021 – Worst Money Moves For Each Decade
We have all made money mistakes. The first step is admitting that you have made mistakes when it comes to your money. You spend too much, save too little, are under insured, over insured…. the list goes on and on. There are financial concerns that we all need to be aware of in each stage of our lives. In your 20’s Spending more than you make and not saving enough for retirement. This is the one that gets most of us. We graduate from college in debt, but we just can’t help ourselves. We go buy a nice car and apartment because that is what everyone else is doing. Instead, create a budget based on your current income and get in the habit of saving for retirement. If you can start the habit in your 20’s you have a great chance of keeping it up through your working years. In your 30’s Delaying buying insurance. Let’s face it, insurance is the last thing we want to pay for. We know we need health insurance, car insurance and home insurance but life insurance is most often overlooked. I think the main reason is that life insurance is not easy to understand and it is often sold so we just don’t do anything. But life insurance is vitally important, especially when you are young and are starting a family. Waiting can often be your worst mistake because life insurance is so cheap when you are young. Go to websites like www.quotacy.com or www.policygenius.com to shop for policy’s before buying. I like these sites because you can shop for insurance without putting in any of your contact information, which means there will not be a salesperson calling you to try and sell you something. That is the key to figuring out how much insurance you need before you start shopping for it. Otherwise, the likelihood of an insurance salesperson selling you something you don’t need increases. Once you know how much you need then you can just find the best price and not be sold something you don’t need. In your 40’s Spending money on kid’s college while ignoring saving for retirement. At this age people are still buying things that they want; a new house, a new car and family vacations. If you have not started getting serious it is time to start. Even worse, parents are spending money on kid’s college while not saving enough for retirement. This is the time to wake up and smell the coffee because there is still time to get a jumpstart on your retirement savings. Compounding interest is such a beautiful thing and we need to leverage this phenomenon in order to save enough for retirement. In your 40’s there is still time to save for retirement. The key is to figure out how much to save and then get on a schedule. In your 50’s Getting too defensive with retirement savings This is the time when we look at our retirement accounts and the balance is getting higher than we imagined. In our 30’s and the market went down 30% it was not easy to look at but losing 30% of not much in the first place does not hurt when the balance is low. But in our 50’s the balance is much higher and we cannot stomach large losses. Because of this, we tend to get really conservative with our money. This can really hurt in the long run and our money may not grow like it should ensuring a retirement that we dreamed of. We all need to remember that our time horizon doesn’t end the day we retire; it goes on until we are no longer living. While it is true that our risk capacity gets lower as we age we still need to allow our money to grow so we don’t run out. A lot of us are living 30 plus years in retirement and this means that our time horizon is still a very long time. In your 60’s No plan on how you will withdraw your retirement savings A lot of people get to retirement and they have one big bucket of money. They start to draw down on their nest egg without a particular plan. Retirees withdrawal 40k for a renovation on the house and buy their dream car a few months later. What seems like a large amount of money starts to dwindle down much sooner than expected, especially if these funds are invested too conservatively. Instead, retired couples need to have a plan on how they will withdraw month. For example, I often coach couples on the 4% fixed conservative schedule. If a couple has a million dollars, then they go ahead and spend 40k the first year. The following year the take that same 40K but also give them a raise at the same rate as inflation. If couples stick to this schedule and have the right mix of stocks, bonds and cash they are likely to outlive their money. There are other strategies but the key is to pick the right one for you based on your goals and situation.
About the author, Scott Wellens
Scott Wellens, CFP® is an investment advisor and founder of Fortress Planning Group. After earning his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Scott quickly ascended to become a Vice President of North American Sales at a major regional provider of telecommunications infrastructure. While financially successful in this role, Scott searched for ways to pursue his passion related to financial literacy and providing financial freedom for both his own family and others. During his search, Scott became curious about the significant gap he found in the financial services sector: he was unable to find a comprehensive financial planner that maintained a family stewardship lens without being attached to financial products. Scott decided to fill that gap by creating his own planning firm that maintains a strong passion for comprehensive, unbiased wealth planning that is genuinely client-centered.
Scott resides in Menomonee Falls, WI with his family. He is the father of three active and independent daughters who keep him on his toes. Scott is an active community member, serving on the Hamilton Education Foundation Board, serves as a Dave Ramsey Financial Peace facilitator and leads the All Pro Dad’s group at their local elementary school. Scott enjoys spending his free time visiting state parks with his family, reading, and watching the Milwaukee Bucks and the Green Bay Packers win ball games.