’s opened in September of 2022, and has already garnered ‘Best Massachusetts Recreational Dispensary’ honors at the New England Cannabis Community Awards. Shubrick she is an adjunct professor at American International College, teaching graduate cannabis courses, a coach in the CT Social Equity Accelerator Program, and was recently named Young Entrepreneur of the Year for her leadership and success in her industry. 
Anthony Gulluni was sworn into office as Hampden District Attorney in January 2015 and is currently serving his second four-year term. He earned both his bachelor’s degree (2003) and juris doctorate (2007) from Western New England University. As D.A., he has promoted his vision of safer communities by innovative and significant investment in community building and outreach, crime prevention and education, and by focusing efforts on the smart prosecution of violent offenders. The Hampden D.A.’s Office has engaged with many community-based organizations, including Roca, the Healing Racism Institute of Pioneer Valley, and the YWCA to broaden its reach and provide equitable services to all communities in need.
Keith Ledoux is vice president, Commercial Line of Business and Business Development at Health New England, responsible for driving commercial sales, marketing, and business development. He has more than 25 years of experience in the insurance industry, and has a background in sales, healthcare information technology, and strategy development. Previously, he held leadership roles with MiHealth, Tufts Health Plan, Fallon Health, Minuteman Health, and Constitution Health. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Worcester State University and an MBA from Purdue in Health Care Adminsitration. He also completed the AHIP Executive Leadership Program at Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management.
Kimberly Williams is vice president of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for Stanley Black & Decker. She provides the center of excellence for the Stanley Black & Decker global DE&I community through the development and implementation of best practices, knowledge management, leadership development, and metrics that can be deployed by the local talent and affinity teams within each region. With more than 25 years of HR experience, she has supported and led DE&I initiatives in several organizations across industries, including, investment banking, health care, nonprofit, and aerospace manufacturing. She received her MBA in Human Resource Management from Syracuse University and her bachelor of Arts degree from American University.
As our judges select the 2021 Class of 40 Under Forty, we encourage you to subscribe to BusinessWest so you may receive the May 12, 2021 issue of BusinessWest that will include the stories of our 40 amazing winners. 
We are still taking nominations for the 2021 Alumni Achievement Award. Nominate a previous honoree who is continuing to go above and beyond in their field and making an impact in our region! Click HERE to find the nomination form. The deadline for nominations is April 23, 2021 at 5pm.
