Often when you think about your finances and financial planning, you are only focusing on the near future. But what you should be doing is considering the long term, otherwise, you will not be where you want to be financially by the time you reach retirement age. Being retired can be expensive because you will no longer have the same income coming in. If you have to live in an assisted living community or something of the like, you will have a lot of extra expenses. Saving up for those kinds of things right now may not be a priority to you, but your present-day self is going to have to make some sacrifices for your future self. Here are 3 things you should be doing for your financial future right now.
Invest
Investing is not just for Wall Street anymore, and it can be a really smart thing to do if you are able. If you are new to investing, do some research or ask people you know about the experiences – both positive and negative – that they have had with making investments. Investing now can end up making you a lot of money in the future.
Have Several Savings Account
One of the best ways to save for your future is to have not just one but several different savings accounts. One of your accounts should be for the short term – small things you are trying to save up for, such as a new car or a family vacation overseas in a private jet (however, for that, you would first need to check the private jet flight cost to know how much you need to exactly save).
Besides this, you should also have a savings fund that is only for emergencies such as medical bills, vet bills, natural disasters, unexpected repairs on your car and home, etc.
You should never dig into your emergency savings fund for any reason other than what you would consider an emergency, that way it is there when you really need it. But you should also have a long-term retirement account-perhaps one that you don’t even have access to until a certain age so that you literally are unable to take any money out until retirement.
Talk To Your Kids About Money
If you have children, talking to them about finances will not only help to better prepare them for the world, but also may benefit you in the future if they need to help you take care of your finances when you’re older. Kids are often clueless about money and aren’t taught anything in school about credit or savings, so it is up to parents to give them education on those topics. Start talking to your kids about money early on and they will be better for it.
Taking care of your financial future and setting yourself up for success is a great way to spend an afternoon, so why not start today?
