New Year, New You: Top tips for your financial life
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Time to take inventory of your financial life. Where are you and where do you want to be?
? Write it down! Share your financial goals on social media, let your network hold you accountable
? Invest in Yourself! Learning, education, new skills, wealth management books and magazines
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}? Pay down your credit card debt, the fed just increased interest rates which means higher interest. Make it a goal to pay them off in full each month
? Start automatic savings and establish an emergency fund. Start with Small Goals $25 per week, 100 a month, 1200 a year
? Make a list of financial contacts and accounts in case of emergency
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}? Start with a fresh budget
o Know what's coming in and going out
o You can do this with mint.com or on a napkin
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}? Calculate your Net Worth
o It is your assets minus your liabilities
o Remember your net worth should not equal your self-worth, make it a goal to grow it every year
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}? Invest in your 401k
o Start with what your company matches, they now have automatically opt in to help us save better
o Max out if you can, Its $18,000 same as last year plus $6,000 catch up
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}o Increase it when you get a raise, you can set it now for when it happens later in the year
o Rebalance Now, it has been a year with highs and lows so your account will be out of balance
? Have a Save Day, call all your current bills and see if you can lower them by asking for discounts, shop around for health insurance which is a large percentage of most budgets
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}? Manage your credit
o Any money spent on late fees is wasted money, late payments can hurt your credit score, tools at credit karma and Experian credit chat to raise your scores
? Evaluate your Life Insurance, do you have enough?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}? Tax Time is right around the corner, this is the perfect time to get your finances in order to save you time for taxes
? If you are taking RMD’s Required Minimum Distributions and don’t need them, set up a QCD Qualified Charitable Distribution. The charity wins and you lower your taxable income
? Visit a Pro, Meet with a Certified Financial Planner for an annual checkup or a financial plan at letsmakeaplan.org
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Written by Cary Carbonaro, MBA, CFP®
Managing Director, United Capital, CFP Board Ambassador
Author of the Best Selling Wealth Management book, “The Money Queen’s Guide For Woman Who Want to Build Wealth and Banish Fear”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}www.moneyqueenguide.com