When most of us hear the term finance and financial planning, we tend to tune out because most of what financial gurus discuss is well beyond our comprehension. I couldn’t tell you the first thing about investment opportunities, saving for retirement, or even the best ways to ensure that your savings account returns the highest percentage of interest with the smallest penalty when withdrawn. Managing my finances normally doesn’t go beyond paying my bills each month and attempting to keep current on my financial obligations.
Thankfully, financial planning can be easier than what you might think. No matter your age, your assets, or stage in life, the best thing you can do is start planning your financial strategy now. More than likely you are already doing some of the things that the professionals would say to do, so let’s take a look at some of the simple steps you can take towards a financially secure future.
As I mentioned earlier, it’s never too early nor too late to do something about your finances. Sometimes people put things off until they are near their retirement age, and they decide that it’s not worth it to take the time to start saving. However, with the use of a simple retirement calculator, you can find out exactly what you need to do to prepare for retirement. But none of that will be possible if you don’t start actually planning now.
This one is never any fun, and usually I don’t go through the entire process of budgeting as well as I should. But in order to ensure that you regularly save that money and even pay off your credit card debt and keep current on all your other financial obligations, it is advised that you should at least keep some kind of budget. Once you invest the time and resources that are available online, you might find that making a budget is easier and more beneficial than you thought.
This is where you may wish to call in the professionals. Everywhere you turn in today’s society, people want to sell you insurance for everything imaginable. While there is quality insurance that will aid you in your quest for financial security, there are also a lot of charlatans out there who will attempt to oversell the kind of insurance you truly don’t need. Again, it would be worthwhile to examine your options, and don’t ever be afraid to reach out to the professionals for advice. Just make sure you’ve done your homework ahead of time.
This is something I hadn’t considered, but it makes perfect sense. So many of us don’t want to consider what will happen when we ultimately breathe our last and leave this world. The biggest issue we need to think about is what will happen to our loved ones after we are gone. Who will get that money that we have saved so painstakingly? The last thing we want to have happen is for there to be infighting amongst the family members or lengthy course cases that can devour all the money you’ve worked so hard to save. It is in the best interests of everyone to ensure that you draw up a will that is properly documented and expresses your wishes concerning your finances. Again, it is best to examine all your options, and seeing a lawyer to ensure that you have done everything properly is another wise investment on your part.
“Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.”— Franz KafkaRuth is an inspirational entertainment journalist who instinctively sees the best in all and seeks to share universal beauty, love and positivity. She is an artist who leads with her heart and gives readers a glimpse of the best of this world through the masterful use of the written word.Ruth was born in Tacoma, Washington but now calls Yelm, Washington her home. She lives on five acres with her parents, a dog, two miniature goats, cats and a teenage daughter who is a dynamic visual artist herself. Ruth interviews fellow artists both inside and outside of the film/television industry. At the core of all she does is the strength of her faith.
Tags:advice, finance, money
Permanent Link
Related Articles
2
0 Comments
Add comment
Leave a Reply
Silver Dagger Book Tours: “None Of Our Hands Are Clean” by Ralph Thompson, Jr. Book Tour/Giveaway
The Rule of 72 is a calculation that estimates the number of years it takes to double your money at a specified rate of return. If, for example, your account earns 4 percent, divide 72 by 4 to get the number of years it will take for your money to double.
You must save at least around 10% of your income every month. Holding the funds and investing them in liquid funds will help you. Liquid funds are a type of debt mutual fund that invests money in fixed income instruments like FDs, paper, deposit certificate, etc.
Implementing the Financial Planning Recommendation(s)—Often the most difficult step, this requires the client to have the desire and discipline to put the plan into action with the support of their financial planner.
The key questions financial planning must answer are: What specific assets must the firm obtain in order to achieve its goals?, How much additional financing will the firm need to acquire these assets?, How much financing will the firm be able to generate internally (through additional earnings), and how much must it ...
To turn $5,000 into more money, explore various investment avenues like the stock market, real estate or a high-yield savings account for lower-risk growth. Investing in a small business or startup could also provide significant returns if the business is successful.
1 – Never lose money. Let's kick it off with some timeless advice from legendary investor Warren Buffett, who said “Rule No. 1 is never lose money. Rule No. 2 is never forget Rule No.
AlphaCore Wealth Planner Troy Owens was recently featured in U.S. News & World Report's latest article on retirement planning and the concept of the 25x rule, which involves saving an amount equal to 25 times your projected annual retirement expenses.
Lacking a plan is the most significant mistake you can make. Without one, you're essentially navigating without direction, relying on luck. A financial plan allows you to monitor your earnings and spending, establish objectives, and make well-informed financial choices.
Bill Sharpe famously said that decumulation is the “nastiest, hardest problem in finance”, and he is right. What's less well-known is Bill Sharpe's proposed solution to this problem, which he called the “lock-box approach”.
Generally, our research shows that candidates' CFA Level 1 hardest topics are Financial Statement Analysis, Fixed Income, Quantitative Methods, Derivatives and Economics. Meanwhile, CFA Level 2 most difficult topics are typically Financial Statement Analysis, Portfolio Management, Ethics and Derivatives.
It might come as a surprise, but your financial professional—whether they're a banker, planner or advisor—wants to know more about you than how much money you can invest. They can best help you achieve your goals when they know more about your job, your family and your passions.
What are the three basic questions addressed by the study of finance? What long-term investments should the firm undertake? How should the firm raise money to fund these decisions? How can the firm best manage its cash flows as they arise in its day-to-day operations?
The main elements of a financial plan include a retirement strategy, a risk management plan, a long-term investment plan, a tax reduction strategy, and an estate plan.
Finance experts advise that individual finance planning should be guided by three principles: prioritizing, appraisal and restraint. Understanding these concepts is the key to putting your personal finances on track.
As owners of FP&A processes, today's accounting teams must be well-versed in the four C's of financial planning: context, collaboration, continuity, and communication. Today, financial planning and budgeting are more important than ever.
If you're saving 20% – 30% of your pre-retirement income, then the 80% income-replacement rule is a good place to start. Otherwise, it's safer to aim at covering 100% of your pre-retirement income, minus whatever you're saving for retirement. As with any general rule, there are plenty of exceptions.
For example, the Rule of 72 states that $1 invested at an annual fixed interest rate of 10% would take 7.2 years ((72 ÷ 10) = 7.2) to grow to $2. In reality, a 10% investment will take 7.3 years to double (1.107.3 = 2). The Rule of 72 is reasonably accurate for low rates of return.
The rule of 72 is only an approximation that is accurate for a range of interest rate (from 6% to 10%). Outside that range the error will vary from 2.4% to 14.0%. It turns out that for every three percentage points away from 8% the value 72 could be adjusted by 1.
Introduction: My name is Pres. Carey Rath, I am a faithful, funny, vast, joyous, lively, brave, glamorous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
