With millions of people getting ready for the Superbowl this weekend, there’s a lot of excitement and anticipation as to what is to come. One place you know will be busy is Vegas as the oddsmakers provide the opportunity to bet on just about anything related to the big game.
The normal ones are:
Who wins the coin toss or who’s the first team or player to score a point?
Some that are a bit odd include:
What color will the liquid be that is poured on the game-winning coach or will Joe Buck or Troy Aikman say ‘Patriots’?
Uncertainty in this context can be fun and potentially profitable.
However, as it relates to our personal finances, there are many areas of uncertainty that can lead to stress and potentially bad decision-making.
● Are we poised for a significant market correction?
● What will tax rates be in the future?
● What health issues could I face in the future that could impact my financial success?
● How will I be able to afford college for my children without ruining my retirement plans?
Although most of these things are not in our control, they can still keep us up at night.
So what can you do to combat these uncertainties and take control of your finances?
For starters, implement strategies that can create much more certainty in your life so you can handle whatever comes your way. The value of certainty can not be understated as it can not only relieve your stress but also allow you to take calculated risks to reach your maximum potential in life and your finances.
Here are a few ways to protect and create more wealth with certainty.
Have ample liquidity: Most would agree having funds that are not exposed to loss and are liquid is a key part of an ideal financial strategy. This could be 6 months or more of expenses stored for use when the unexpected happens. What is often not considered is your “Opportunity” money which is available when a new investment or venture becomes available.
Most have their money tied up in retirement accounts or their homes and cannot be used for other opportunities. Also, the typical place where people store money cannot even keep pace with inflation which erodes your wealth. Finding a better place to store you emergency and opportunity funds is extremely important.
Maximize your protections: With most of the focus on personal finances centered around investments, the vast majority of families are significantly underinsured for a number of risks such as death, disability, and lawsuits which can create financial failure in their lives. By putting in place adequate protections for the least amount of cost over your lifetime, it can have a massive impact at a time people need it the most.
Diversify your investments: Most financial advices on diversification is focused on the types of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds to buy. True diversification accounts for other factors such as whether your accounts will be taxed in the future or how correlated are you assets to each other. Having strategies and assets in place that can provide options and flexibility when markets become volatile and tax rates change is key to having more control and certainty.
For instance, if the markets experienced a significant downturn, would that be a good time to take out money from your investment accounts? Absolutely not and planning ahead of time for this will offer more security and wealth for you to enjoy.
Now, it’s impossible to predict exactly what will happen in the future, however having areas of our lives filled with certainty can significantly boost our confidence as we face those areas of uncertainty.
What is the value of certainty in your life? What are you doing today to ensure you can withstand any storm that may come your way in the future? Now is time to act before it’s too late.
