Managing your finances likely isn’t the most exciting task on your to-do list, but it’s crucial if you want to reach all your financial goals and set yourself up for long-term success.”
You may be saving for retirement, paying down debt or simply budgeting for your everyday expenses. Whatever your goal is, it’s critical to have a plan in place. Some planning now can go a long way in making sure your finances are as healthy as possible. Without any type of plan, you’re just blindly throwing your money around and hoping for the best.
Motley Fool’s recent article entitled “A Whopping Number of Older Adults May Be Headed Toward a Financial Disaster” says that millions of older adults are making a critical mistake as they plan for the future. If they don’t make any changes soon, it could be extremely expensive.
More than one-third (34%) of baby boomers admit that they haven’t conducted any financial planning whatsoever in the last two years, according to the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors. Therefore, they haven’t planned for retirement, managed a budget, set any goals, reviewed their investments, considered their insurance needs, or done any tax or estate planning. It’s not just baby boomers who aren’t planning. Almost a quarter (24%) of Gen Xers also say they haven’t done any financial planning over the past two years. The generations most likely to have thought about the future are the millennial generation and Gen Z – only 16% and 15%, respectively, said that they haven’t done any recent financial planning.
While all of us should be thinking about our future plans, it’s even more essential for older Americans to focus on their finances. If you’re close to retirement age and haven’t reviewed your investments or thought about your retirement plan recently, you’ll have a hard time knowing if you’re on track. The longer you wait to know if you’re off track, the more difficult it’ll be to make changes and to catch up.
Baby boomers should have plans in place. Review your insurance and make an estate plan to be certain that your family is protected if something happens to you. Look at your plans regularly to make sure everything is up to date.
The first part of creating a financial plan is to set goals, like preparing for retirement, paying down your debt, or creating an emergency fund. Next, examine your money situation to find extra cash to put toward those goals. Begin monitoring your spending to get a good idea of just where your money is going every month. It’s a lot harder to stay on a budget and save more, if you don’t know how much you’re spending. Once you get into the habit of tracking your spending, it’ll be easier to discover parts of your budget to cut back. You can start reallocating that money toward your financial goals.
You should also remember that you’ll need to review your plan regularly to make adjustments when needed. This is especially vital when saving for retirement, because there many factors to consider as you’re saving. At least once a year, check that your retirement savings goal is still accurate, and decide whether your current savings are on track to reach that goal. Take a look at your investments to see if your asset allocation is still aligned with your risk tolerance.
Reference: Motley Fool (Feb. 8, 2020) “A Whopping Number of Older Adults May Be Headed Toward a Financial Disaster”