Vista Wealth Management Tips

Creating a Long-Term Plan for Success

We live in uncertain economic times to say the least. It's often underestimated how much of an impact that financial stability has on a person's overall health and wellbeing. Having a long-term plan for your finances is one of the best ways to ride out economic volatility. Especially when your investment and financial strategies are diversified across multiple asset classes, indexes, and even include global investments.

In this post we'll explore practical tips for building a lasting financial plan and highlight how Wismar Financial helps clients in Vista and throughout San Diego County implement each step.

Start With a Clear Vision and Defined Goals

Having a clear vision of what you want your future to look like is the first step towards making it happen. That's the same with your financial future. Goals give direction and help answer the questions of what kind of lifestyle you want to live. You need to have a clear vision of that before you can decide on how to financially plan for it. When making your goals, start with the end in mind, as Stephen Covey would recommend. Work your way back from your end goal and than segment your goals into short-, medium-, and long-term goals. Be sure to make SMART goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely.

Goals are only as good as the consistency you have with reviewing them and updating them as needed. A goal made is good, but a goal reviewed and renewed on a regular basis really comes to life!

Wismar's comprehensive financial planning program begins with gathering data and understanding client objectives. We use a proprietary 12-stage financial planning process to structure your financial roadmap.

Build a Strong Financial Foundation

Your strong financial foundation must start with a solid budget and control of your income and expenses. Budgeting isn't easy for many people, but it is absolutely crucial to keeping your financial plan on track. If you are not comfortable or you are unable to manage your budget, paying the small fees to hire an accountant will be well worth the expense over the long run. A key to successful budgeting is to Allocate savings first. Most people tend to spend and than save the rest but at the end of the month, what happens? There's very little left to save. That's why you should put your savings and investing on auto-pilot and have it set to auto-withdraw from your checking account at the first of each month. That way you don't even see it and are less likely to spend it.

Life has a way of throwing us curve balls when you least expect it. Having an emergency fund of 3-6 months worth of essential expenses helps manage those curveballs. But be wary of just parking your cash in a regular savings account earning 0.something %. With inflation, your cash will be losing value every month. Putting your money in a high-yield savings account will make sure you purchasing power maintains or slightly improves if your interest rate is higher than the inflation rate.

Strategic Investing & Asset Allocation

It's important to match your types of investments and your asset allocation to your time horizon and risk tolerance. A longer horizon allows you to invest in more volatile assets like tech stocks. While in the short-term they will be much more volatile than your typical blue-chip stock, they have a much greater upside over the long run. Index funds and ETFs are the preferred option for investing at Wismar. Baskets of stocks spreads the risk out and you are significantly less likely to experience a crash in your investment value. Regular monitoring and rebalancing is important to keep your investments on track and that's how Wismar helps our clients. You assign your goal return and risk tolerance and we make investment decisions to keep you on track.

Tax Efficiency, Insurance & Protection, and Estate Planning

Use a blend of tax-advantaged accounts like 401(k)s, IRAs, HSAs, etc. Also take advantage of strategies like tax-loss harvesting, tax deduction and credit maximization. This is where working with a tax professional or CPA can be very beneficial. How much they can save you in taxes can greatly outweigh their fees and this gives you more to invest for your future.

Monitoring, Course Correction & Ongoing Review

Based on our client's preference, we will review your plan on a quarterly, semi-annual, or annual basis, and make recommendations on where to adjust. We will factor in personal, family, professional, economic, and goal-related changes - adjusting for life events and staying proactive. We will help give you an educated and objective view of your plan and performance and help you stay focused for the long-term to avoid reacting emotionally to short term news or volatility.

Conclusion

The 5 Pillars of a lasting wealth plan are: 1. Vision 2. Foundation 3. Investing 4. Protection 5. Review. And remember a plan is only as good as its execution and adjustment. Contact us at www.wismarfinancial.com to book a complimentary consultation to begin your personalized wealth strategy. We proudly serve families in Vista, California and all over San Diego County. If you're ready to create a sustainable, long-term wealth management plan, Wismar Financial is here to guide you every step of the way.