By This month, our plan was to discuss the importance of, and encourage all of you to focus on saving, and how to best work toward your unique goals. But at the moment I think it’s more important to talk about washing your hands! (And yes, there is a right way to do it.)
But, speaking of saving, this is the time of year when all of you are inquiring (or bugging us) about your tax documents. Well, you don’t have them because we don’t have them. We’ll get them to you as soon as they’re in our (well-washed) hands.
In the meantime, if you are getting organized to get your taxes filed and find that you’re anticipating a refund, this could be a perfect opportunity to use that money to fund one of your savings goals, whether it’s bulking up your emergency fund, making that annual contribution to college savings, or funding your Roth or traditional IRA. Tax refunds can be a great way to make big strides on your financial checklist.
Now, maybe you’re thinking, Dave, forget that! I’m going on vacation! Okay, I get it. That’s cool. Have a great time – just please, please – wash your hands! Especially if you’re vacationing in a third-world country.
In all seriousness though, I know no one wants to save and invest when it feels like your accounts are disappearing, but the situation most likely isn’t as bad as some of the news outlets are making it sound. If you’ve got some extra dollars available, whether from a tax refund or any other source, let us know. We’d love to talk about how we might be able to put that money to work for you.
When the stock markets are volatile, it seems like lots of people just want to wail and moan about how the world is ending. But think about it like this: Say you walk into a regular ole package store, find a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle for fifty bucks, and say no, that’s worth at least two grand. I’ll wait and pay that! No one would do that, right? Of course not! You’d buy the bottle and tell your friends.
But, if the end of the world truly is your fear and you do want to make some changes to your investment strategy accordingly, let us know. We’ve done just that for a few clients, and that’s totally okay. And if you want, we can help you try to find some of those $50 bottles of Pappy. (Well, not literally…)
Whatever camp you fall in, I encourage you to turn off the news for a minute and check in with your financial goals and how you’re doing with your plan. Do some soul-searching about your investment strategy and why you feel the way you do. Whatever you do, please, don’t abandon your savings strategy altogether. As always, we’re here to help. The financial therapist is in. We’ll talk soon.
Article by David Smyth, CLTC, Senior Partner at Family Financial Partners — a financial services firm in Lexington, Kentucky.