Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Balancing Life Financially: Excellent Payout!

As the holiday shopping season is officially underway, what better time to think about – and act on – balancing your life financially. When I was a newlywed, my oh-so-financially-astute husband had a huge shiver when I shared my financial knowledge. I drew upon my musician personality to make my financial decisions. Now it is a funny story to share in seminars, but looking in the rear view mirror, it was plain pitiful!

Through the years I have learned so much. And in my seminars, we address finances. Not the financial amount of dollars, but amount of knowledge. As I have often said, knowledge is power. Power enables us to balance our lives and career. Win-win-win!

So if you are looking for that knowledge, let's hit a few how-to points:

Step 1: Recognize your finances. Identify your accounts, where they are located and how much is in each account.

Step 2: Learn the basic terminology. What is a stock, bond, mutual fund, asset allocation, etc.

Step 3: Recognize where you are in your life, by age and circumstances. What is your tolerance for risk and your investment objective? Do you know where you want to be in five years? 25 years? Set your goals accordingly.

Step 4: Find a broker/investment professional you trust. Establish a relationship. It is important you feel comfortable and trustworthy of them, a person that is working on your behalf. One who you can ask questions and foster a process of learning.

Step 5: Meet with your personal advisor regularly to discuss changes as they occur, and adjust your plan if needed.

If you choose to do it yourself, there are oodles of free tools available to help you manage your accounts. Check with your bank on options they may offer or try a free online tool to help you see where your money is – and where it’s going.

The school of life is a continuous process. Remember that your finances are considered part of the “long haul.” Stay the course and down the road the payout can be very rewarding.