Smart financial advice from local experts. Dollar & Sense It Is a Good Time To Review Your Finances By Mike Flannery, MBA, CTFA Wealth Advisor First National Bank & Trust We are approaching year-end, so it is a good time to review your finances. Ask yourself what has gone well in the past year, what goals were you able to meet and in what areas did you fall short. Following are a few ideas you can keep in mind. Review your finances. Doa run through to see how you are doing to see if you have met your financial goals. These goals may have been saving for retirement, paying off debt, or saving for a home or a car. if some goals have a longer time frame ask yourself if you are still on track. If you are not, what is keeping you from reaching that goal. Determine if you have to adjust goals based on changes to your employment or your income. A major life event such as marriage, a divorce, the birth of a child or the death of a loved one may require a review and adjustment of your goals. If you have one, the end of the year is a good time to review your budget. Focus on your saving and your spending and ask yourself if you need to make changes. Try to get a good handle on your fixed and your variable expenses. Fixed expenses such as reoccurring debt payments are easy; it is the variable expenses or the unexpected expenses that are the challenge. A good budget can help keep you on track and point out expenses that you may be able to control. The end of the year is also a good time to review your retirement plans. if your employer offers a retirement plan, are you participating in that plan? The easiest way to reach your financial goals is to save more and one of the easier ways to do that is through automatic payroll deductions to an employer sponsored retirement plan. if you are contributing, ask yourself if you are saving enough. If your employer offers a match taking fuladvantage of that match can help you pursue your goal. If it fits into your budget, you may want to increase your savings in order to work towards your retirement goals. The end of the year is also a good time to review your credit report. Review your report carefully and check for erors that need attention such as incorrect first and last names or errors in your address. Make sure that you can identify all of the accounts on the report and check if any accounts are listed as open that you know are closed. Remember you are trying to make slow steady progress when k comes to pursuing your financial goals. A little time reviewing and adjusting your plan can go a long way in ensuring you work towards your goals. First National Wealth Management TRISTRD. INVETD. coMuID Call for your free no-obligosion consultation 906.776.2953 | 906.863.2804 3805 1oth St. Menominee, MI 58 mike fannery@lpl.com Mike Flannery Wealth Advisor Smart financial advice from local experts. Dollar & Sense It Is a Good Time To Review Your Finances By Mike Flannery, MBA, CTFA Wealth Advisor First National Bank & Trust We are approaching year-end, so it is a good time to review your finances. Ask yourself what has gone well in the past year, what goals were you able to meet and in what areas did you fall short. Following are a few ideas you can keep in mind. Review your finances. Doa run through to see how you are doing to see if you have met your financial goals. These goals may have been saving for retirement, paying off debt, or saving for a home or a car. if some goals have a longer time frame ask yourself if you are still on track. If you are not, what is keeping you from reaching that goal. Determine if you have to adjust goals based on changes to your employment or your income. A major life event such as marriage, a divorce, the birth of a child or the death of a loved one may require a review and adjustment of your goals. If you have one, the end of the year is a good time to review your budget. Focus on your saving and your spending and ask yourself if you need to make changes. Try to get a good handle on your fixed and your variable expenses. Fixed expenses such as reoccurring debt payments are easy; it is the variable expenses or the unexpected expenses that are the challenge. A good budget can help keep you on track and point out expenses that you may be able to control. The end of the year is also a good time to review your retirement plans. if your employer offers a retirement plan, are you participating in that plan? The easiest way to reach your financial goals is to save more and one of the easier ways to do that is through automatic payroll deductions to an employer sponsored retirement plan. if you are contributing, ask yourself if you are saving enough. If your employer offers a match taking fuladvantage of that match can help you pursue your goal. If it fits into your budget, you may want to increase your savings in order to work towards your retirement goals. The end of the year is also a good time to review your credit report. Review your report carefully and check for erors that need attention such as incorrect first and last names or errors in your address. Make sure that you can identify all of the accounts on the report and check if any accounts are listed as open that you know are closed. Remember you are trying to make slow steady progress when k comes to pursuing your financial goals. A little time reviewing and adjusting your plan can go a long way in ensuring you work towards your goals. First National Wealth Management TRISTRD. INVETD. coMuID Call for your free no-obligosion consultation 906.776.2953 | 906.863.2804 3805 1oth St. Menominee, MI 58 mike fannery@lpl.com Mike Flannery Wealth Advisor