Establishing a solid financial foundation means ensuring you’ll have enough money to live comfortably. So, it’s important to have a plan to protect your financial security, whether you have a lot of money or only a little.
Your Investments: A Good Place To Start
Knowing what you’ll need money for in the future is key to financial planning. Start building a solid financial foundation by adequately diversifying your portfolio and choosing the right asset allocation for your goals and risk tolerance. It’s a great beginning. But simply accumulating assets isn’t enough. You also need to protect yourself and your assets from significant losses in the event of a financial setback.
Set up an Emergency Fund
Create an emergency fund to help you through a financial crisis, such as a job loss or an unexpected large expense. Generally, you’ll want enough money in your emergency fund to cover approximately six months of living expenses. Your emergency fund needs to be liquid — meaning that the assets in your account can easily be turned into cash. Cash, certificates of deposit with varying maturity dates, Treasury bills or other short-term debt instruments, and money market accounts are all appropriate investments to hold in an emergency fund.
Having an emergency fund in one of your savings accounts can help protect your investment portfolio. Without it, you might be forced to sell investments when the markets are down or take out a margin loan when interest rates are high if a financial crisis occurs. Either situation could throw your investment strategy off course and prevent you from reaching your financial goals.
Insurance Protects Your Assets
Purchasing adequate insurance coverage reduces the risk that you or your family will be forced to sell assets to meet expenses in the event of your disability or death. Disability insurance replaces a percentage of your income if you become disabled and can’t work. Life insurance ensures that your family can maintain its standard of living if you pass away.
Determine whether any employer-provided insurance coverage you may have is adequate for your needs. If it isn’t, consider buying supplemental policies on your own. You may also want to consider buying a long-term care insurance policy to cover the cost of a nursing home or other specialized care. And don’t forget to keep your auto and homeowners insurance coverage current.
Take Advantage of Tax-Sheltered Investments
Investing pretax dollars in your employer’s retirement savings plan may help you reach your financial goals faster than investing after-tax dollars in taxable investments. Be sure to contribute the maximum to benefit from any employer matching funds. Take steps to protect your assets from a financial crisis to face the future confidently.