Wildlife use their nests as a position of protection for their unborn egg. They warm them and check over them until they are prepared to hatch. But this article isn’t about wildlife and what they do with their nests. This article is about you and your financial nest egg. It is about protecting your family. I had this article saved in my reader, It is a crash course in Life Insurance. Insurance is an integral part of protecting your nest egg and family Here are a few other suggestions you can implement to nurture your future savings.
At some point in time everyone will stop working. When that happens, life still keeps going though and so will your money if you get everything in order and plan right. Don’t think that if you haven’t started putting away money yet that it’s too late – it’s never too late to start setting some finances aside and nurture that until you need it.
The first thing you need to do is figure out a plan and start with that. This will help you have something to reach towards and strive for. Here are some tips to help you with a financial plan.
1. Map out your needs. Not your current financial needs but your future financial needs. However, you will include your monthly bills in this (mortgage, car payments, insurance, utilities, etc). Also include your retirement plan. Do you want to travel or live in a house on the beach or start your own business? Obviously all these things require money so you need to plan out a ballpark figure of how much you’ll need each and every month to do the things you want to do.
2. Financial options. It’s up to you to take the initiative and learn about different financial options. Search the internet, read magazines and books, talk to a financial advisor, join online forums, etc. If you talk to a financial advisor ask all kinds of questions because that’s what they are there for. A few suggested questions you should ask are: How much Life Insurance do I need for family? Is a traditional IRA better than a Roth IRA? Remember there is no stupid question!
3. Use many different financial options. Now that you are familiar with the different financial options out there, decide which ones are best suited for you. You should use more than one option because remember that old saying ‘it’s never good to put all your eggs in one basket’. It’s definitely true when it comes to your finances. You should spread your money in different places so that you can help it grow. Things to keep in mind when making decisions are: your age, your retirement plans, how old your children are – college funds, etc – and how far away from retirement you are.
4. Minimize. It takes money to invest money so you should look at all areas of your life and see where you can minimize or cut costs so that the money saved can be used to invest for your future. What are ways you can minimize your lifestyle? Here are some examples:
- cancel cable (pick up Netflix instead)
- stop smoking
- stop eating out
- downsize your home
- brown bag your lunch
- cancel gym membership
- consolidate services
- and many more
5. Evaluate. When it comes to your investments it’s important to check (and recheck) them so that you know what’s going on. Your portfolio can change based on different circumstances so keep an eye on it regularly and stay on top of new trends/developments.
If you’re nest egg isn’t where you want it to be, use these tips to help you get it to where you want or at least on the right track to building it up. It might not be easy to make all these changes but in the long run it will pay off having given up cable or that gym membership!
Andrea is the Chief Chick of Smart Money Chicks. After filing BK twice (once because she panicked, second time because the pro messed the first time up), she realized that it all could have been avoided if she understood more about how her Finances worked and the options available. At that point, she wanted to help as many as she could never make the same mistakes again. Our Promise is that all the content you read on here is created or edited by Andrea
Hey Ladies,
This is a great post. I am going to share it in the Dinks Finance roundup on Friday, come on over and check it out.
Awesome! Thanks A bunch