A fellow NAPFA fee-only financial advisor with whom I am a Facebook friend posted about the fact that this is her 9th presidential election. I am one ahead of her (she missed voting in the 1976 election by a few months), not surprising since I believe we are close in age and coincidently both have daughters who are seniors at Northwestern University.
As I look back on these 9 elections, notable among the choices that I regret after the fact was my very first vote for Jimmy Carter. While a model ex-President, he is perhaps the worst President that I remember, and I vividly recall Richard Nixon as President.
This is a financial blog, not a political blog. The connection with your personal finances is this. Over your lifetime you will make many financial choices. Some are thrust upon you and may be the lesser of two evils. Examples are choices made in the wake of a job loss or a serious medical situation.
Those situations aside, we have the opportunity to make any number of financial choices during our lives. Let me suggest a few choices that you should consider:
Choose to spend less than you earn. This is intuitive, but not always followed. This is the foundation of any serious financial planning.
Choose to buy to less house than you might be able to afford. As we have seen stretching financially to purchase real estate is not always a great idea.
Choose to contribute as much as you can to your 401(k) or other company retirement plan.
If you’re self-employed, choose to start a retirement plan as soon as possible.
Choose to invest in a fashion that balances your tolerance for risk but still allows for sufficient growth to achieve your financial goals.
Choose to set realistic financial goals. To be clear, goals need to be quantified and have a time frame associated with them.
Choose to track your progress toward meeting your financial goals on a regular basis and to make adjustments in your savings, investments, and your goals as needed.
Choose to hire a competent professional financial advisor if you need help.
Whoever you choose to vote for on Tuesday, over time you might remain convinced that you made the right choice or you might come to regret your choice. Over your lifetime your will have a number of financial choices to make. Be sure that your choices are informed and that they make sense both now and down the road. While a vote that you later regret is frustrating, poor choices with your money can haunt you for the rest of your life.
Please feel free to contact me with your financial planning questions.
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