Posts Taged financial-freedom

Finances and Fireworks: 5 Strategies to Help Preserve and Celebrate Your Financial Freedom

Your finances are probably one of the last places you want to experience fireworks—unless they are celebratory. With new year’s resolutions firmly in the rearview mirror, the summer months allow you to revisit your financial goals and evaluate your progress. This Independence Day may be a good time to take stock of your path toward financial independence with the help of these five tips.

Set Goals

If you do not already have a plan for where you would like to be in five years or more, now is the time to create one. If you are renting, do you want to own a home? Are you hoping to advance in your career or have more children? Having broad goals may give you something to work toward—and working backward from these goals may give you options for the direction you prefer.

Pay Off “Bad” Debt

Not all debt is created equal—and abiding by a strict debt-free lifestyle could leave you unable to purchase a home, go to college, or make other major expenses.

However, some debt—including most credit card debt and paycheck advance loans—comes with high-interest rates and strict repayment terms. The more you waste on interest, the less you have to pay the principal. Decreasing your interest payments may help you get ahead of this “bad” debt for good. For example, you may accelerate the payoff or transfer a balance from a high-interest card to a lower-interest card.

Automate Your Savings

One of the most solid pieces of financial advice is to “pay yourself first.” By having 401(k) or Health Savings Account funds automatically withdrawn from your paycheck before it even hits your bank account—or setting up an auto-transfer from checking to savings—you may adopt an “out of sight, out of mind” approach to your savings. Over time, you may be surprised at how quickly these funds accumulate when they are unavailable to spend in your checking account.

Balance Your Investment Portfolio

If it has been a while since you looked at your investments in detail, now may be a good time to evaluate them. As some investments increase in price while others may remain stable or even fall, your overall asset allocation may shift to favor those higher-priced assets.

Consider a sample portfolio of 50% U.S. large-cap stocks, 30% international, and 20% bonds. If international stocks have a particularly good year, they may make up 40 or 45% of your portfolio, allocating lower percentages to the other two components. For this example, selling some international stocks and buying more bonds or large-cap stocks may help rebalance your portfolio.

Educate Yourself

Financial practices, rules, and regulations are always changing—from individual retirement accounts (IRA) and 401(k) limits to your ability to deduct certain expenses. No one knows everything there is to know about personal finance. However, keeping abreast of major changes may give you the necessary insights.

Being informed may help you decide when to change your savings rate, rebalance your investments, take a risk on a rental property, or invest in your small business.

Important Disclosures:
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which investment(s) may be appropriate for you, consult your financial professional prior to investing.
Investing involves risks including possible loss of principal. No investment strategy or risk management technique can guarantee return or eliminate risk in all market environments.
Asset allocation does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss.
Rebalancing a portfolio may cause investors to incur tax liabilities and/or transaction costs and does not assure a profit or protect against a loss.
This article was prepared by WriterAccess.
LPL Tracking #1-05370157

Small Business Owners: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Financial Independence

Being a small business owner can be rewarding but also may bring a lot of stress. You may be experiencing the pressures of trying to grow your company while providing a solid future for your employees. On top of all that, you will also need to focus on building financial independence for yourself and for your business. There are many paths to financial independence; below are a few directions to get you started.

Optimize Your Current Assets

One of the first steps toward financial independence is optimizing your current assets. This could take the form of increasing the profitability of your business by increasing your marketing, reducing your current costs and expenses, finding ways to reduce your tax burden, or continuing your education. You will need to take an inventory of your current assets and expenses and develop a strategic plan to optimize these factors and help your company reach its potential.1

Pay Down Debt

There are two primary types of debt: productive and reductive. Productive debt is debt that helps nurture your financial growth and puts you on the path toward financial freedom. Reductive debt, on the other hand, is debt spent on items that will depreciate in value and not provide boosts to revenue or income. It is similar to credit card debt, and eliminating or at least reducing it can put you and your business on a path toward overall independence. Assess all of your debt and develop a plan to pay it down aggressively until it is eliminated.1

 

Beef Up Your Savings

Savings are vital for yourself and your business since they will help you build wealth and financially prepare you for unexpected expenses. One way to increase savings as a business owner is to take advantage of your company’s savings plans. This can include IRAs, 401ks, and health savings accounts. You may also want to look at the various investment options for your personal and company funds that can create long-term returns.2

 

Give Your Insurance the Once Over

While growing company assets is crucial to achieving solid financing, so is insuring them. Without proper insurance, you risk losing what you’ve gained through your hard work. Review your insurance policies to make sure that you not only have all of your assets covered but that you have proper coverage limits. Policies you should consider reviewing include life insurance, disability, business, long-term care, health, and property and liability coverage.2

Follow the above tips to put yourself on the path to financial independence. Assistance from a financial professional can assist you in your wealth management efforts and overall financial goals.

 

 

Important Disclosures:
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which investment(s) or insurance product(s) may be appropriate for you, consult your financial professional prior to investing or purchasing.
Investing involves risks including possible loss of principal.
All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however, LPL Financial makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy.
This article was prepared by WriterAccess.
LPL Tracking #1-05370165
Footnotes
1 “The 4 x 4 Financial Independence Plan for Entrepreneurs,” Entrepreneur.com, https://www.entrepreneur.com/leadership/the-4-x-4-financial-independence-plan-for-entrepreneurs/306064
2 “How Entrepreneurs Can Safeguard Their Financial Futures—And Work Toward Financial Freedom,” Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2023/02/14/how-entrepreneurs-can-safeguard-their-financial-futures-and-work-toward-financial-freedom/?sh=123c28f17a65

Let Freedom Ring! Simple Steps for Working Toward Financial Freedom

When it comes to talking about managing your finances, a popular term that often gets thrown around is “financial freedom”. But what exactly does this mean?

In general, those who refer to financial freedom might be talking about things like getting out of debt, setting aside money to reach financial goals, or building a cash flow that affords them the type of lifestyle that they desire. And while these are certainly financial benchmarks worth aspiring to, trying to achieve any one of these ideals without a solid plan in place can end in frustration and failure.

So, what are some of the steps that you can take to pursue financial freedom? Consider the following:

1. Clarify Your Desired Financial State

While the concept of financial freedom might not look the same to you as it does to your co-worker, sibling, or friend, it’s important to define exactly what it is that’ll help you to feel more in control of your financial situation. Then, you want to put a plan in place to pursue that goal.

For example, if your goal is to get out of debt and set aside a nest egg for yourself and your spouse, you will want to take steps to both pay off your debts AND build sustainable savings for future use. Often, you’ll be working toward multiple financial benchmarks that, when combined, represent financial freedom for yourself or your family.

2. Evaluate Your Lifestyle

Your lifestyle factors play into your financial health in more ways that you might think. While things like your credit score and spending habits are obviously influential, other aspects of your lifestyle, like your physical health and outlook on life, can have a big impact.

Ideally, you want to take stock of how your day-to-day activities, from your morning mocha to your weekend plans, make a difference in your spending habits and savings goals. You can take simple steps to save money on a daily basis, which can give you funds to pay back debt or save with.

Other steps, like making a dramatic lifestyle change to eat better and exercise daily for a healthier future, can take time and commitment, but may impact your financial plans by limiting the amount of money you anticipate to spend on health expenses into retirement. Even seemingly unrelated lifestyle adjustments can make a huge difference to your long-term plans.

3. Look into Your Investment Options

Since savings is often a component of working toward financial freedom, it’s essential to consider your savings options for addressing short- and long-term goals. For many individuals, an investment strategy is a solid way to work toward these goals.

A benefit of early investing is that you have the opportunity to capitalize on greater returns over time. The longer you wait for investment strategies to develop, the more they can work toward your long-term savings goals. And while early investing is ideal, if you’re coming into the financial planning game a little later, it’s never too late to start taking steps in the right direction.

4. Work with a Financial Advisor

Of course, there’s plenty that you can’t predict when it comes to managing your financial goals and investment activities, which is why it’s essential to work with a financial professional who can help you to connect the dots between your desired financial state and the actions that’ll help you get there. A qualified financial advisor can equip you to evaluate what financial freedom means for your situation specifically, while taking your lifestyle factors and long-term goals into consideration.

Are you ready to work toward financial freedom for your family? Contact Jacob Sturgill today to learn more about how our personalized financial planning services can make a difference for your financial future!