Author: Saratoga TODAY

SARATOGA COUNTY – Stewart’s Shops paper containers are losing their maroon branding and being replaced by blank, white cups with white lids. A disappearance that has been noticed in local shops over the past few weeks, Stewart’s is quickly going through their remaining stock of printed cups. Due to the paper shortage, the chain’s supplier cannot make and print the traditional paper containers. In the meantime, they are urging customers to buy and use refillable mugs, which is a cheaper alternative to the paper cups. There are 348 Stewart’s locations; at an average of 70,000 cups of coffee a day, Stewart’s goes through 25.55 million cups annually. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The pandemic brought many challenges to many people, but for Fred Astaire Dance Studios (FADS) in Saratoga, it was an opportunity to relocate and re-open in a bigger and better space. The Capital Region Chamber and Owners Elizabeth and Grey Masko celebrated the new location with a ribbon cutting, champagne toast, and performances Sunday, Sept. 19, with Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner and National Ballroom Dance Champion Joan Regan Hayner. 

The new location offers a performance space that’s three times as large as before, fostering even more growth. As people are still recovering from the effects of the pandemic, FADS offers a safe environment for dancers of all ages and abilities to learn about the benefits of ballroom and Latin dancing and how even one lesson can help improve mental, physical, and emotional well-being. 

With this new location, the Maskos announce a new offering to help share the benefits of dancing with a wider audience; Fred Astaire Dance Studios – Saratoga Springs will be offering children’s classes beginning next spring.

“We are so excited about our new location, and everything we’ll be able to offer to the community,” said Elizabeth and Grey Masko. “We look forward to the children’s classes we’ll be offering in the spring and hope that our current students enjoy the new space for years to come.” 

To learn more about Fred Astaire Dance Studios – Saratoga Springs or sign up for adult or children’s lessons, visit www.fredastaire.com/saratoga-springs 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — BankWise Technology™ has launched their latest product – Happy Banker – a software solution designed to help banks and credit unions streamline their daily operational tasks. 

Happy Banker is a suite of applications for FIS Horizon® core system users (i.e. banks and credit unions). The integration platform with “plug and play” modules allows banks to forgo the expense and time of upgrading or changing their current core processing system. 

“Many banks have different products with different vendors that don’t always work together,” said Sergei Morgoslepov, BankWise Technology Co-President and Chief Technology Officer

“We support an open banking initiative and Happy Banker will help bridge that.” 

Morgoslepov explained that with these modules tasks that could take several hours to complete would now take one person 20 minutes to do. And, although Happy Banker is intended to benefit the bank first and foremost, it also makes for happy customers. 

“If a company has better processing in the backend, they will have better customer service,” said Rob Ward, BankWise Technology Chief Marketing and Sales Officer.

Read the full story on Saratoga Business Report www.saratogabusinessreport.com.

SARATOGA SPRINGS ­— Small business owners and volunteers honored Bill Edwards at Longfellows for leading SCORE locally for 15 years, which helped launch more than a thousand businesses in Saratoga, Warren, Washington, and several adjacent counties. 

Bill’s retirement comes after a banner 2020. Using Zoom, his team of 30 mentors spent more than 6,000 hours and helped to start or expand 117 businesses, creating 236 new jobs. These businesses invested more than $4,000,000, more than half of which was raised from local and regional financial institutions which came to respect SCORE for introducing them to entrepreneurs who were well prepared to start or grow their businesses. 

While Bill has retired, he leaves a large team and processes which will continue to mentor start-ups and help operating small businesses prosper. For assistance, go to score.org, ask for a mentor, and answer a few simple questions. 

Read the full brief on Saratoga Business Report www.saratogabusinessreport.com.

As the weather cools and the leaves turn, many of us look forward to one thing: no, not pumpkin spice everything. Football. In the game, the teams with the strongest fundamentals typically put themselves in the best spot to win. According to legendary coach Vince Lombardi, “some people try to find things in this game that don’t exist but football is only two things – blocking and tackling.” We can easily pivot to personal finance to discuss what represents the blocking and tackling in that arena.

The most basic principle in personal finance is the idea of positive cash flow – spending less than you make. In fact, this is the cornerstone of every other area because it frees up money to be used in the most productive manner. If your budget is in need of a revamp, focus on the big ticket items first (car payments, mortgage/rent, etc.). This is typically not something that is immediately actionable as those payments are either fixed in some fashion or have the potential to even increase. Whether it’s refinancing or downsizing, evaluate your options to keep these cash hogs under control. On the other side of the equation, bringing in more money frees up discretionary income to be deployed elsewhere. Again, this is something that might not be immediately actionable, but consider an investment in yourself by way of certification or training to improve your future income potential.

A corollary to the last paragraph would be to focus on saving with a purpose. Each dollar and each account should have a designated job. People get tripped up when they get their priorities mixed. For example, putting every last dime of your savings in your 401(k) leaves your finances vulnerable to an unexpected incident that forces you to take a loan in what should be an easily avoidable situation given proper planning. Diversification of your account types and investment strategies allows for flexibility for whatever life throws your way. Tying the last two paragraphs together, how much is a good target to save? We typically recommend saving at least 10-20% of income. It’s not easy and it won’t happen overnight, but it gives you a target to shoot for. 

In the same spirit that the offensive line protects the quarterback, you want to make sure your finances are protected. Everyone probably understands the importance of life insurance for making sure your family is protected in unfortunate circumstances – what type and how much is something that should be reviewed regularly. An often overlooked protection mechanism is disability insurance. This is sometimes scoffed at because there is a perception that we can just “power through it.” That might be the case for a broken limb or surgery, but diseases like cancer are the leading cause of disability claims. A disability would have the magnified effect of reduced income or total loss coupled with a mountain of medical bills.

A football coach will meticulously prepare a game plan for their upcoming opponent to ensure that every situation is accounted for. In that same vein, your finances deserve the same attention with focus on the fundamentals.

For more information, visit www.contwealth.com.

David Rath, CFA is the Director of Portfolio Strategies at Continuum Wealth Advisors in Saratoga Springs.