Life Insurance Keeps a Business in the Family

The holidays are meant to be a joyous time, one of socializing, gift-giving and charity. Multiple holiday influencers, such as our faith, family and even the media, can impress upon us what celebrating the holidays mean and possibly lead us to overextend ourselves. The result can leave us recovering physically, emotionally, and often, financially. With a little forethought and discipline, though, we can bring in the New Year without suffering from a financial holiday hangover.

The first step is to establish a holiday budget. If married, be sure that this is a joint project with your spouse. Start with a gift list – who do you want to gift and how much do you want to spend on that gift. Be realistic with what you can afford and who warrants a gift. Don’t feel compelled to give one just because you receive one. Most importantly, stay focused on the meaning behind your gift, rather than the price tag. Your recipient will value the thought and care you gave.

The budget doesn’t stop with gifts. Consider all the non-typical expenses that arise during the holiday season; décor, food for entertaining, tips for preferred vendors, dry-cleaning for the holiday parties, hostess and host gifts or dinner tabs, and travel. Also, don’t forget about charitable giving. Including this in your budget will deter you from being influenced by emotion and possibly overextending yourself.

Clearly, when all is considered, this can be quite an extensive budget. Ideally, you want to start saving in January as the last thing you want to do is use a credit card to cover these expenses. For those who find it difficult to stick to their budget, utilizing cash or prepaid cards can help you stay on track. There are many tools available if you’re willing to use them.

This may sound like a lot, but a little forethought and discipline can go very far for you. I wish a happy and healthy holiday season to all. More than that, though, I wish you a happy and healthy new year, free from the financial holiday hangover.

Have you ever noticed when you turn on the news, the media is either panicked because the markets are down or celebratory because the markets are up? This may make for fun entertainment, but it can also impact people’s emotions, which are dangerous when they affect investment choices and financial decisions.

While you shouldn’t hide your head in the sand when it comes to the news, there’s a fine balance between staying up-to-date and obsessively following every market change.

The Problem with the News

Many people think watching the news will help them decide what financial or investment decisions to make. The problem with this is that the news is late, especially in terms of investing.

Capital markets efficiently price in all widely known information. As soon as news is available to the public, it becomes reflected in share prices. Therefore, looking at the same things as everyone else doesn’t give you a leg-up on other investors.

Additionally, we know that most news stations have a bias or slant. Many major networks tend to lean either right or left, and this can actually impact the type of actions they suggest in terms of financial decisions. Furthermore, when their guest is the head of a bank or works for a credit card company, you’ll want to be aware that their advice may be biased.

The Information to Turn to Instead

One of the best solutions is to ignore the pundits and spend more time sticking to your personal financial strategies and investment plan. It may sound crazy for me to suggest this, but I’ve found that it helps my clients feel less stressed and less likely to make emotionally driven decisions.

It takes training to tune out the media noise levels and focus on your long term plan. It is tough to do, but with a little coaching, you can feel less stress from media influence and more focused on your plan.

Let Your Advisor Do the Heavy Lifting

While working with a financial advisor is a collaborative approach, requiring work on both ends, it can be helpful to rely on your advisor for staying up-to-date on financial news and investment trends. Part of an advisor’s job is to stay current with financial news and changes in the markets. Your advisor will then suggest changes, if needed, based on your personal goals and needs.

Stick to Financial Wellness Tips

While listening to the news and recommendations of pundits can lead to emotional decision-making, reading general articles and blogs about financial health and wellness can be beneficial, and even motivating. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of blogs out there that share tips on sticking to a budget, savvy ways to save money at the grocery store, and how to find the best credit card rates. These sources of information can help you maintain a healthy outlook regarding money and keep you motivated to stick to your financial goals.

How I Can Help

As an independent advisor, my personal goal is to provide my clients with guidance that can help them understand and better define their financial goals. I stay up-to-date with the latest financial news, trends, and market shifts so my clients don’t have to. I hope to allow them the time to focus on their passions in life knowing I am here proactively monitoring their investments and financial strategies.

To learn more about how I can help you focus less on media noise and more on your passions in life, contact me for a no-strings-attached meeting. We can discuss your goals what strategies can help you pursue them. Call my office at (949) 221-8105 x 2128, or email me at michael.loo@lpl.com.