Life happens with or without you.
You are in its path so you either go with the flow or get knocked over.
You will, as many others, experience major events in your life that can make it more difficult to start or keep saving toward retirement and other goals.
The key is to plan stay focused on your goals, and set resources aside to deal with these events.
Make you financial review as needed (quarterly, semi annually, or annual) and check with a financial advisor on how to head off and survive financial draining events.
Here are six major events most people will experience and thought on how to deal with them.
Death: We all know death and taxes are certain.
Those of us that know our parents will have to deal with their demise and fund for funeral expenses.
The premature death of a spouse or dependent can undermine the efforts of saving for retirement.
This is why it is ever so important to keep records on file for loved ones should something happen to both parents only to be survived by dependents.
Check Social Security statement to ensure information is correct, and what benefits dependents can expect should the parents die.
Review insurance policies annually for adequate coverage.
Ensure you have properly named beneficiaries for any plans that will be passed on to others in event of your death.
Divorce: Heaven forbid but divorce is increasingly more common today.
It is important to know the laws regarding your spousal rights to pension benefits and Social Security.
Assets will be divided and in most cases one or the other will be burdened with financial expenses.
Review your financial situation before and after the divorce.
You will experience a drop in house hold income if both were working at the time of the divorce.
Changing jobs: Nationally it is estimated an average worker will change jobs more than 10 times during their career.
While at your new job you may not be able to put into an employer retirement plan until employed for a year.
You are at risk of not be vested in a plan before leaving for other employment opportunities.
Your new job my not offer a retirement plan.
Invest into an individual retirement account while waiting for the employer's plan to kick in.
When moving from one employer to another roll over retirement plans and don,t cash out no matter how small the amount may appear.
Marriage: The wedding can be a large expense.
Marriage also brings on other financial planning needs that will compete with retirement money.
You will have insurance changes, possibly a need to purchase a larger home and furnishings, different transportation demands.
The good news, in general it is less expensive for two people to live together, freeing up some funds.
A spending plan is important.
Raising Children: It is becoming increasingly more expensive to raise children.
In 2007 it was estimated the average middle income family is expected to shell out $250,000.
00 to raise a child to the age of 17.
Now add higher education of $200.
00 plus per credit/quarter hour to that.
Higher education costs increasing annually any where from 19% to 34% and living expenses about 12%.
You can see things add up quickly and planning to head off these expenses will require careful planning and a good spending plan.
Most parents want to save for their child's education.
Financial planners all agree that saving for retirement should take priority and any money left over can be put into the education fund.
There are financial aid programs for college bound dependents and none for retirement.
There are sources like grants, and scholarships that can be gotten to help offset cost for college.
In summary: Spending plans are key to meeting financial needs.
There are known major events in life such as marriage/divorce, changing jobs, death/disability, and raising children that one can anticipate and plan for to head off financial disaster.
Saving for retirement should carry priority over all these events.
Some of these events can be financed by other means but retirement cannot be financed.
You are in its path so you either go with the flow or get knocked over.
You will, as many others, experience major events in your life that can make it more difficult to start or keep saving toward retirement and other goals.
The key is to plan stay focused on your goals, and set resources aside to deal with these events.
Make you financial review as needed (quarterly, semi annually, or annual) and check with a financial advisor on how to head off and survive financial draining events.
Here are six major events most people will experience and thought on how to deal with them.
Death: We all know death and taxes are certain.
Those of us that know our parents will have to deal with their demise and fund for funeral expenses.
The premature death of a spouse or dependent can undermine the efforts of saving for retirement.
This is why it is ever so important to keep records on file for loved ones should something happen to both parents only to be survived by dependents.
Check Social Security statement to ensure information is correct, and what benefits dependents can expect should the parents die.
Review insurance policies annually for adequate coverage.
Ensure you have properly named beneficiaries for any plans that will be passed on to others in event of your death.
Divorce: Heaven forbid but divorce is increasingly more common today.
It is important to know the laws regarding your spousal rights to pension benefits and Social Security.
Assets will be divided and in most cases one or the other will be burdened with financial expenses.
Review your financial situation before and after the divorce.
You will experience a drop in house hold income if both were working at the time of the divorce.
Changing jobs: Nationally it is estimated an average worker will change jobs more than 10 times during their career.
While at your new job you may not be able to put into an employer retirement plan until employed for a year.
You are at risk of not be vested in a plan before leaving for other employment opportunities.
Your new job my not offer a retirement plan.
Invest into an individual retirement account while waiting for the employer's plan to kick in.
When moving from one employer to another roll over retirement plans and don,t cash out no matter how small the amount may appear.
Marriage: The wedding can be a large expense.
Marriage also brings on other financial planning needs that will compete with retirement money.
You will have insurance changes, possibly a need to purchase a larger home and furnishings, different transportation demands.
The good news, in general it is less expensive for two people to live together, freeing up some funds.
A spending plan is important.
Raising Children: It is becoming increasingly more expensive to raise children.
In 2007 it was estimated the average middle income family is expected to shell out $250,000.
00 to raise a child to the age of 17.
Now add higher education of $200.
00 plus per credit/quarter hour to that.
Higher education costs increasing annually any where from 19% to 34% and living expenses about 12%.
You can see things add up quickly and planning to head off these expenses will require careful planning and a good spending plan.
Most parents want to save for their child's education.
Financial planners all agree that saving for retirement should take priority and any money left over can be put into the education fund.
There are financial aid programs for college bound dependents and none for retirement.
There are sources like grants, and scholarships that can be gotten to help offset cost for college.
In summary: Spending plans are key to meeting financial needs.
There are known major events in life such as marriage/divorce, changing jobs, death/disability, and raising children that one can anticipate and plan for to head off financial disaster.
Saving for retirement should carry priority over all these events.
Some of these events can be financed by other means but retirement cannot be financed.
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