While it may not officially be spring yet, it’s not too early to begin a little “spring cleaning”. Oftentimes, individuals feel motivated to set goals at certain times of the year, like the New Year, a birthday, a new quarter, or the spring. This “fresh start” effect can have a measurable impact on people’s lives, so why not go beyond cleaning your home and set a new tradition by setting some healthy financial resolutions? Financial Fitness for Life has put together the following checklist for our employees to use as a Spring Financial Goal Checklist. Feel free to share our list with your clients and employees!
Here are some suggestions:
- Review your insurance coverage and see if you need more, less, or are happy with your service. Homeowners and Auto insurance are easy enough to check up on, and if your health and life insurance are offered through your employer, you can always log on to your provider’s website and double-check your coverage.
- Check to see that your beneficiaries are updated on your insurance policies, bank and investment accounts, and any other important documents.
- Consider going to IRS.gov and using the Tax Withholding Estimator to make sure you’ve selected the correct withholding amount; after all tax season is upon us!
- Ask your Financial Fitness Consultant about your risk tolerance and make sure that with recent market fluctuations, you’re properly invested according to your risk tolerance.
- Make sure that you are contributing to an emergency fund. Many of us are happy that we had an emergency fund during the recent ups and downs of the pandemic; it is always a good idea to have 3 to 6 months pay in either a savings account or other easily accessible bank account for emergencies, such as medical expenses or the temporary loss of employment.
- Plan for your future by either creating a will or establishing an estate plan. While an estate plan can cover situations both “now” and “later”, a will can be simple enough to direct the disbursement of assets and care for minor children in the event of your death. Some Employee Assistance Plans in benefits packages offer free legal resources that can help.
Whatever your financial goals for 2022 look like, having a plan for the year can help make your spring season (…and summer, fall, and winter) happy and successful!
John Poole, CRPC
[email protected]