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Ah, holiday travel. It's both an exciting and crazy time to be hitting the road. While it's a fun thought to throw caution to the wind and catch the next flight out, making sure you're prepared – at least with the bare necessities – is generally a smart way to travel, especially now. And guess what? Ultimate holiday preparedness is just a few minutes away.
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There seems to be a common perception that tells us investing is only for those with large budgets. It tells us that to start investing, you need thousands of dollars parked in savings to have a chance of reaching your financial goals.
We’re here to tell you that you don’t need either of those things to open an investment account. All you need is a simple plan and the commitment to stick to it.
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Every so often, you’re going to make large purchases – not necessarily a home or car, but more along the lines of a television, computer, plane tickets, etc. Although many of these expenses can be anticipated, forking over a large amount of money upfront is understandably difficult for many people. So, how do you manage large purchases? The key is to ask yourself a series of questions before making your decision.
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.
For many, ringing in the new year represents goal setting and a new chance to revisit existing objectives.
Often, these goals can be achieved within the year, like traveling, completing a course, looking for a new job, or finding a new home.
Now that the New Year has come and gone, it's time to start thinking about how you are going to improve yourself in 2017. Maybe you want to return to a regular gym habit or start eating healthier, but have you considered making a commitment to improving your finances first?
I recently met with a friend who told me she got a performance bonus at work, and was wondering how she should invest it. I got the feeling she was expecting me to tell her which stocks to buy, and I think she was initially disappointed that I didn’t suggest a red hot IPO of a Silicon Valley tech company.
My friend isn’t the only one who has asked us this question. In fact, it’s quite common. So here's what I told her. It may have been a longer answer than what she expected, but she bought me a coffee and we had some time to chat. By the end of our conversation, she had a better understanding of how to invest smart, instead of how to simply pick popular stocks.
No matter what age you are, it's always a good idea to start investing. You will always benefit from putting money away, whether it's intended for a purchase that's a couple years away, or for your retirement forty years down the road. While it may be ideal to start saving for retirement early, there is no reason you can't start later in life and still maintain a good nest egg. On a similar note, putting money aside on a new-grad salary will benefit you in the long-term, no matter how much you have to start investing.
Being a first-time parent is an exciting time, and the nine months leading up to the birth of your first child are filled with preparations to make sure he or she will have everything they need once they arrive. A large part of this preparation is financial, and it requires some adjustments to your budget.