Though it may not be as exciting as cake and ice cream, your birthday is the ideal time to do a financial checkup and ensure you stay on track to meet your objectives. With another year under your belt, now is the time to reflect on the financial milestones you’ve achieved and look ahead to see what you need to change to keep on course.
Of course, this does not imply that you must interrupt your party to plan your annual budget. Your checkup does not have to take place on your actual birthday. Nonetheless, the 10 or so days before your birthday are an excellent time to contact your financial counselor. Here are some topics to consider:
Accounts and Status in Retirement
Because retirement is getting closer by the year, your birthday is an excellent moment to consult your retirement calculator. Consider the previous year’s inflation as well as any lifestyle modifications you may have made during your most recent trip around the sun. Even if nothing else has changed, your age has.
After you’ve completed your retirement calculations, discuss your findings with your financial counselor. Perhaps you should recalculate your employee 401(k) contributions. Perhaps you should combine a couple retirement accounts into one excellent investing instrument. Perhaps it’s time to look into some catch-up possibilities and Social Security preparedness. In any case, retirement should be at the top of your list of financial priorities to assess on your birthday.
Because retirement is getting closer by the year, your birthday is an excellent moment to consult your retirement calculator.
Beneficiaries and Life Insurance
Have you any major life changes this year? If you’ve started a new relationship, consider what financial goals you’d like to attain jointly. If you recently married, now is a good time to assess your joint income. If you or your spouse had a baby this year, make sure you read through our financial checklist for this wonderful time. If you’ve just divorced, double-check that you’ve considered all financial aspects of the divorce. These life events have one thing in common: they are all reasons to review your life insurance policy and ensure that your beneficiaries are up to date.
Cash Value and Investments
As you get older, you should review your portfolio and change your percentage of stocks and bonds. There are other tactics, but one frequent one believes that the younger you are, the more capable you will be to tolerate risk. On the other hand, you’ll want to become more careful with your investments each year.
Of course, if your indexed life insurance policy has cash value, you never have to worry about this danger. In this scenario, simply check in with your cash worth to determine if it is on track with your objectives. If you pulled any cash this year, think about whether you should replenish it with bigger payments in the future.
These life events have one thing in common: they are all reasons to review your life insurance policy and ensure that your beneficiaries are up to date.
Debts and Loan Repayment
Every year, as you approach closer to retirement, you should review your debt payback plans. Just as you should review your budget every week, you should review your debt repayment plans every year. Perhaps you would like to make a more aggressive payment plan this year. Maybe your objective is to get out of debt. Whatever your precise goals are, paying off debt is a proven method to make each birthday better than the last. And congratulations if you were debt-free last year! Remember to appreciate your own achievements.
It is now time to rejoice.
These are the considerations you should make while scheduling your financial checkup. Scheduling an appointment with your financial advisor on your birthday is necessary, financially healthy, and will provide you with peace of mind for the coming year – and after your financial checkup, treat yourself to a birthday treat! Celebrate yourself with a spa day, a trip to the aquarium, a beautiful supper, or a stroll around the park. This day is dedicated to you and your bright future.