Providing objective financial planning and money management services conveniently online!
Getting your own personalized and objective financial plan is easier than you may think. With Plan & Act, the entire process is available conveniently online. Visit www.planandact.com to learn more and to start your financial plan today.
When you’re developing a financial plan, it’s important to remember that one size definitely doesn’t fit all. Different family and income situations require different strategies to reach your financial goals. Here are some factors to consider when developing a financial plan.
Age
If you are in your twenties or early thirties, you have more time to save for your dream, whether that means your perfect house, early retirement, or world travel. It is important to start planning your finances early, so your savings can grow as much as possible. People in their thirties, forties, and fifties will need to save more aggressively for what they want, but with careful budgeting and investment, it can still be done.
Income
Savers who earn less and have less money to spare will need to adjust their saving plans. It’s important to set aside as much as possible, but you still need food, clothes, and a place to live. You may want to consider higher-yield investments to increase your return or change your goals. If you have a more generous income, be careful not to spend it all on lattes and luxury cars. Establish a budget for yourself and stick to it.
Family
Families clearly have to budget differently than single people. Feeding, clothing, and caring for kids takes money, which can mean less saving. If you have kids, keep in mind that you may not be able to afford many unnecessary expenses. It is also important to start college funds for your children. Consider establishing CDs or investment accounts to fund your children’s future.
Though you can develop your own budget and savings plan, you should consult a financial planner before making any major decisions. He or she can help you decide how to allocate your funds to reach your goals. Plan & Act is an independent financial advising service. Let us help you make the most of your money. Contact us today at, (720) 897-7966.
Life insurance may not be a happy topic, but it is an important one. Too many of us put off buying life insurance that could ease the lives of our family members and business partners after our death.
As the insurance professional in this video explains, the three major questions to ask yourself about life insurance are:
For help answering these questions, talk to an insurance professional or financial planner. Plan & Act can help you get a handle on your financial future and plan for your family’s prosperity. To start growing your money to pay for retirement or to speak to one of our financial advisors, call us at (720) 897-7966, or for a free financial assessment, Like Us on Facebook.
Part of the Cambridge System of financial planning, the financial life cycle is divided into a series of stages based on your financial situation and progress in saving for retirement. These life stages usually correspond to certain age ranges, but don’t worry if your financial stage is out of sync with out your age. There is always time to save for retirement. Read on for information on determining your place in the financial life cycle.
Formation
During childhood, most people develop their fundamental beliefs about money. When your parents took you shopping, you learned that money can buy things like food and toys. Your parents may also have helped you save money. As a teenager, your first job taught you the importance of budgeting money you earn. These lessons become vital to later stages of financial life.
Accumulation
As a young adult, you are in the beginning of the accumulation stages. At first, despite any debt you may have, earning money makes you feel rich. Instead of spending the money, motivate yourself to start saving for retirement. During the accumulation stage, which lasts until about age 55, you should save as much as possible.
Conservation
When the income generated by your portfolio exceeds half your annual income, you have achieved financial independence. This is the time to make your portfolio more conservative to give yourself peace of mind. Your portfolio continues to generate income for you to live on in your retirement.
Distribution
In this final period of life, you have the opportunity to pass your wealth on to others, whether it be family, charities, or friends. As you reach your final years of life, you can direct how the money you have earned and invested will be distributed after your death.
No matter where you are in life, it is never too late to save for retirement. Financial planners are essential to this process. Plan and Act is a fee-only financial advising firm that earns money only through stewardship of your investments. To get started with your financial plan, call us at (720) 897-7966 or Like Us on Facebook for a FREE FINANCIAL ASSESMENT.
* Plan & Act is a registered Fiduciary Financial Advisor. This ensures the financial advice you receive from us is objective, unbiased, and protects your financial interests.
Well established now in your career or business with a family and home that are happy and comfortable, you can’t jeopardize any of this by not planning your finances. Financial security in the future requires careful thought and meticulous implementation now, so that your family and you are free from financial burden in the years to come.
At Plan & Act, our easy-to-use online financial planning system follows a tried and tested approach that has delivered great results for people just like you. Here’s a brief summary of just some of the ways that we can help:
· Value Based Life Planning - We’ll work with you to help create a context for your financial plan; we’ll get you started by listing your most important personal goals.
· Your Current Financial Status & Plan Summary - This involves implementing the core strategy of wealth conservation. We also recommend that over the next five years or so from the time you implement your financial plan, you must use the Net Worth, Income, Portfolio, Real Estate, and Amortization benchmarks to measure progress on your Wealth Conservation Plan.
· Cash Flows / Budgeting - We can brainstorm with you some realistic ways to reduce spending and increase saving so that you can ensure at least 10% of your gross income is saved for your future.
· Tax Planning - We can devise effective tax planning strategies to create opportunities for Roth Conversions. Our recommendation is to repeat the strategy that works for you until you have as much money as possible growing tax free and perhaps protected from creditors in Roth IRAs. If you do have any investments on which you are facing or have incurred capital losses, we’ll show you ways to liquidate them. In order to avoid the capital gains tax without using your harvested tax losses, we may advise that you strategically gift highly appreciated securities to charity or a to a family member who falls into a lower tax bracket.
· Functional Asset Allocation (FAA) - We’ll talk to you about your projected retirement income and help come up with a figure for how much you should maintain in your checking or savings accounts as cash reserves. You also need to account for an emergency fund. If there is a benefit in pulling some equity out of your home with a longer period fixed rate mortgage, we may help you work that out.
· Traditional Asset Allocation - How do you liquidate individual stocks in a tax efficient manner? We can show you. Also, think about building a bond ladder to fund any living expenses not covered by Social Security or other non-portfolio sources of income. Plan wisely for investing the equity allocation of your portfolio and buy interest-earning assets such as bonds and bond mutual funds inside your tax sheltered accounts where the gain will be tax deferred. Most of our customers in this wealth accumulation stage of life stand to gain from buying capital gain assets with the highest potential return, such as equities and equity mutual funds inside their Roth IRA accounts where the gains continue to grow tax-free. Of course, once you’ve maximized the capacity of Roth IRAs, you can buy capital gain assets in taxable brokerage accounts where they will be subject to lower capital gains rates and you will be able to control taxable events.
With all of this advice and professional financial planning assistance you should be in a very good position to visualize how your functional asset allocation and security selection will look when complete.
Take the first step towards your objective financial plan and investment advice—Like Us on Facebook and get your FREE Financial Assessment by the experts at Plan & Act. Our online financial planning tool is available to you for a low $199 only. If you are not completely satisfied with your personalized financial plan, your cost will be refunded in full.
* Plan & Act is a registered Fiduciary Financial Advisor. This ensures the financial advice you receive from us is objective, unbiased, and protects your financial interests.
|
|
|
