Tip of the Month: Sign Up for a Password Manager

While I am extremely diligent about password security here at the office (we all are!), I admit that I still have work to do at home. Just this week I had an alert that a frequently used password of mine was found on the “dark web”. As I began to dig into the sites that I used this password for, I realized a lot of them were logins that were set up years ago, and that many of them were for sites that I no longer have a use for. A project this week will be to disentangle myself from those accounts.

However, it did impress upon me the urgency to take a look at my personal password situation for sites I use more frequently. I know that while some have a good strong password, many do not. For a long time, I was hesitant to create a bunch of passwords that I wouldn’t remember.

A password manager can remember all of them for me and keep them secure. It’s just a matter of setting aside some time to get started. I love this quote from Wired magazine:

Password managers are the vegetables of the internet. We know they’re good for us, but most of us are happier snacking on the password equivalent of junk food. For nearly a decade, that’s been “123456” and “password”— the two most commonly used passwords on the web. The problem is, most of us don’t know what makes a good password and aren’t able to remember hundreds of them anyway.

We shared a Tip of the Month in 2023 about password managers. This is an updated version of that post. Hopefully it will inspire you (and me) to get our personal passwords in order!

What are password managers?

While different sites might operate in slightly different ways, a password manager generally keeps all your passwords in a “vault” which is accessible with a single sign-in. It adds a layer of security by generating secure passwords and keeping them safe and secure in a singular location. You can even add layers of security using two-factor authentication! These sites are wonderfully useful in taking the hassle out of creating and keeping track of all your important passwords.

What are some options?

• Dashlane

• Bitwarden

• 1Password

• NordPass

How does it work?

• You create an account with a login and “master password”. Most applications have a free options for personal use. You can add features by paying a small amount each month.

• Then the manager can autofill your other passwords directly on your phone or computer.

• You can create folders to categorize and keep track of all passwords in one secure location

• The “generate password” feature can be used any time you need a new, secure password and it will save that information into your vault

What about using the password manager on your web browser?

Most web browsers (Google, Firefox, Safari) have a simple password manager. This article from Consumer Reports shares that this option is a better one than reusing the same weak password over and over. However, there are added benefits to using a separate password manager, including additional layers of security, shared access with other people in your family, and the ability to access your passwords no matter which internet browser you’re using.

Ways to make the most of password managers:

• Use shared folders. Depending on the subscription, you may have the ability to share your vault folders with another trusted contact or family member, which is great for families who share login information.

• Keep your master password somewhere secure. This could be somewhere in your physical files, or written into your estate documents in case someone needs to access your information in an emergency.

• Autofill is your friend. This feature is very useful for saving time when logging into different sites.

• Consider using it to store other information. Many password managers also give you the ability to store other information you’d like to keep secure, such as notes, copies of important documents, or copies of your passport or I.D.

Want more information?

We use Dashlane at our office, but any one of the services listed above has plenty of resources and guides that can teach you how to make the most of your password manager. The Wired article linked above does a nice job of highlighting the pros and cons of the different applications. If you have any questions or would like to know more please reach out to our office via phone or email.

This post was originally authored by Brogan McKay.

Books on Personal Finance: Bluestem Recommendations

Here at Bluestem we relish the opportunity to guide you in all of your financial endeavors, and share our knowledge with you. If you’ve ever felt compelled to explore topics related to personal finance on your own, we can help with that too! Here is a list of recommendations for some additional reading.

Money and Happiness: A Guide to Living the Good Life by Laura Rowley
Explores the connection between financial well-being and happiness, offering practical advice for aligning your money with your values.

The Behavior Gap: Simple Ways to Stop Doing Dumb Things with Money by Carl Richards
Uses simple sketches and stories to highlight common financial mistakes and how to avoid them by understanding our own behavior.

Happy Money: The Science of Happier Spending by Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton
Reveals how thoughtful spending — on experiences, others, and time — can lead to greater happiness and life satisfaction.

The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness by Morgan Housel
Blends storytelling and behavioral science to show how our emotions and experiences shape financial decisions more than logic.

Why Smart People Do Stupid Things With Money: Overcoming Financial Dysfunction by Bert Whitehead
Identifies financial personality types and offers tailored strategies to overcome money-related blind spots and build lasting wealth.

The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko
Uncovers the surprising habits of America’s wealthy, emphasizing frugality, discipline, and long-term planning over flashy lifestyles.

A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Best Investment Guide That Money Can Buy by Burton G. Malkiel
Offers a broad overview of investment strategies and market theory, encouraging informed, long-term investing over speculation.

The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns by John C. Bogle
A timeless classic that champions the power of low-cost index funds, offering a clear and compelling roadmap for building long-term wealth through simple, disciplined investing.

Giving to Improve Quality of Life for All in East Central Illinois: An Interview with Allison Winter

The Community Foundation of East Central Illinois  (CFECI) “is a publicly supported 501(c)(3) tax-exempt philanthropic organization created in 1972 to encourage and receive contributions establishing endowments for the long-term benefit of east Central Illinois.” They have distributed nearly $16 million to nonprofit organizations in their service area, and they also nurture those organizations through their Center for Nonprofit Excellence and Community Solutions Incubator. President and CEO AlIison Winter came on board in January, having previously worked sales as well as fundraising for The Grainger College of Engineering, and more recently the College of ACES.

With many of our clients thinking about how giving figures into their financial picture, I reached out to Winter to learn more about how CFECI works with potential donors, and financial advisors, to create legacies and address needs in our community. With the passing of the Illinois Gives Tax Credit Act earlier this year, there is a greater incentive to consider establishing an endowed fund with a community foundation, as it provides a 25% State of Illinois tax credit to donors who do just that. The credit taxes effect on January 1st, 2025, and sunsets after five years. You can read more about this at the CFECI website.

Can you give an overview of the mission of CFECI?

Allison Winter: Our mission is to improve the quality of life for all in Central Illinois, and we do that through a diverse, equitable, and inclusive lens. I get to connect donors with their passions and help them create the impact they want to have. We are incredibly donor-centric and focused on making the experience a positive one! We’re able to be that hub of philanthropy and act as a concierge to help donors identify local nonprofits working in our community. All the fees we incur go directly back into the nonprofits across our 9-county service area. We further support our nonprofit partners by hosting training opportunities for Executive Directors and their boards. We host the Community Solutions Incubator to support new and emerging nonprofits. We also provide board training. All of the programs we offer through our Center for Nonprofit Excellence are free to attend, and we are only able to do this because of the generosity of donors in our community.

It is exciting for us to be able to help donors identify what causes and issues are important to them and help find where they can create that impact through their personal giving. Donors might do that through planned giving of assets, through appreciated stock, or through creating a donor advised fund.  

If someone comes to you, and is interested in setting up some sort of planning giving, what is that conversation like? How do you work with a potential donor to figure out what makes the most sense for them?

Winter: I ask them who they are, what they do, their values, what types of philanthropy they like to support, and who helps to make these decisions. Usually, people who come in have been giving or volunteering in some capacity. They might have an idea in their mind of an area that is particularly meaningful to them — maybe it’s supporting a student going to college or creating a safe location for folks seeking shelter from domestic abuse or maybe it’s supporting environmental causes or improving local parks. The beauty of CFECI is that we can distribute to ANY nonprofit. We walk through the type of impact a donor wants to create and the process for making it a sustainable impact in perpetuity.

Many times, folks think only of the cash they have in the bank. But we know from research across industry that a person’s wealth is only about 10% cash. So, we talk holistically about assets, such as appreciated stock coming in or property they’ve inherited. Maybe they are coming up on a mile marker birthday — like 70 ½ — and it’s time to think about turning a required minimum distribution into a charitable distribution.

There are lots of ways to have these conversations around philanthropy and creating impact. It takes time, and it’s the donor’s timeline, not mine! That’s important for people to know — again, we are donor-centric. We want to partner with their wealth management person, their accountant, their estate planning attorney and make sure that together we’re creating a gift that makes sense in terms of amount, asset being used to fund the gift, and timing for each individual’s unique circumstance. This is one of the biggest investments a person and their family makes, beyond buying a home and their car. We are here to walk alongside them as they make these decisions to create their legacy.

How do you work with financial advisors and wealth managers to accomplish your donors’ goals?

Winter: We love working with financial advisors and wealth managers. In my role, I get to help donors dream about the change they want to see in the community. As I mentioned, many times a donor is thinking only of their cash in the bank. Our professional wealth advisors know the full scope of their clients’ assets and can help them choose the asset that makes the most sense for the impact their client wants to create. Should we set up a donor advised fund? Should we fund this through appreciated stock and avoid capital gains tax? Should we donate some of the farmland or a different residence? It’s an awesome partnership to be invited to brainstorm together with the donor and their advisor to raise the quality of life across East Central Illinois.

Again, we think a lot about the impact you want to have. Let’s say your someone who’s given to the United Way annual campaign — it’s been taken out of your paycheck for years and you’ve been a volunteer. You want to make sure that you can continue to give to this organization, but now that you’re retired, you aren’t giving directly through the workplace campaign as you once did. What other ways can we help you create that impact now that you’re in a new phase of life? We might think about something that generates income in perpetuity through creating endowed funds, which will last and leave a legacy in the community. It generates renewable income that will grow over time, and you’ll know that the people served by our United Way will continue to receive your support even after you are gone. That’s how we talk through it. We work a little bit backwards. Yes, you can set up a fund for this amount, or are you thinking about something larger? How can we get there together?

Is there a “right” time for someone to start thinking about these things?

Winter: It’s always a good time to think about it! I talk about it all the time because I don’t know when the right time is going to be for it to land with you. We know people tend to change their beneficiaries and estate plans when there’s a life change happening: babies are born, loved ones pass away, etc. These are big life changes and often folks need to recalibrate their intentions. It can feel like an uncomfortable and taboo topic, but it’s one of the things we know for certain in life. And while you’re alive, you get to decide where your money goes — which people and organizations are going to receive those gifts. You worked a long time and it’s your legacy to create. We are here to help talk through how to create impact in your community in a long-term, sustainable way for years

You can learn more about the work of Community Foundation of East Central Illinois and ways to give through their organization at their website.