Even if you have a solid financial plan in place, things can quickly get out of tune if you don’t make adjustments from time to time. On this episode of The Retirement Huddle podcast, Mark Howard explains some of the areas where we often see people get out of tune in their financial plan.
Future tax considerations
When we build a financial plan for you, we like to incorporate other people in your circle that you trust, like your CPA. But it’s important to remember that many CPAs only prepare your taxes and are not doing long-term tax planning for you. That’s where we can help.
If you would like to learn about five tax planning ideas you can execute right now before the end of the year to potentially save on taxes, give us a call.
Having the right amount of life insurance
When Mark’s dad passed away unexpectedly at age 60, his life insurance was a life-saver for Mark’s mom.
“Life insurance is one of the best ways to leave a legacy to kids and grandkids, to leave an inheritance” said Mark. “It’s a great way to leverage money and give them much more of an inheritance down the road once you’re gone.”
You should also consider getting other insurance, such as long-term care insurance.
Having the right amount of cash in the bank
Having six months to a year’s worth of expenses stashed in an emergency fund is a good place to start. Some people need more, especially if they’re self-employed. Some need less if they have a big pension coming in.
We look at different buckets of money, including liquidity. You need to have money you can get in 5 minutes if your air conditioning goes out, for example.
Having the right amount of risk
Many people are shocked at how much risk they have in their portfolio. A lot of times there is a disconnect between people’s risk tolerance and how much risk they’re taking in their portfolio. We can do a free, no-obligation risk assessment for you.
“It is an ‘aha moment’ for a lot of people,” said Mark. “What we want to do is restore peace of mind.”
Thanks for listening! We’ll be back for another show every other Thursday.
Today’s Rundown:
[1:21] – Future tax considerations
[3:02] – Have the right amount of life insurance
[4:42] – Having the right amount of cash in the bank
[5:52] – Having the right amount of risk
