How to Navigate Financial Pressures: This is Your Strategy Guide

In this episode, John reviews his Wealth Curve Pressure Identifier, a resource that walks you through 9 areas that are key to understanding the financial pressures on your wealth, now and in the future.

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 John’s key points:

• In uncertain times, returning to the basics is crucial.
• Nine areas are key to understanding the pressures on your wealth now and in the future, no matter the current economic circumstances:

  1. Family

     • How are your family members going to impact your financial life, positively or negatively, now or in the future? What is going on in their lives?

  2. Income Sources

     • For many people, their income sources are changing dramatically.
     • How resilient and secure are your income sources?

  3. Savings Rate

     • Your savings rate may need to be adjusted based on the pressure you’re experiencing from your family and your income sources.

  4. Tax Reduction Strategies

     • Tax reduction is not just about income taxes, but also asset income, dividends, distributions, and all the money that you receive from other sources.

  5. Liquidity Goals

     • You need to have a certain amount of ready money available at all times—ideally 6 months of living expenses.

  6. Debt

     • Is it time to get rid of your debts more quickly? Or is it time to take out a loan? Interest rates are at all-time lows, but banks are beginning to change their lending criteria as well.

  7. Asset Balance

     • How much money is going into savings accounts, equities, and bonds? What about in retirement plans versus taxable accounts? How much is in personal use real estate versus rental income? How much is liquid? These things need to be in the right balance to help neutralize risk.

  8. Future Outflow and Inflow

     • This refers to commitments you’ve made, such as kids going to college—or expected inflows from inheritance. Your expectations and timing may need to be adjusted.

  9. Defense

     • Defense is the weak point in most people’s plans. They don’t have wills, or the right amount of insurance.
     • This is a good time to rethink your defenses and regain some confidence.

For more, listen here. Then visit us at smallwoodassociates.com and watch our video, “Financial Planning: The Big Picture.” In this video, I walk through about 32 financial pressures—one of them a global black swan event such as what we’re experiencing now.

You’ll also want to download our Guide to Navigating Financial Pressure. It includes our Wealth Curve Pressure Identifier, which is a tool that offers a very clean and concise way of thinking about your money. 

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. It may be time to discuss your plan, the current pressures on it, and the strategies you can use to reduce those pressures now and in the future.

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