Making new year’s resolutions may be easy, but achieving them can be a challenge. Think about last year—did you accomplish your goals? Perhaps you had fitness aspirations you didn’t reach, and realized that working with a personal trainer would have really helped.

 

Just as a professional guides you to achieving your fitness goals, partnering with us helps you reach your wealth ambitions. And, if you have some 2020 resolutions, keep these good habits for financial success in mind as we begin the new year.

 

1) Update your financial plan—Whether you’re sticking to your strategy, or life brings you unexpected events, it’s important to keep your financial plan up to date. It needs to be adjusted annually, and any time something out of the ordinary occurs. This helps ensure your assets and liabilities, insurance coverage and goals are all current, and gives you a clear picture of your financial health.

 

Mapping out your finances helps you reach your long-term goals and gives you a focus for your shorter ones.

 

2) Set emotions aside—Too often people react by selling when their investments decline. Successful investors focus on making rational decisions, rather than letting their feelings control their actions. Stay focused on your overall long-term portfolio strategy, not on short-term fluctuations.

 

Dramatic headlines about the stock market may draw you in and cause you to react too quickly. Instead of acting rashly based on the news, use it as part of bigger discussions with us about your investments and expectations. Remember, the media is just one point of information.

 

3) Learn from your mistakes—Nobody's perfect, everyone makes mistakes. You can build financial knowledge from past errors. For instance, you may have jumped into an investment without considering how long you’d need to hold it before earning any returns. That’s where we can assist in determining your time horizon and risk tolerance.

 

Your time horizon. How long do you have to save up for your retirement, a down payment on a home, or your child’s college education? If you want to save money to buy a house, that could be a medium-term time frame. If you’re investing to pay for a young child’s college education, that’s a long-term investment.

 

Your risk tolerance. Let’s figure out how much risk you’re comfortable with. For example, if you’re a conservative investor and an investment offers very attractive returns, let’s also look at its risk profile. In other words, how much you could potentially lose if that investment doesn’t do well.

 

Words of wisdom

 

While there’s no magic to investing, we can certainly look at some nuggets of wisdom from famous people.

 

"I will tell you how to become rich. Close the doors. Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful." — Warren Buffett

 

Be prepared to invest in a down market and to "get out" in a soaring market.

 

"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest." — Benjamin Franklin

 

When it comes to investing, nothing will pay off more than educating yourself. We can help you research, study and analyze investments before making any investment decisions.

 

“Money looks better in the bank than on your feet.” — Sophia Amoruso

 

The foundation of effective budgeting, saving, and investing is in one important trait: Behaviour. When budgeting and investing, think about your “why”.

 

We wish you a healthy and prosperous New Year. As always, contact us anytime to talk about your investment portfolio. We’re always happy to connect.