A personal financial checkup is a good way to make sure you're on the path to financial security. A financial checkup lets you look at your progress toward your financial goals from time to time.
Getting your finances in order can be helped by taking the following steps:
• Evaluate your goals. How are you doing compared to the goals you set? Are you saving and investing your money successfully? Do you put enough money into your 401(k) to get the company match? Where and why do you fall short? Changes in your life, like getting a raise or having a baby, could affect your ability to reach these goals. It might be time to change your goals, for better or for worse.
Check up on your investments. Check the return on each investment and make sure they are all back in balance. Are you happy with how well it's doing compared to the rest of the market? Consider getting some advice.
Online, you can also find free tools to help you invest, like ShareBuilder's PortfolioBuilder (www.sharebuilder.com). The service makes a portfolio for you that fits your budget, investment goals, and willingness to take on risk.
• Set your investments on autopilot. Investing regularly is a key way to reach your goals. If saving and investing is important to you, but it's the last thing you think about every month, set up an automatic investing plan. You don't need a lot of money all at once to get things going. Services like ShareBuilder don't have a minimum account size, and you can set up a plan to put in a set amount of money, like $100 per month, every month. The money will be taken out of your checking or savings account and put into an investment account.
Don't think about it. People often think they don't have enough money to start investing or that it's not the right time to start investing. In reality, investing is always a good idea. The first step is to start as soon as possible to save and invest for the long term. The value of adding up over time can't be replaced.
Reviewing your investments at least once every six months is a good idea once you've started.
