Health & Fitness
In Search of Financial Security
Financial security has become an elusive 'moving target' as job security and pensions have vanished. How will modern financial security best be achieved?
Financial security used to be simple. You worked hard at the same job for a lifetime and then retired and lived on your pension and social security. It was normal to avoid credit cards and to have your home mortgage paid off by the time you retired.
Now, unfortunately, all bets are off. Financial security has become an elusive 'moving target' as job security and pensions have vanished and the investment world has become increasingly complex. To make matters worse, many financial professionals and the retirement projections they provide fail to give clients the full picture when it comes to “risks” and “shocks” such as job loss, divorce, widowhood, disability, ill health, or economic and market turmoil.
Modern financial security might best be achieved via financial preparedness. Here are a few of the steps:
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organize and understand your financial situation and paperwork,
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understand which legal documents you should not live without;
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understand which “risks” can and should be covered;
understand what can be done to prepare for personal and economic “shocks”; and
understand how much you can and should save for your future.
You can find books and websites that will help you with these tasks. There are also professionals who provide education, advice and assistance on an hourly basis. You are not alone on your quest to get “prepared”.
Although facing life's uncertainty is not always comfortable, the good news is that we are all much stronger and more resilient than we know. We do survive life's unexpected challenges, we adapt to change, and we are usually better people because of it.
Laura Wilcox, CFP, MS has a private practice specializing in financial planning and education for Women in Transition. Her office is in Greenfield, Wisconsin. Registered Principal, Securities offered through Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a Broker/Dealer, Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment Advisor Representative, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor. Cambridge and Wilcox Financial Advisors, s.c. are not affiliated.
