January often inspires reflection on the year ahead and renewed motivation to improve personal finances. While saving more money is a common goal, making meaningful progress starts with understanding what you’re saving for and when those needs will arise.
Many people are working toward multiple financial goals at once, such as home renovations, education expenses, major life transitions, and retirement, all of which require different timelines and levels of risk.
Balancing these priorities can be challenging, especially as life circumstances change unexpectedly. Shifts in income, family needs, or available resources may require adjusting how and where money is saved.
Regularly reviewing goals, savings strategies, and risk exposure helps ensure financial decisions remain aligned with both short- and long-term priorities. By staying flexible and intentional, individuals can create a financial plan that evolves with them and supports their goals through every stage of life.
View Stephanie Van Albert’s video recap and Advisor Insights blog below:
Many of us treat January as a month of reflection. We look at the past year and think about what went well, what we’d like to change in the year ahead, and set goals we’d like to meet. Americans tend to joke that New Year’s resolutions don’t make it to February, and for many of us, that is true. This brings the question: “How can you make sure the change you want to see sticks in your life?” It probably comes as no surprise that the top three resolutions include exercising more, finding happiness, and eating healthier, according to a poll by You Gov. The fourth most common resolution is saving more money, which is certainly something we hear frequently, as financial planners.
When we hear a prospective client or current client say “I’d like to save more money,” our first question tends to be “What are you saving for?” For many, this can be a tough question to answer. Deep down, we know what we are saving for, but it can occasionally be hard to name and even harder to assign a dollar value. We can name quite a few common goals our clients save for– retirement, college, weddings, moving, a home renovation, starting a business to name a few.
Our clients tend to be multi-faceted and want to plan for many different goals, often occurring at different points in their lives. For example, they may want to renovate their home in 2 years, their kids may go off to college in 8 years, and retirement may come in 15 years. As we meet, we assess how funded they are to meet each of these goals. We’ll review the types of accounts they’re using for savings, how much they’re saving for each goal, and how much risk they’re taking within the accounts. As goals approach, it’s often time to take less risk. For long term goals, more risk can be taken depending on a client’s risk appetite. Many of our clients are well funded in the retirement category but are underfunded for the goals that may happen prior to retirement (including college, home renovations, moving, etc.) We help by mapping out current savings and making recommendations.
What happens when life happens? We all know life changes–quickly, slowly, for better, or for worse. As planners, we can help you navigate your financial life through these changes. Maybe you need to contribute less to retirement for a period of time to rebuild your cash cushion after a period of unemployment. Or maybe a family member’s legacy provided inheritance, helping you reach your goal of funding your children’s college tuition quicker than you expected, giving you extra cash flow. When you’re faced with changing circumstances, we can work with you to bring all areas of planning–investments, tax, cash flow, insurance, and estate–into balance. Reach out to us today; we would love to set up a meeting with you.
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