It’s helpful to stay on top of our physical health: exercise, eat right, get our annual physicals. But many of us tend to neglect our financial fitness. This is especially an issue for women because they face unique challenges, including longer life spans, a tendency to spend less time in the workforce, and lower overall wages. Because of this, it is critical for women to take an active role in staying just as financially fit as they do physically fit.
Perform a Wealth Health Check-Up
Oftentimes, the unknown is the scariest part of finances. Simply doing a review of all of your cash, assets, and insurance can help you better understand your financial situation. Understanding where you are today is the key foundation for setting goals for where you want to be in the future.
Have a Plan
Just like a diet or exercise routine, your financial goal can fail without a plan. Creating a plan can sometimes feel daunting. After all, it’s making assumptions about the future! Understand that a plan is more of an ever-changing blueprint that is meant to serve as a guide on your journey, and it can make the planning process much easier.
Ask For Help
Despite the long-term return of nearly 10 percent, the markets historically decline an average of 15 percent once every three years. While such periodic ebbs and flows of the business cycle are common and should come as no surprise, it’s clear that most individual investors are caught off guard. The average individual investor likely doesn’t have the time, experience, or desire to succeed on their own. Further, we tend to be our own worst enemies when presented with the complex and often counter-intuitive decisions required to make the necessary adjustments. That’s why clients of SignatureFD partner with us to manage the ongoing planning process, relying on our professional guidance to make appropriate course corrections, as needed.
Speak Up! Have Financial Conversations With Your Significant Other
Talking about money can be challenging whether you’re in a new relationship or a long-term union. Even if you aren’t the one who meets with the financial adviser or pays the bills, it’s still important to understand how the family financed are managed. Try to participate in financial decision-making whenever possible. If you are the financially dominant spouse, it’s vital that you encourage input from your partner to get new ideas and a fresh perspective. Healthy financial conversations will benefit everyone involved, both financially and emotionally.
Women have a lot of things on their plates – family responsibilities, career, and taking care of themselves. As a result, it’s far too easy to let the important task of staying financially fit slip through the cracks. But, when you neglect your finances, you put your entire future at risk. By taking these simple steps now, you can gain clarity, confidence, and a clean bill of “wealth health.”
