Figuring out how to reach your financial goals takes a lot of planning. This thought may be daunting, but thinking about your goals in the same way you would map out a road trip can make planning easier. Now it sounds a little more fun (Florida? The East Coast?) and you can visualize your financial goals with a clear start and destination. Use these tips to ensure a smooth journey for each of your goals, and get on the right road to reaching them. 

Set yourself up for financial success in 2017 with this exercise. 

• Define your financial goals or check your progress on existing goals. What are you saving towards and what are your timelines?
• Find out how much you need to save each year to reach those goals. If you need help, work with an advisor and don't hesitate to ask them the right questions. 

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Are credit cards with annual fees worth it? That’s a common question people ask when they’re applying for a new card. Psychologically, for many of us, it doesn’t make sense to pay a fee for a credit card. However, when you look at it from a pure financial point of view, credit cards with an annual fee may very well be worth it.

Risk plays a big part in your investment plan. Whether you opt for a more conservative route, or prefer a high-risk, high-growth approach, understanding how risk fits into your portfolio is essential in creating a plan that works for your goals.

It seems as though the first thing on everyone's mind when thinking about January 2017 is the inauguration of Donald Trump and the effect his first few weeks in office have already made globally. Trump's 17 executive orders have stirred reactions which have lifted the Dow Jones Index past 20,000 for the first time, and have simultaneously launched more protests in two weeks than it seems possible to count. Where will this new source of volatility lead us, and what does the resulting unpredictability really mean for your portfolio?