A New Year And A New Financial Plan
Barry Waxller
>From a financial perspective, live is all about planning for tomorrow today. Such a naked statement sounds good, but life can get busy and sometimes today ends with much undone.
Financial issues tend to fall through the cracks of our lives because there simply isn't sufficent time to sit down, take a deep breath and figure them out. Ah, but there is. The last week of each year is a lull, which means you need to get cracking.
Getting your financial life in order is all about being organized and updated. Organization is a subject we'll leave for another time, but updating your personal profile is something people consistently fail to do.
Just what is updating? Well, it is a personal profile you create for yourself from a financial perspective. You look at issues such as your savings, debt, credit, life insurance, retirement funding and so on.
The big question is how have things changed in the last calendar year? Now, how do those changes translate to your current financial profile? If you don't look back each year, you can quickly find your financial situation is severely outdated.
Don't get caught up in analyzing minor changes. We are talking about big things like getting married, changing a job or having a child. A new addition to the family, in particular, can be a slap in the financial face.
The most obvious issue is your monthly cash flow. You have one more mouth to provide for and handle on a daily basis. Do you have room in the house for them? Do you need a new car or will you have room for your current family plus one?
Ah, but what about the long term? With a newborn, you need to consider how you will put them through college. What about life insurance in case something happens to you? You should have a will and trust. Now is a good time to update them.
Expanding your family is an obvious, if rather common, example. Plenty of other events, however, can have the same impact. What if you changed jobs? What if a family member is hurt? What if your parents move in with you?
At the end of the day, there is only one person responsible for your financial planning. Yes, you are that person. The end of the year is a good time to review your planning. You can do it during other times, but make sure to do it at least once a year.
Barry Waxler is a http://www.ufcamerica.com/ financial advisor with UFCAmerica.com. This and other http://www.uberarticles.com/?id=26969&b=79 unique content 'year' articles are available with free reprint rights.
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