Even in the best of times, life is constantly changing. New jobs, marriage, kids, your first home – all require a fresh look at your financial plans. During uncertain periods, an annual review with a financial planner becomes even more essential.
An annual review gives you and your financial professional the opportunity to reassess your objectives, tweak your investment strategies, and ensure your money is working hard for you. If you let your plans slide, you risk letting small issues mushroom into major ones.
New priorities shouldn’t threaten your long-term wealth. Marriage and kids change everything. Suddenly, you need to worry about saving for college and buying your own home. With these pressures, it’s all too easy to underfund your retirement. That’s a big mistake because time is your biggest ally when building your retirement nest egg. Your financial plan must balance these competing priorities while bearing in mind that you don’t want to saddle your children with supporting you in your senior years.
Investments need careful management. An annual review is a great time to evaluate your investment portfolio. You want to know whether your strategy and selections provided you the performance you sought. Perhaps your investments are insufficiently diversified, or your asset allocations compromised your returns. Maybe one of your mutual funds has changed its focus or management. Or it might be the right time to harvest and reallocate some of your investment gains. Your annual review can help ensure your investments are up to date and properly targeted.
New circumstances can mean higher taxes. When you were single, you paid taxes on your one income. If you get married, you may become a two-earner household. And new jobs can often mean higher salaries. If you started your own business, a successful run can significantly increase your taxes. Your financial professional can look for ways to reduce your tax bite and help you keep more of your money as your life evolves.
Insurance plans should be kept up to date. College students have many things on their minds, but we’d venture to guess that these usually do not include insurance. Now you have a growing family and more assets to protect. An annual evaluation of your and your family’s needs will help ensure you have the optimal amount of coverage for at least the year ahead. With the proper insurance, you can protect against sudden health expenses or significant income loss. Plus, new ideas in the insurance industry are constantly yielding different policies that may save you money while providing similar or potentially better coverage.
Embrace the changes. And make no mistake, life will change, sometimes in unexpected ways. Planning won’t prevent change, but planning can help prepare you and your family to meet its challenges. Contact me today to schedule your annual financial plan review. Let’s make sure that you’re in the optimal position to navigate the year ahead.
Wherever your goals take you, we can help you get there. We help our clients to navigate these and other important decisions that impact their economic future.
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Securities and advisory services offered through LPL Financial, a registered investment advisor, Member FINRA/SIPC. LPL Financial and GrandView Insurance & Financial Services LLC are separate entities.