4 Pillars You Need for a Strong Financial Future
We all want to provide ourselves and our families with a financially secure future. But, it’s not always clear what the best way is to get there.
If you’re looking to bring your family financial security, here are the 4 pillars you need for a strong financial future.
(1) Budget
We all know we need to make a budget for our household. And most of us dread it.
Budgeting isn’t as scary as we can make it out to be. Simply, a budget is a list of your income minus your expenses. Where things can get sticky sometimes, is making sure that we’re bringing in more than we’re spending.
A budget is a living, breathing thing. It will change often, especially on birthday months or holidays. That’s the beauty of it. It is yours and yours alone to adjust and manage to decide what works best for your situation.
The best way to stay on budget is to write it out.
Start with your income, then deduct your necessary expenses. Make sure to allot at least 10% of your income each month to savings. Then, look at your additional expenses. Trim where you can and need to.
The more you budget, the easier it gets. The hardest part is getting started. Sit down with your bank statements and flush out your budget tonight.
(2) Insurance
You may have heard from naysayers who state otherwise, but insurance is a necessary product to protect your families and your finances.
There are many different types of insurance- life, home, auto, health, and disability to name a few. If something happens to you where you are disabled, or die, and you cannot contribute to your family’s income, your family will struggle. Do you want to do that to them?
At a minimum, get a small life insurance and disability insurance policy. And, always insure your home, auto, and health. The risks of not having insurance far outweigh the money you might save if you buy it and wind up not using it.
(3) Estate Planning
Estate planning is a term that includes planning for controlling who gets your assets and when after you die, and who can help you manage your affairs if you are unable to do so.
Many people don’t realize the consequences of not making a plan and letting the government decide what happens to you and your money.
For instance, in Oklahoma, if a spouse passes away with property only in his or her name without an estate plan, that property does not go to the surviving spouse. There are a lot of different scenarios, but the spouse could end up with up to 50% of the asset, and maybe the possibility to live in the home for life–depending on the circumstances.
We have also seen families where a stepparent raised a child from birth and considered that child their own. The stepparent dies and everyone knew they wanted to leave property to the stepchild, but because they never adopted the child, and didn’t make a plan, the child got nothing.
If you tell your family your wishes, and don’t have it in writing, that’s not enough. If you’re in a second marriage, are married to someone who has children with someone else, have children you want to disinherit, have specific items you want to go to certain people, or if you just want to save yourself and your family time and money, you need an estate plan.
Moreover, if your health deteriorates for any reason to where you cannot make decisions for yourself and you do not have a Durable Power of Attorney, your family will have to spend time and money to go to Court and have someone named to manage your assets and healthcare. Find out what to look for to decide if you need Guardianship over a loved one here.
Make a plan today. We’ll help you make it easy.
(4) Plan for Retirement
The average retirement savings in the U.S. for a 55 year old is $104,000. Studies show that those who wish to retire at 65, with an annual income of $65,000, need $1.6 million in retirement savings. That’s a pretty big gap.
The earlier you start with retirement savings, the better it is for you in the long run. Start now, start today, start with what you can.
Reach out to a trusted financial advisor to get your retirement plans in place. We even know a few who’ll help you with a budget. Call us for referrals.