401k – Memphis Flyer

Do you sometimes feel like your spending is out of control? Trust me when I say you’re not alone if you answered yes to that question. It can be overwhelming to try to gain more control over your spending, and it doesn’t help that inflation is making the cost of everything more expensive.

Fortunately, there are ways to manage your spending that are relatively painless (and perhaps even fun!). The key is to implement strategies rooted in behavioral research that trigger positive and repeatable budgeting habits. The following tips can help.

1. Set small goals you can achieve in the near term.

Oftentimes, people try to start by focusing on a few long-term goals, but this can sometimes lead to feeling overwhelmed and like you seemingly can’t make any tangible progress. One of the best ways to stay motivated is by setting small, achievable goals and knocking them out one after another. For example, set a goal of adding $20 to $50 per week to your emergency savings account. Each week, congratulate yourself for making this contribution. This small goal can help you feel good about your efforts and motivate you to do more. Once this weekly savings goal has become a habit, add another small goal to the mix, such as increasing your 401(k) contribution by 1 to 2 percent. Over time, you’ll be excited to witness the impact these small efforts have on your overall savings and financial outlook.

2. Don’t lose sight of the long term.

While small, short-term goals are important, you don’t want to lose sight of your long-term goals. One of the best ways to avoid doing so is to establish a financial plan. Having a financial plan is essential to setting, understanding and achieving your long-term goals. A financial plan can help increase your level of confidence and comfort, identify gaps in your current savings and investments, encourage more constructive financial behavior, and protect your wealth and loved ones. Routinely revisiting your financial plan at least once per year also provides an opportunity for you to take a step back, look at the big picture, and see the cumulative positive impact that all those small goals you’ve achieved have had. Ultimately, a good financial plan puts you in control of your future.

3. Provide yourself with peace of mind.

One of the best motivators to continue your smart spending and saving habits is the peace of mind that comes with financial stability. Perhaps that peace of mind is paying off your credit card debt. Maybe it’s successfully saving six months’ worth of expenses in an emergency fund or having a plan in place to pay for your child’s college education.

Whatever your goals may be, when you finally achieve them, relish the peace of mind that comes with that accomplishment and use it as motivation to continue pursuing your other financial goals.

4. Stop obsessing.

As the old saying goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” And unless you happen to win the lottery, it’s quite likely your financial plan won’t be miraculously “built” in one day either. There’s no reason to check in on your accounts every day (or even every week). Witnessing short-term fluctuations in your account balance can be unsettling at best and downright anxiety-causing at worst. These uneasy feelings may lead you to make a rash decision that could quickly derail your financial plan, such as selling an investment at a loss or holding too much cash.

As long as you have a diversified investment portfolio that’s in line with your risk tolerance, time horizon, and future goals, you don’t have to obsess over every market dip. Plus, if you’re working with a qualified wealth manager, he or she is keeping an eye on your investments and looking for strategic opportunities like these to help improve your long-term outlook. Try to relax and let your investments work for you, not against you.

Gene Gard, CFA, CFP, CFT-I, is a Partner and Private Wealth Manager with Creative Planning. Creative Planning is one of the nation’s largest Registered Investment Advisory firms providing comprehensive wealth management services to ensure all elements of a client’s financial life are working together, including investments, taxes, estate planning, and risk management. For more information or to request a free, no-obligation consultation, visit CreativePlanning.com.

How to Start Investing in 2025

A new year brings new goals and a fresh start. If your resolutions include investing for the future, congratulations! You’re taking the first step toward building wealth and achieving financial independence. Here are six tips to help you begin in 2025.

1. Start simple.

One of the easiest ways to start investing is through a retirement plan. If you have access to a workplace plan, such as a 401(k) or 403(b), make sure you’re contributing enough to take full advantage of any company matching contributions. If you don’t have access to a workplace plan, consider opening a traditional or Roth IRA.

Once you have an account in place, commit to making regular contributions. Automatic payroll deferrals are a great way to effortlessly build an account balance. Each year, have a goal of increasing your contributions by 1 percent to 2 percent. Even a small increase can have a big impact on your retirement savings over time, and you’re unlikely to even notice the impact on your take-home pay.

2. Find a fiduciary advisor.

A great way to start investing is by working with a qualified fiduciary advisor to establish an investment strategy that makes sense for you, given your current financial situation and goals for the future. Fiduciary advisors are held to fiduciary duty standards, which means they’re legally obligated to act in clients’ best interests at all times.

In contrast, some advisors are incentivized by investment managers and/or insurance companies to sell clients certain products that may or may not be in the client’s best interest. This practice can lead to high fees and the long-term erosion of your assets.

Look for an advisor who provides 100 percent of their services as a fiduciary advisor; offers low-cost, tax-efficient strategies; and uses an approach based on rational, science-driven, academic research. There’s a lot of misleading financial data out there. Your advisor should have the knowledge, background, and experience to get to the facts and develop well-researched solutions to the challenges you face.

3. Establish clear investing goals.

Everyone has different goals for the future, so there is no one-size-fits-all strategy. A great way to begin your investing journey is by establishing an overall financial plan. A solid financial plan can serve as a blueprint to guide all aspects of your financial life and can help ensure your investment decisions make sense, given your overall financial situation.

Consider working with an advisory team with experience navigating a range of financial challenges, including debt management, insurance planning, retirement planning, budgeting, estate planning, tax planning, and preparation, etc.

4. Diversify.

Regardless of where you are in your investing journey, it’s important to maintain a diversified portfolio. Investing in different types of assets can help spread out your risk because when one sector or investment type is performing poorly, another investment type that’s performing better can help smooth out overall portfolio volatility. While diversification won’t prevent losses, it can reduce your risk of being too heavily invested in the worst performing part of the market.

5. Don’t neglect your emergency savings.

While investing in a diversified mix of stocks and bonds is a great way to build your wealth over time, it’s also important to have access to a liquid emergency fund to help cover unexpected expenses. Consider saving three to six months of living expenses in a short-term account separate from your invested assets.

6. Protect your nest egg.

As you build your investment portfolio, be sure to implement a variety of risk-management strategies. These include things like life insurance, umbrella liability insurance, long-term-care insurance, disability/income replacement insurance, and more. Work with your wealth manager to determine which strategies make sense for your particular situation.

Gene Gard, CFA, CFP, CFT-I, is a Private Wealth Manager and Partner with Creative Planning. Creative Planning is one of the nation’s largest registered investment advisory firms providing comprehensive wealth management services to ensure all elements of a client’s financial life are working together, including investments, taxes, estate planning, and risk management. For more information or to request a free, no-obligation consultation, visit CreativePlanning.com.