How to Navigate Financial Pressures: This is Your Strategy Guide P2

In this financial strategy guide episode, John and his partner Edward Bao, CFP®, AIF® discuss Smallwood Wealth’s approach to financial planning, and how your plans may shift emphasis under the current economic circumstances.

John is the author of 5 Ways Your Wealth is Under Attack and It’s Your Wealth – Keep It.” He has lectured extensively on financial planning and is a recipient of the Five StarSM Wealth Manager Award.

Don’t miss these takeaways:

• Smallwood Wealth’s client-centric approach helps us tailor a plan for you that can be nimble during this economic crisis.
• The financial planning principles that have always applied have not changed, but in the current environment, you may focus more on certain areas:
  • It’s crucial to evaluate the resilience of your income stream.
  • You may need to temporarily reduce your savings rate.
  • Plug any financial leaks and make sure you know how all of your income is being spent and taxed.
  • Recent tax law changes such as the Secure Act of 2019 (especially pertinent to IRAs) and the CARES Act require major rethinking of your tax planning and retirement planning.
    • With taxes likely to increase in the future, revise your plan now. Doing so can mean less of your future money is exposed to taxation at an unknown rate.
    • Take advantage of current low capital gains rates, which may not last.
    • You can suspend Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) if you need to.
  • With interest rates at their lowest ever, it may be time to rethink your debt structure.
  • You have the opportunity to beef up your plan’s defense, ensuring that insurance, wills, and trusts are all in place.

For more, listen here. Then watch our video, “Financial Planning: The Big Picture.” In this video, John shows 32 financial pressures—one of them a global black swan event such as our current crisis.

You’ll also want to download our free Guide to Navigating Financial Pressure. It includes our Wealth Curve Pressure Identifier tool, which helps you identify the pressures on your wealth. If you are new to Smallwood Wealth, schedule a Wealth Curve Conversation here.

You can also connect with us on social media, or call us at (800) 797-1000. Set up a free, no-obligation 30-minute phone call with an advisor to discuss your financial plan, the current pressures on it, and how to reduce those pressures—now and in the future.

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