0:00:00 - Speaker 1
Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Security is offered through registered representatives of Cambridge Investment Research Inc. A broker-dealer member, FINRA, SIPC Advisory Services through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. A registered investment advisor. Cambridge and Greenway Wealth Advisory are not affiliated.

0:00:20 - Speaker 2
It's time to dive into some insider secrets of investing and retirement planning. To make your retirement as smart and as elegant as possible. This is Money Chic with Sherry Rash.

0:00:31 - Speaker 3
Hey everybody, welcome in to Money Chic, women and Retirement, with Sherry Rash and myself Talking investing, finance and retirement and we've got a kind of a double header coming up on the podcast. For the next two episodes we're going to do 22 money resolutions for 22. Pretty interesting, right? Pretty catchy. How did we ever think of that, sherry?

0:00:52 - Speaker 4
Very clever, very clever.

0:00:54 - Speaker 3
So, yeah, we're going to break up. We're going to do the first 11 on this week's episode of the podcast and then in two weeks we'll drop the second one. We will do the other 11. So what's going on? How are you?

0:01:03 - Speaker 4
I'm great. I'm great I'm in the holiday season, I have my Christmas tree up in my office so I can look at it all day and started my advent calendars.

0:01:13 - Speaker 3
Yes, the wife loves those yes.

0:01:15 - Speaker 4
Yeah, I went a little outside of the box this year. I have a hot sauce calendar. Ooh, yeah, yes. So 24 different hot sauces, and I also have a cheese one.

0:01:30 - Speaker 3
I like it. Yeah, I got to find that that's pretty cool.

0:01:33 - Speaker 4
I got them from my two favorite stores, aldi and Liddle. Oh yeah, idl. Yeah, yeah yeah.

0:01:41 - Speaker 3
We just got both of those actually in my little town here. So yeah, I'll have to go check that out.

0:01:46 - Speaker 1
I'll have the hot sauce one.

0:01:48 - Speaker 3
Yeah, my brother. All liked that one. Very cool, Very neat. Well, good, I'm glad you had a good holiday and you're into the holiday spirit and yeah, it's just around the corner. This year has flown by oddly enough, right. It seemed like 2020 was like the longest decade ever in one year.

And then 21 just kind of went phew. So we'll get into it. We'll start talking about this If you got questions along the way. As always, folks don't forget to reach out to Sherry and make sure that you are doing the right things for your situation and, of course, you can find her at GreenwayWealthAdvisorycom. That's GreenwayWealthAdvisorycom, however. You got here with email blast or found us on the podcast or social media, whatever the case might be. But definitely stop by, check out the good tools, tips and resources there and don't forget to hit the subscribe button on whatever platforming app you like to use. You can also find it posted to her website, greenwaywealthadvisorycom. All right, so you might not be able to follow through with all 22 of these and again we're going to do 11 this week but implementing even just a few could get you well onto your way to a better financial year in the upcoming year. So let's start with number one. Sherry Pretty seems pretty obvious. It's like a New Year's resolution kind of thing. Let's just reduce our debt.

0:02:58 - Speaker 4
That's right. So, taking a look at your credit card, your mortgage, student loans, a rule of thumb tells us that our debt should be no more than 36% of our pre-tax income.

0:03:11 - Speaker 3
Okay.

0:03:12 - Speaker 4
So adding up all of your debts and then doing a quick calculation of 36% of your pre-tax income Remember not what hits your checking account, your pre-tax income and that kind of is the rule of thumb to follow when it comes to debt. So if you're above that, find some ways to pay down some of that debt and reduce it so you're in more of a healthier percentage.

0:03:35 - Speaker 3
Okay, and if you are reducing some of that debt, you might have some of that extra money or whatever the case is. So you could go to number two, which, if you're still working, if you're a retiree I mean a pre-retiree, excuse me or even a little bit sooner than that you could boost those retirement savings accounts like the 401Ks, Max those out Definitely, make sure you're getting the, you know, the match and all that kind of stuff, right?

0:03:55 - Speaker 4
Yeah, so for 2022, 401k maximum contributions are going up to 20,500. So it's an extra $1,000 that you can contribute if you're under age 50. If you're over age 50, you can do that 20,500 plus that catch up contribution as well. So that's a nice way that we can boost our retirement savings, eliminate some debt and then pay your future self. Yeah.

0:04:23 - Speaker 3
And you figure, you know what's a thousand dollars. But let's say, if you're 50, you know it's a thousand a year. For the next, let's say, 17 years till you get to full retirement age, you know that's another 17 grand. I mean it's not going to, you know, necessarily make or break it, but it's certainly still going to add right to our retirement accounts. And then, of course, if you're doing an IRA, that's even different. So you could definitely add some money that way.

Let's see Number three learn from 2020 and 2021. Definitely, let's be a little bit more prepared for the unexpected, and this is the emergency fund, right.

0:04:55 - Speaker 4
Yeah. So take a look at anything that happened last year or this year major expenses. Were you prepared for them? One thing I work on with my clients is making sure that they do have a healthy emergency savings. Which rule of thumb tells us three to six months of expenses just socked away sitting there for an emergency. So then, if something happens, you don't have to go into credit card debt or borrow from your 401k in order to pay for that emergency. So is your HVAC on the last leg. May you need a new roof, a new car in 2022? So plan for that now. Start socking away some money now. So then, when the time comes that you have to make that major purchase or you have that emergency, you don't have to go into major debt to pay for it.

0:05:46 - Speaker 3
Yeah, and they kind of work together right. So that helps you keep back to number one, keep that debt reduced.

So that's a great way to go about doing that, yeah, and a lot of people did get caught off guard by that, like I think it hopefully is served as a good lesson, sherry, that, especially for 2020, when so many people, you know, lost their job due to places just being closed or being forced to be closed or whatever If you didn't have an emergency fund, you probably you know had a rough time, so that's right.

It's definitely a good to learn from the past kind of thing. So let's do I love number four here don't overreact to the headlines. I mean at this point I hope that we're all learning that just about everything in every arena it seems like on television, is designed to be well, you know, just incite some sort of you know panic or something.

0:06:32 - Speaker 4
Yes, get some emotion out of you. The 24 hour news cycle definitely does not help this resolution. But I think that we're going to continue to have big headlines and the market reacts to news. The market reacts to emotion, so don't overreact. Take it in stride. If you have plans, if you have safeguards in place emergency funds you're working with an advisor to help you invest appropriately, the headlines may not shock you as much or, you know, have you react as emotionally to them?

0:07:09 - Speaker 3
Yeah, and I know it's hard right, but it's just, it's something we've got to turn off more of the. I think we got to turn away from the social media and the just the regular media a bit more on the regular basis. Going into the next year seems like we do us a do us good right to just not always get so if you can't turn away from it but, for whatever reason, try not to let it, you know, rock you to the core so much because, yeah, there's definitely something always going to happen when it comes to those headlines and certainly good advice and just about any front, not just financially.

0:07:38 - Speaker 4
Yeah, read your news instead of watch or listen to awesome books. Yeah, yeah, there you go.

0:07:43 - Speaker 3
Yeah, reading is good for you too. Number five, that's the B word, but maybe we can find a better word. But anyway, implement a budget or at least maybe a tracking sheet. Whatever you want to call it right, but track your spending would be a great way to go.

0:07:56 - Speaker 4
I don't like the B word, I like the word spending strategy.

0:08:00 - Speaker 3
There you go.

0:08:02 - Speaker 4
Budgets are constrictive and make you feel restrained and if you blow your budget one month on a line item and you kind of feel like you messed up and there's no way to recover, so yeah, implement a spending strategy is what I like to work. When I work with my clients, I suggest that and then also keep it broad. What you need you have a set dollar amount or an idea of what you should spend on basic necessities so housing costs, electricity, food and then some. Once you got it. You got a life is for living right. So you have to have your spending strategy reflect things to enhance our lives. So you do allocate funds to that. But then you also have to make sure you're saving and paying your future self. So implementing a spending strategy is definitely a good idea.

0:08:56 - Speaker 3
So how you doing on this list so far, folks? I mean we've given you six things here or, excuse me, five things. We're getting ready to go to six. So I mean there's some of these are pretty easy to do and we can definitely do this as we're moving into 22,. Make some of these resolutions. So we're covering the first 11 this week on the podcast, sherry, maybe, meet with an advisor number six here on the list. Meet with a financial advisor, especially if you've never done it. Get it on your list to get it done. And if you're within let's, you know, let's call it that pre-retirement stage. If you're 50, you know, 50, 55, whatever, get it done.

0:09:28 - Speaker 4
And I'll give you a way to kind of cheat with these resolutions. If you meet with an advisor, they're probably going to help you with a lot of these things to be so you could not you could not do one and take care of, like all 11.

0:09:41 - Speaker 3
Maybe that's right, that's right.

0:09:43 - Speaker 4
So, yeah, meet with an advisor. They can answer your questions, help you prepare, make sure that you have some of the safeguards in place and, yeah, I mean if you're getting close to retirement. I think that this volatile market that we've seen over the past couple of weeks is here to stay, and we've been spoiled for the past handful of years with what the market has given us. So you need to make sure you have a plan in place if you're within that five to 10 years of retirement, because you certainly don't want a downturn to completely derail your retirement plans.

0:10:17 - Speaker 3
Yeah, indeed, I mean anybody who went through you know the scare or the worry at last March or March of 2020, I guess I should say, with that quick downturn due to the pandemic, or even further back in the way to nine. You certainly don't want to do that as close when you're getting closer in age, to retirement and you know we have to go. There's all these things that we're supposed to start going to the doctor for once we turn 50, right, these extra little checkup things, so kind of you know same thing financially.

Right, Go go see the financial doctor, if you will, when you get to 50 and all that kind of stuff. So if you haven't done it, get that on your calendar. And, to Sherry's point, it's a great way to check off a lot of these other things because they'll help you do it. Like number seven, checking the beneficiary designations on all your accounts. Now, this is a super easy fix, sherry, that you can do and often doesn't even cost you anything to do it.

0:11:03 - Speaker 4
It's a super easy fix and it's so costly. If beneficiary designations are not correct and I see it all the time A newly married couple or a couple that's even been married for quite a few years still has their parents listed as their beneficiaries. Or if you're divorced and you have your ex spouse listed. That's not. That would not be pretty right If, if God forbid, something were to happen. So check your beneficiary designations. I do it for all of my clients for every annual review, just to make sure, because it's a very costly mistake and it takes only a couple minutes to identify and fix if necessary.

0:11:43 - Speaker 3
Yeah, and you know, for whatever case things change in our life and you might want to, you know, add someone or new grandbaby, or remove somebody or whatever the case is. So it's just so fast and easy to do and, yeah, the complications are, you know, way more compounded and it's something you can take care of easy. And maybe that kind of goes along with number eight here, sherry, which is carving out time for those tough conversations. You know, the show's called Money Chic Women in Retirement, and sometimes it's tough to talk to our spouses or even our kids right About our wishes as we maybe get ill or get older or, you know, pass away legacy, things of that nature.

0:12:18 - Speaker 4
Absolutely. I mean obviously. It's not fun, it is a tough conversation, but it does make everything a lot easier when that time does come and decisions have to be made. So having your healthcare directive established and set up and just give it to your spouse and a copy to your children to make sure that they have it so they can fulfill your wishes, powers of attorney, legacy planning what do you want to leave as a legacy and make sure your spouse understands that, or your partner understands that, or the beneficiaries of your accounts know that they are in fact beneficiaries I think is also important. So just having the conversation and it's probably a lot worse in your head than when you actually have it, and probably afterwards you're going to feel a lot better A huge weight is going to be lifted off your shoulders just from that conversation alone.

0:13:13 - Speaker 3
Yeah, definitely, and a lot of times you know, we know the statistics men pass away first. So if your spouse did pass, passed away and it's just you now, you definitely want to have these conversations with your children or whatever the case might be. Again, maybe this the things you want to do for the grandkids or whatever. So it's not fun, it's not easy, but carve out a little time, have those tough conversations, you know, kind of get those things smoothed out so that it will go much easier in the event that something does happen. And these last couple ones here definitely kind of work together. Number nine here on our list is auditing the insurance Audits such a non fun word, but just, do you still need all the things you have? Basically right.

0:13:53 - Speaker 4
Yeah. So look at your life insurance. Do you have an appropriate amount of life insurance? You could have too much and you're paying for insurance you don't need. You don't always need the same amount of insurance throughout your whole life. When you're younger and you have a healthy mortgage and children and paying for college, you probably need some more life insurance then. But when you're an empty nester, you may not need as much insurance. So are you paying for insurance you don't necessarily need? Are there ways to reduce or increase your insurance? Also, think about long term care. As you're nearing retirement, long term care insurance does need to be part of the conversation. Everyone has different feelings about long term care insurance, and that's fine, but you need to at least think about it and have the conversation of do you want it? Do you want to purchase it? Is it worth pursuing?

0:14:46 - Speaker 3
Yeah, and a lot of times if you've had a policy for a number of years and there's caveats, of course, but if you're in good health and so on and so forth, you may find that you can get better coverage at a lower rate. So there's lots of little things out there that could certainly benefit, because often people do find themselves saying well, do I even need insurance as a retiree or a pre-retiree? So it's worth the conversation to review it with an advisor and that way you can kind of find out. To Sherry's point hey, do I need this? Am I paying for something and I don't need, or do I need more of it? So it's certainly a good way to go, sherry, with the number 10 here. The housing market obviously has been crazy the last you know, 18 months or so, but you know. So maybe getting into a new house you know you might be paying just as much or more, but maybe refinancing something to ponder because the rates are so low if that's something that works in your plan.

0:15:36 - Speaker 4
I get asked this question a lot by clients if refinancing makes sense for them. If you plan on being in your home for a long time, it may make sense to give it a thought to refinance. It's definitely been very popular over the past year or so, so it could save you some money in the end, or you may be able to pay off your mortgage a little bit faster.

0:15:57 - Speaker 3
Yeah, it just kind of needs to be part of the overall strategy and really that winds up working nicely for number 11, sherry, which is just organizing right. Get organized with the financial life, maybe jump back up to number six and meet with that financial advisor and get a strategy put together so that you can, you know, kind of check all these boxes.

0:16:15 - Speaker 4
Exactly and whatever way works for you to organize whether it's through apps, an app on your phone, a website, pen and paper, an Excel sheet, putting all of your documents into a fire safe box, give copies of your documents to your loved ones but definitely getting organized is so important because I see it all the time If someone were to pass away, their beneficiaries or their spouse or their partner don't even know where to start to locate their account. So that is a big one. So get organized. But then the second step is you have to share it with someone as well, Right?

0:16:53 - Speaker 3
So what you're saying is that drawer, that financial junk drawer, that you open and everything springs out because it's so stuffed in. There is probably time to go through that, right.

It's time to organize that joker up a little bit Like the closet that you never want to tackle or whatever. Get organized. That's certainly a good way to go. So there you go, folks. There's 11 ways to get started. That's the first 11 of the 22 money resolutions for 2022.

And if you've got questions and you need some help with any of these, to Sherry's point, getting together with a good financial advisor, a good money coach like Sherry, can help you get a lot of this stuff done with some help and some support. So, as always, reach out to Sherry if you've got some questions. Are you money chic, confident, healthy, informed, capable. Find out. Stop by the website, take the quiz, have a conversation and check out Sherry's website. It's a lot of good tools, tips and resources at Greenway WealthAdvisorycom. That's GreenwayWealthAdvisorycom. And don't forget to hit subscribe on Apple or Google or Spotify, whatever platform you use. Often some of those podcasting apps are already pre-installed on your phone, so all you got to do is open it up and type in money, chic, women and retirement. Sherry, thanks for hanging out. Look forward to finishing this conversation in a couple of weeks.

0:18:04 - Speaker 4
Thank you.

0:18:05 - Speaker 3
As always, we appreciate your time and we will see you next time here on Money, chic Women and Retirement with Sherry Rash from Greenway WealthAdvisory.

0:18:19 - Speaker 1
Discussions in this show should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Security is offered through registered representatives of Cambridge Investment Research Inc. A broker-dealer member, FINRA, SIPC Advisory services through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. A registered investment advisor. Cambridge and Greenway WealthAdvisory are not affiliated.