You’ve likely heard people say that it’s never too late to save. Well, it’s true. No matter where you are in life — or how old or young you are — there is always time to develop a proactive plan to secure your long-term financial future. It’s not hard. It’s not complicated. It simply requires your follow-through on these simple strategies.
1. Budget Properly
Coming up with a budget doesn’t mean you find ways to spend all your money. That’s not how personal budgets are supposed to work. The goal of a personal budget is to make hard choices about how, when, and why you spend your money.
If you’re living paycheck to paycheck, you need to differentiate between needs and wants. You may have to pack a lunch for work, stop buying those expensive cappuccinos every day, carpool to work, or do without a couple of those streaming services. These examples will add up, and you’ll probably not notice what you’re doing without them.
2. Adopt a Pay-Yourself-First Strategy
The best way to save for your future is to pay yourself first. What exactly does this mean? It means you have a certain amount of money automatically deducted from your paycheck. You can have the amount deposited into a 401(k) through your employer, into a separate high-yield savings account, or have it deposited into a low-risk investment vehicle like a money-market mutual fund.
3. Create an All-Important Emergency Fund
The goal of the previous step is to get you into the habit of saving. However, this third step is something else entirely. No matter how secure you feel in your job or highly valued you are by your employer, you need to accept that things change and can change fast. Accounting for the unforeseen is just part of securing your future. Make sure your emergency fund can take care of all your expenses for three to six months.
4. Buy Insurance
The saying goes — hope for the best but plan for the worst. Buying insurance for yourself, your loved ones, and your property (home) is sound financial planning. The last thing you want is to leave your family with the burden of taking care of your finances should something happen to you. Having insurance is like having a security blanket.
5. Get Comfortable with Investing
Every investor was, at one time, a novice. Everybody started somewhere, and it’s time you get started as well. Understanding your risk tolerance is the first all-important step to planning your future. While your risk tolerance can change, it’s still important to define what it is at this time. After you’ve defined your risk tolerance, you’ll be able to choose among many investments that meet your tolerance for risk and your long-term aspirations.
Customer-Focused Solutions with Delta Capital Management
At Delta Capital Management, we don’t apply a cookie-cutter or one-size-fits-all approach to investing. Instead, we focus on developing a tailor-made investment solution that meets your needs. To find out how we can address your unique needs, contact us today.
