Tag: resolutions

4 Ways to ACTUALLY Keep Your Resolutions

4 Ways to ACTUALLY Keep Your Resolutions

By Mike Desepoli, Heritage

 

You might know that 41% of Americans make New Year’s resolutions annually. But did you know that out of those, more than 42% never actually succeed, yet continue to make new resolutions every year? As the saying goes, if change were easy, more people would do it.

Fortunately, there are some simple ways for you to set yourself up for success. Read on to explore some of the most common resolutions and how you can actually make them stick.

Resolution: Manage Time better

Most of us can think of some way we’d like to improve our time management. Whatever you want to make room for, there’s a key strategy that can help you actually make it stick.

Success Tip: Name Your Why

You have 24 hours in a day, but old habits can be hard to break. To make a lasting change in how you’re budgeting your time, first establish your “why”.

Let’s say you want to spend more time with family, or spend an hour a day reading. What’s the reason behind your goal? How will it enrich your life? If you review your “why” regularly, you’re less likely to quit when those old habits come calling.

Resolution: Learn a new skill.

Adding new skills can help you maintain a sharp mind and a sense of purpose in life. It can also be a lot of fun! If there’s something you’ve been wanting to learn, the new year is a great time.

Success Tip: Get Classy

You don’t have to go at it alone. Take a class and let an expert show you the way. There are top quality online classes available for everything from tennis to organic farming to screenwriting. Looking for more in-person experience? Check out the offerings at your local community college.

Resolution: Get Healthy

Whether you want to eat better, sleep more, or amp up your exercise regimen, “getting healthy” is one of the most popular wishes at the beginning of a new year.s

Success Tip: Partner Up

For better or worse, we often tend to show up for other people more easily than for ourselves.

Doing a cleanse? Checking out yoga? Find a buddy to do it with you. Chances are good that someone you know has a similar goal. With a partner who’s counting on you, you’re more likely to stay accountable and get in great shape.

Resolution: Get Organized

The new year’s invitation for a fresh start also extends to your personal space and working environment. But trading a habitual mess for lasting tidiness can feel like an impossible task.

Success Tip: Start Small

Whether you’re looking to empty an attic, declutter your desk, or finally put all those National Geographic in chronological order, keep it simple and flexible.

To get unstuck, ask yourself: “What is one small thing that I can do today?” Just keep taking one small step each day, and you’ll have the job done before you know it.

 

For more information on this topic, check out the #asktheadvisor show episode 53 by clicking HERE

3 Financial Resolutions for 2018

3 Financial Resolutions for 2018

by Mike Desepoli, VP of Heritage

With 2017 coming to a close and 2018 in our sights, it’s time once again to make that list of new year’s resolutions. Each and every year, we sit down in late December and hammer out a list of things we hope to accomplish next year. While we all certainly have good intentions, studies show that most resolutions have come and gone by the time January ends. Some evidence of this would be going into a gym in early January, you can bet the place is packed. However, head back there in mid march and you can be certain the crowd has thinned out.

So that begs the question, why do so many people fail at keeping their resolutions? Do they reach too far? Maybe they set the bar too high? As we know with goals, they not only need to be measurable, but it helps when they are actually achievable.

I may not be able to help you in every part of your life, but when it comes to personal finance we have your covered. Here are 3 financial resolutions for you to deploy in 2018.

Be Aware

One of root causes of financial problems is lack of attention and accountability to ones finances. It is no longer acceptable not to know what your account balance is, what is your credit limit, and how much money you spend on a monthly basis. The first step to achieving any basic financial goal is awareness. Once you are more in tune with where your money flows every month, you can start to identify financial opportunities that will move you forward towards greater things.

Create a Budget

Yes, I know you have heard this 100 times but how many of you have actually done this? We all think we know what we spend money on, but the fact is without a budget there is no doubt you are wasting money each month. Outlining a budget will help you have a closer relationship with your money. The more we learn to respect money, the more responsible we will handle it. Make sure creating a budget is one of your new year’s resolutions.

Reduce Debt!

This is so simple, yet so important. Most financial problems originate from debt. It starts small, and the next thing you know your credit cards are maxed out and you can only afford the minimum interest payments. This starts the cycle of perpetual debt that is very hard to climb out of. Having a budget will help you avoid debt in the first place, but if you should find yourself in debt start by paying off the highest interest debt first.

These are just a few quick tips to get you on the right track. For more info hit the link below to check out our Youtube Show! Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

For more info check out episode 52 of The #AskTheAdvisor Show!

5 Investing Resolutions for 2017

Investing Resolutions for a Better 2017

When you sit down this week to write out your New Year’s resolutions, make sure you leave room for your 401k.  Many new investors max out their IRA every year, but that’s about all they do. There is no other strategy or alternative to that process. Many investors cheat themselves out of good opportunities by simply not exploring the options available to them.

Young Professionals don’t know..

where to put their money beyond the 401(k). Don’t fret, we won’t leave you hanging. If your resolutions included to become a better investor in 2017, we have some starter tips for you.

1. Don’t worry about making other investments until you are maxing out your 401k.

Making the decision to invest beyond a 401(k) or IRA should only come when you’re comfortably maxing out your retirement accounts. More so than that,  take advantage of all the tax deferred investing that you can.  It’s hard to pass up tax deferred or even tax free. The first step is planning and deciding how much you have to invest, where the [additional money] is coming from, when you might need or want the money, and how much risk you can stomach.

2. Don’t worry about the market on a daily basis

Rookie investors are too easily influenced by daily market movement and trying to time their investing. You are never going to get in at just the right time nor will you be getting out at just the right time. Dollar cost averaging or investing at regular intervals will even out the highs and lows. The logic here is, if you’re in your late 20s or early 30s, the fluctuations of the market on one given day are unlikely to have serious consequences to the retirement money you’ll need to withdraw 30 years from now.

3. make sure you understand what you own, and why you own it.

If you have new money to invest, I suggest a quick review of your existing investments. Are you properly diversified? Are the investment positions meeting your expectations? How are the investments performing relative to their risk and the markets? As a result, the answers to those questions will tell you if the new money should go into the same investments.

4. Having more than one financial advisor doesn’t mean you’re diversified.

We hear this one all the time when we ask people if they have a diversified portfolio. They proudly answer, “Sure I am! I have my money with 3 different advisors!”

The notion that having multiple advisors ensures your money being diversified is ridiculous. Unless those advisors are actively communicating with one another there is no way to know if their strategies are overlapping. As a result, you may be taking more risk than you are comfortable with.

Ask good questions and make sure you understand the level of risk in your strategy. Any competent advisor should be able to quantify the amount of risk in their investment strategy.

5. When pursuing new investments, buy things you ACTUALLY use

The best thing to look for in future investments is to buy things you actually use in everyday life. Go buy Nike, Apple, and Starbucks and leave your money alone. As your savings grow, you can diversity into other household names like Amazon, Google, Netflix and the likes. Stick with them for the long haul and use pullbacks as buying opportunities.

Ask yourself, what is going to be worth a lot in future? What stands to earn a in the next 30 years? What do I use every single day that I can not live without? Buy that.  Consequently, it will work out just fine.