Is Your Financial House In Order?

Article Submitted by Kevin Dunnigan, MBA, CSA. Certified Financial Planner(tm), Professional Registered Representative of Investment Centers of America. Member NASD/SIPC. He can be reached at 877-622-5591/970-622-2366.
www.helpwithmyinvestments.com

We're in a different world. Thirty years ago, the average American worked for the same company for a long time. The company provided the worker and his family with benefits and promised to be a partner in their retirement. When he retired, they received a company pension and Social Security for a predictable retirement income. Things have changed, haven't they?

Today, most companies are trying to do away with their pension plans. Counting on Social Security to be a large part of your retirement income is probably not a wise decision. Social Security was designed to supplement retirement income, not to be your retirement income. There is a retirement crisis in America that nobody wants to talk about. In my 24 years in the investment and financial business, I have never seen anything like it. People spend more time planning their vacations than planning their retirement.

When we sit down with clients who are 55 and older, we realize that their main concerns are their health and out-living their money. Proper preparations will make a big difference for you and your loved ones in the long run. Inflation, taxes, investments, life insurance, long-term care insurance, estate considerations - this can all be very confusing for the average person. How much investment and money management training do you have? If you are like most Americans, it is next to nothing. We expect people to go out and make a living, but they don't know anything about how to handle the money that they're earning. This is ludicrous. Some people try to take care of it themselves but they don't realize the investment and financial mistakes they made. They are not aware of how the choices they made affect their future.

• Are your investments properly diversified?
• Are your loved ones protected if you should die prematurely?
• Are you protected if there was a long-term care stay in your family or would your family be financially devastated?
• Is your estate in order?
• Are you paying too much in taxes?

I encourage you to take a step back and look at your financial situation. Is your financial house in order? If not, I encourage you to give me a call or check out my website at www.helpwithmyinvestments.com. I think this will be time well spent and you will feel better about your future.