Working Toward Your Financial Goals

When it comes to setting financial goals and figuring out how you’re going to reach them you can’t leave it to chance.  By definition, a goal has a deadline, and in order to reach it you need a strategy—you have to do certain things, in a certain order, by a certain date.

Whether your goal is to save enough money to put your children through college, fund a comfortable retirement, or purchase the vacation home you’ve always dreamed of, it will take time and planning to meet these goals.

“I don’t have time,” you say.  Besides, “I don’t know where to start.”  Perhaps we can help.  Just follow the three steps outlined below:

Step 1 – Identify Your Needs

• List your goals and the time frame in which you wish to reach them.  This is an easy but necessary part of the process.  Investing is like planning a trip: you need a goal or destination and a schedule before you can determine the best route.

Step 2 – Clarify Your Goals

• After listing your goals and your schedule, determine what you need to do to reach them.  This may seem like a daunting task at first glance.  A simple way to tackle it is to answer your questions.

1. How long do I have until I need to reach my goal?
2. How much do I need to accumulate by then?
3. What level of risk am I willing to take?
4. What tax issues do I need to consider?

The answers to these questions require research and oftentimes the help and advice of your financial professional.  In addition, there are some unique issues to consider when clarifying your college funding and retirement goals:

College Funding – If college funding is one of your primary financial goals, you need to establish the approximate cost of tuition, room, and board at schools you’d like your children to attend.  To this amount you should add other expenses such as travel to and from school, projected cost of books, etc.  This total is then adjusted for the impact of inflation which will depend on the number of years until the money is needed. 

Retirement Preparation – A number of issues, including the uncertain future role of
Social Security and increasing life expectancy, have made preparing for retirement a
priority.  By addressing your personal situation now, you can take some of the guesswork
out of your retirement future.

Step 3  – Construct An Investment Program   

• Once you’ve clarified your goals, you need to design a program to help you reach them.  With the range of investment possibilities available today, it’s possible to construct a program for virtually every need.  The key lies in narrowing down the options to those appropriate for your individual situation.  You may want to consult your financial professional to help make this job easier.  Oftentimes, your financial professional will have access to financial systems or tools that will help you design a personalized portfolio to help you meet your goals.

Even if you’ve already identified your financial goals and planned an investment portfolio to meet them, it’s still a good idea to check them against these steps.  If you haven’t set a program in place don’t procrastinate any longer; get started on your goals today!
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Rich Mino, a financial advisor with Del Mar Financial Partners, Inc., works closely with families and small businesses in the Carmel Valley area.  He is passionate about making a difference in his community through financial literacy programs, and focuses on building strong relationships with all of his clients so that he can be a resource to them where needed most.  An active member of the Del Mar Kiwanis, Rich supports his Carmel Valley community through local service projects, and by sponsoring the Builders Club and Key Club leadership programs at Carmel Valley Middle and Torrey Pines High Schools.  In 2012, he is working to implement a financial literacy educational program to help prepare and educate kids with the challenges that they will face as they begin and graduate from college.  He is a registered representative of Securian Financial Services, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC. Securities dealer and registered investment advisor.  Del Mar Financial Partners, Inc. is independently owned and operated. 12526 High Bluff Drive, Suite 280, San Diego, CA 92130. 438300 DOFU 01/2012

The information in this article is not intended as tax or legal advice, and it may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any federal tax penalties.  You are encouraged to seek tax or legal advice from an independent professional advisor.  The content is derived from sources believed to be accurate.  Neither the information presented nor any opinion expressed constitutes a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security.  This material was written and prepared by Emerald. © 2012 Emerald Connect, Inc.

Securities and investment advisory services are offered through Securian Financial Services, membe FINRA/SIPC. Copyright 2010 © Custom Communications Insurance Publishing.

Material in this article may not be reprinted without permission.

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