Jan 11
5
Financial health after 50
Are you always amazed at how quickly the New Year arrives? I always have lots of great intentions, and then I get busy with the holidays, and its January 1st before I know it! One of the most important things to do before the New Year arrives is to set your financial goals. I find that if I set my goals before the New Year arrives, I feel like I am “ahead” somehow. The good news is that if you have not yet done your financial goals for 2011, another perfect time to do them is after your year-end statements arrive, or after you can log in online to your bank and brokerage accounts to get your end balances. You can then use these balances as an accurate starting point for the upcoming year.
You can make the creation of financial goals a fun process, because you are giving your money oversight the attention it deserves. If you regularly spend time on your money management, then it is probably growing in value. It’s always rewarding to see the numbers increasing when you revise your net worth statement or your own and owe statement, as I like to call it. Once you overcome the first challenge of finding a time and doing a little accounting required for money monitoring and projections, a welcome peace comes from feeling responsible and just being more in control of your money.
One of the most important things is that you start with where you are now. Don’t think about whether you had more money three years ago, if that’s the case; live in the present and focus on your goals for the future by being forward in your thinking. If you have been invested in the stock market during 2010, the great news is that your account values have probably increased. Put some realistic projections to those numbers with your money invested to the best of your ability, whether that involves hiring the right fund manager or financial advisor, or implementing a simple index fund strategy yourself.
Perhaps 2011 will be the year you finally start your own business or begin investing in real estate. (If the mention of a particular type of investment brings about feelings of hate, then it could be time to take another look at investing in it!) Explore your investment options, and put some of your capital to your ideas on paper. Be bold in your expectations for 2011. Most importantly, be sure to look at your big money picture; write out a specific plan to do and learn what you need to reach your money goals, and then make it happen.
