5 Financial Things to Do Now That You Won’t Regret

Available for Interviews: Lauren Moone

Lauren Moone is an Executive Vice President at Mirador Capital Partners and has been providing investment advice for individuals, families, and institutions for over 13 years.

 

What Lauren Moone can say in an interview:

By the time you reach your mid-30s, you may have been in your career for a while, maybe you own a house, you may have kids or are thinking about starting a family, and you’re usually beginning to make some traction in your financial life. But how do you maximize this momentum so that you’re making the right decisions now that you’ll be thankful for in 10 years? Here are five key elements to consider.

1. Have a Financial Plan

An ideal financial plan takes all of your assets into account—such as your 401(k), IRAs, cash in savings, accumulated stock from your employer—and examines everything to make sure you’re maximizing your investments, taking an appropriate amount of risk and are on track for your financial goals. Questions that are important to ask during this process are: How much do you save per month? What are you currently contributing to your 401(k)? What are your goals for the future? What does retirement look like for you?

2. Fund 529 Plans for Your Children

529 plans are tax-advantaged savings vehicles which allow families to put money away for college (and K-12 as of 2018), and allow the invested funds to grow tax-free until they are needed for qualified education expenses like tuition, room and board, computers, and textbooks. The benefits go beyond tax-free growth, including parental control of the assets, the ability to transfer leftover plan funds to other family members, and certain estate planning benefits. Starting a 529 account when your child is born and funding as much as possible early can result in as much as a 50% larger account balance than regular annual contributions of smaller amounts

3. Max Out Your 401(k)

Saving money in your 401(k) plan has a compounding effect down the road, especially if you elect to contribute the maximum amount each year. At the very least, contribute enough to maximize your employers’ match if your company does make a contribution. If you don’t take advantage of that, you’re leaving money on the table.

4. Invest Your Savings

When we meet a new client, often they’ll have some savings plan in place to automatically put a portion of their paycheck into a savings account every pay period. But then, they’ll just leave it there. There might be a large cash balance that ends up earning a piddling interest amount. We recommend to clients to be more intentional in terms of investing those dollars to make that money work for you sooner rather than later. Consider an investment account, such as a money market fund for emergency funds, and a diversified portfolio of stocks and bonds for long-term savings.

5. Speak With Your Parents
About Their Financial Plan

Around the mid-30s, our parents are hopefully still in decent physical and mental health. This is the key time to have conversations with them about their plans for the future. How do they plan on paying for their own retirement or future healthcare costs? Do they have a basic estate plan in place? It’s critical to encourage parents to put everything in place now while things are good, instead of waiting for issues to arise, and then trying to figure out what their wishes are at that time. Many people assume their parents are taking care of themselves and have everything planned out. But more than half of Americans over 55 still don’t have a basic will.

 

Interview: Lauren Moone

Lauren Moone specializes in complex financial planning and customized portfolio construction. She advises clients on vital financial matters including pre-IPO planning, employer stock option optimization, wealth transfer strategies, and concentrated equity strategies. Lauren is a native of Seattle, Washington and moved to California to attend Claremont McKenna College, where she graduated with a degree in Economics and Accounting. Lauren is a CFA® charterholder, a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) certificant and a Certified Private Wealth Advisor(CPWA®) professional. Lauren currently resides in Pleasanton, California with her husband and three children.

Contact:
Jo Allison
Managing Editor
Director of Public Relations
MEDIA AMBASSADORS
Success In Media, Inc.
Jo@SuccessInMedia.com

Leave a Reply