You have identified your financial goals for the long term, and like any journey you take, you plan carefully to make sure you have mapped out the best path to take. Along the way, however, there are myriad factors and circumstances that can cause you to stray off course. This month's InFocus offers reminders and resources of a few simple -- but not always easy -- financial-planning steps to take to help you ultimately end up where you want to be.
WALK WITH SOMEONE YOU TRUST
Tim Maurer of the BAM ALLIANCE was recently watching a football game when a commercial caught his eye. It showed how a financial company could significantly better the lives of its clients in the here and now. The spot was slick, powerful and, to Maurer, deceptive.
He writes: "For years, household-name financial companies have been attempting to convince us through commercial messaging that their primary goal is to improve our lives ... when the evidence seems to suggest the lives they first seek to improve are their own."
Maurer says investors can two-step their way through this type of financial deception and have
their interests served first by 1) only working with a full-time fiduciary and 2) only working with an advisor who puts clients at the center of the planning process.
Many investors had grown comfortable following a steady stream of market highs
and an extended stretch of calmness. Early February, however, brought a harsh reminder that markets go up
and down, as the Dow Jones industrial average suffered a historic drop.
Tim Maurer noticed how many Wall Street observers quickly picked up their old habit of making bold predictions about where the market would go next, increasing anxiety among investors. When considering this drastic drop and the reaction to it, Maurer wrote, "I can say with confidence one of the very few market predictions I (or anybody, for that matter) can responsibly make: The market is more likely to be volatile than not."
He offers more thoughts on why it's prudent to stick to your plan during down times and also shares past articles he's written on volatility that carry still-applicable messages.
As you travel through life, unfortunate events are inevitable. Some can even be catastrophic and have major repercussions to you and those you cherish most. Life Happens is a nonprofit organization that doesn't endorse any insurance company, product or advisor. Instead, its mission is to raise awareness about the importance of life, disability and long-term-care insurance, and increase the preparedness for achieving an appropriate amount of coverage.
To help educate you, Life Happens offers a collection of insurance-related tools:
Primers on the different types of coverage and considerations for coverage during different stages of life
Calculators to help you determine appropriate levels of coverage and to estimate your family's expenses in the event of your death
Videos of people sharing their stories of how different types of coverage helped them when they needed it most
and an extended stretch of calmness. Early February, however, brought a harsh reminder that markets go up
and down, as the Dow Jones industrial average suffered a historic drop.
As you travel through life, unfortunate events are inevitable. Some can even be catastrophic and have major repercussions to you and those you cherish most. Life Happens is a nonprofit organization that doesn't endorse any insurance company, product or advisor. Instead, its mission is to raise awareness about the importance of life, disability and long-term-care insurance, and increase the preparedness for achieving an appropriate amount of coverage.