2017 New Year's Planning

When looking back on this year, we find ourselves thinking “Wow, a lot happened in 2016." Some of the biggest headlines include: Donald Trump winning the Presidential Election, Brexit, Chicago Cubs winning the World Series, Dow Jones approaching 20,000, musical icon David Bowie passes, Flint Water Crisis, Terror attacks on home soil and abroad, the Zika Virus, USA winning 46 golds in Rio, the European Refugee Crisis, and unemployment at 4.6%.

It happens more often than not at the end of the year for people to look back and focus on all the bad that has happen. Regarding finances and markets, we see the same trend as people are inundated with red flashing news on a daily basis, although the US stock market actually went up this year. We strive to focus on the things that we can control in Financial Planning. And that is how much we save, how much we spend, the timing around major goals, and how much we want to leave behind.

With a day left in the year and holiday gift spending in the rearview mirror, we think it would be helpful to provide you with a 2017 New Year’s Resolution Financial Checklist

Let’s face it, most of us will never be as lucky to win the lottery, inherit some windfall from that long lost uncle, or pick that next high flying stock, so it really depends on us to be in charge of our own destiny. Being smart, developing a plan, and being disciplined will help ensure:

You are saving at a rate that will meet your retirement needs
Your investments are properly diversified and appropriate given your risk tolerance & time horizon
You and your family have suitable risk protection
You are taking advantage of all available tax deductions & credits
Your estate plan is consistent with your charitable and legacy wishes

2017 New Year’s Resolution Financial Checklist

Develop Goals & Set Priorities
- Where do you want to go and by when? What do you want to achieve?
Create a Family Balance Sheet
- Establish an inventory of all your assets and liabilities
- Create a budget to see how much you are actually spending
Identify Roadblocks to Achieving Goals
- Can all set goals be met? If not, why not?
- What needs to be done to make these goals achievable?
Implement Strategies According to Your Plan
- Put the plan into action
Access progress, evaluate results, and make adjustments if necessary
- When done right, financial planning becomes an ongoing process not just a one-time event
- It will serve as a baseline for making financial decisions based on your goals

At Thrive Wealth Management, LLC we stick to our core iThrive Life Planning Process™ to make sure all of our clients carefully assess each step of Financial Planning and let it serve as the baseline to achieve their life goals.

Happy New Year’s Everyone!