The dog days of summer can be a great time to step back and consider the big picture.
2016 is half over and for many people, now would be a good time to step back and review your financial situation. Are there any opportunities you should be taking advantage of? Are there steps you should be taking to make sure you’re on track to achieve your financial goals? Is it time to get some help with your personal finances? At Meritage Wealth Advisory we can help you do a thorough assessment of your financial situation and help develop a clear plan of action. Some things we can help you consider include the following:
How’s Business? For many, business has been improving since the downturn back in 2009, but it’s been a grind. Historically, measured by real GDP growth, this has been one of the slowest recoveries since World War II. It has also been one of the longest with it now being over 84 months since our economy last experienced a recession. That is almost twice the average length of an expansion. It makes me wonder how long can this continue before we have another recession?
This is an especially important consideration if the last downturn put your retirement plans on hold. Statistically, if you’re a business owner, the business may be one of your biggest assets. If selling the business at some point to help fund your retirement is part of your plan, understanding where you are in the business cycle is an important consideration in your planning. Ideally, you want to sell when you can get top dollar, and that will probably not be in the middle of a recession. At Meritage Wealth Advisory we can help you figure out how different selling prices might impact your plans for the future.
Does Your Portfolio Need To Be Fixed? Depending on your asset allocation, since the downturn in 2009 the markets and your portfolio have probably recovered to their previous highs and then some. Unless of course you went to cash during the great recession and have missed out on the recovery In any event, bottom line is that time marches on and you’re now several years closer to retiring.
What are you doing to make sure your portfolio doesn’t take another big hit? While most people insure their homes, their health, and their cars, not everyone thinks about the risk they’re taking in their investment portfolios. Since the best way to grow your money is to not lose it in the first place, you may want to rethink your investment strategy to make sure you’re doing everything you can to protect yourself from potential losses. At Meritage Wealth Advisory, we can help you figure out if you’re taking more risk than you need to.
How Much Should You Save? Statistics indicate that as a society, Americans have started saving again after a period where our savings rate had essentially gone to zero. The important question is how much do you need to save? Ideally you’re able to figure that out so that you can enjoy your life today, and in the future. Save more than you need to, and you sacrifice your current lifestyle. Don’t save enough and you run out of money in retirement. Neither prospect sounds good.
The first step here is figuring out your goals and priorities. How much are you going to need? How will inflation impact those costs in the future? What kind of return can you expect on your investments as you save for your goals? We can help you figure out the answer to these questions and help you to determine how much you should be saving.
What About Taxes? It wasn’t that long ago that we were filing our tax returns. Were there any surprises last year? Most people like to avoid tax surprises, so now might be a good time to think about how this year compares to last year. Have you had any changes to your situation that might impact your tax liability for this year? Doing a projection now may help you avoid surprises and penalties next year.
There’s an old saying that the one constant is change. How has your situation changed? Are you still on track? At Meritage Wealth Advisory we can help you get the big picture view of your situation and recommend any changes you may need to get you back on track.
