The One Person Who Can Help You Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions
When a new year begins, we all have good intentions. We think about ways to better ourselves and enjoy and cherish those close to us.
According to one survey, more than half of all Americans make New Year’s resolutions – and 42 percent of those are about money. At the same time, fewer than one in 10 successfully achieve them.
Why can’t we keep our promises to ourselves?
A big piece of it lies in the preparation: getting specific about goals, planning a path to reach them and budgeting for what it will take to execute. Planning with your friends and family can help because they provide more support and offer outside accountability. But as you talk with your confidants about how to build a “better you” for 2018, don’t leave out one very important member.
Your financial advisor.
A good advisor can look at your complete financial picture and figure out how to arrange the pieces to support your goals.
“I want to save more money in 2018.”
Like most things, step one to building more savings is to make a budget. You and your financial advisor can go over how much money you bring in each month and what bills eat it up. If you’re coming up too short for significant savings, look together at changes to other line items that can free up extra cash.
Could you consider a refinance to lower your mortgage costs? Is a salary increase possible this year, or maybe a bonus or incentive? If not, how can you adjust your expenses to free up more for savings? Is there a company match in your 401(k), and are you taking full advantage of it?
“I want to make a career change in 2018.”
Refreshing your resume and beefing up your LinkedIn profile are the easy parts of finding a new job. The hard part is planning for how the change will affect your family finances. Before you make the leap, meet with your financial advisor to look at a few key areas.
Review your nest egg savings to see if you have enough to hold you through a transition period and how that will affect your overall finances. Talk about what to do with the 401(k) at your previous company and options for rolling it over. And don’t forget insurance. If you and/or your family are on the company’s health plan, making a change could cost you more in monthly premiums.
“I want to buy a house in 2018.”
It’s an ambitious goal, but it’s achievable for those who make a specific plan and stick to it. Before you call a real estate agent, the first person you should speak with is a mortgage advisor. You don’t have to dive into rates and qualifications right away. Start with a full analysis of your financial picture. Can you put together the savings you need? What’s a realistic budget for both the down payment and monthly payments?
Once you have a budget and financial plan, then you can call an agent to start looking at the communities and square footage that fit your lifestyle.
Getting what you want out of 2018 doesn’t have to be a long shot. By consulting with your close friends, family and a trusted financial advisor, you can build the plans that will make you one of the few who achieve their resolutions.
Cameron Puckett is the office leader at Pinnacle’s Northshore office in Knoxville, TN. He can be reached at Cameron.Puckett@pnfp.com or by calling 865-602-5269.
