Financial Planning Month: Are You Living Responsibly?

03 Oct Financial Planning Month: Are You Living Responsibly?

It can be easy with juggling priorities like family, work, and school to let your finances fall by the wayside. October is #FinancialPlanningMonth and it’s a perfect time to make sure you are living within your means! It’s important to make sure you aren’t spending more then you are bringing in, so you’re able to put some aside for emergencies and investments. You need to protect yourself, your family, your health and your future. Start planning with these tips to ensure you’re making positive, responsible life decisions.  

Build an Emergency Fund

We here at Bank of the Lowcountry know that life can hit you when it’s least expected. A leak in your roof, another flat tire, the dryer broke, or any sudden medical expense. Many of us live paycheck to paycheck, but having some cash aside can really help you out in an event leading to financial ruin. Start building a fund for a couple months of living in a separate account. Consider setting up an automatic transfer, don’t get debit card access, put aside your tax refund, sell things you don’t need on ebay, organize a yard sale, or even put change into a jar every evening. Trust us, it adds up!

Need to start an Emergency Fund Account? We got you covered.

Life Insurance

Make sure your family is well protected and make steps in caring of your health. Financially responsible people tend to protect their finances by also protecting themselves and their family members. As we all know, unforeseen health issues can always arise with you or your family. Although there are only certain things that can be under control with health and accidents, most can be set up under your control to keep your protected lifestyle so you don’t end up financially in debt. 

Set an All-Cash Diet

Don’t spend money impulsively. We tend to spend the “leftover” money of our paychecks for the following week. Try paying yourself first! Set a weekly all cash diet and stick to it. Financial Stability can be attained when we monitor and control all of our impulse spending.

Invest

Don’t put all of your money in one place… Invest in small to large opportunities as well as using multiple types of securities (e.g., stocks, bonds, CDs, real estate, etc.). Remember Enron? Going “all-in” on one company is risky. Don’t put all of your eggs into one basket, build a portfolio. Diversified portfolios help to decrease risk and get you closer to the outcome you’re looking for. Investing in multiple aspects can help you get closer to your goals in a more stable approach.

Overall, there is no right or wrong way to Financial Planning. If you are reading this, then you’re already at step one! Knowing what goals you want to accomplish for you and your family can make life easier. Budgeting more responsibility will secure a healthier lifestyle and a safer future. So go ahead, take this October to Financially Plan with us. Living a responsible life is right around the corner!