January is the Time to Rethink Your Finances
Happy New Year Everyone!
I hope you were able to spend quality time with your friends and family during the holiday season (I was fortunate to soak up some California sunrays, but I must admit my golf game wasn’t as fortunate).
As we enter 2022 a lot of people, in my experience, find themselves in a pickle regarding their personal financial situation at the beginning of every year. Although it may seem daunting, now is the perfect time to reflect on and reevaluate your personal finances, have a gameplan for sustained, continued success, and make sure you’re confident in what’s in store for the next 12 months!
I really enjoyed reading this article by Kathryn Murray, CFP®, outlining what your priorities should be entering the new year. I agree with Kathryn now is the perfect time to optimize your personal finances for 2022 and beyond. Here are some of the most important priorities I think you should consider – let’s set you up for personal financial success this year:
Review Your Financial Plan: Have your financial and personal goals changed since last year? Do you have different goals for this year? Make sure to reflect and think deeply about what you want to achieve in 2022! Change can be a good thing, but it’s so important to have defined strategies on hand and stick to them.
Have a Spending Plan: Don’t forget to focus on necessities and how you should spend your money – for example contributions, retirement accounts, etc. I believe one of the main tenets to financial success is letting your money do the hard work for you. Spending with purpose will free up a lot of time, stress, and anxiety you may have about your finances.
Check Your Work Retirement Contributions: Do you have the capacity to increase your retirement contributions through your employer? It might be something you can look at! For this year, the 401(k)-contribution limit has been increased to $20,500 and the catch-up contribution for those over age 50 remains the same for this year at $6,500.
Check Your Credit Report: If you can get regular alerts and information on your credit situation, I highly recommend it. Here is an IRS link for helpful tips and protecting your accounts. If you need any help with your credit situation, please reach out to me or our host of talented Private Wealth Managers to help you.
Hire a Fee-Only Financial Advisor (Like Me!): Let’s build your financial confidence together! It may be difficult to trust a financial advisor with your finances, but all of us at IEM put our clients first – always. There’s nothing more rewarding than working with new people and improving people’s lives. We will always be alongside you through thick and thin!
I wish all of you a wonderful and prosperous 2022!
~ Presented by Charles Stewart