4 Reasons to Meet with a Financial Planner before Deciding to Retire

Whenever you are looking to manage your finances, you will benefit by working with a financial planner. This is a professional that specializes in providing advice, guidance, and education to people who are looking to get more out of their financial situation. 

With a financial planner, you will be able to make sure that you are on the right track in terms of saving for retirement and managing your finances wisely. There are a few good reasons to work with a financial planner. As a result, using a financial planner can ensure that you are financially secure for the rest of your life.

SAVE FOR RETIREMENT MORE EFFECTIVELY

One of the reasons why you should meet with a financial planner before you retire is to help you save for retirement more effectively. While you can invest and save for retirement yourself, you may miss out on things that can allow you to increase your savings. 

A financial planner can help introduce you to investment options that can help enhance your wealth. If you already have a sufficient amount of savings, a financial planner can also help you with private wealth management as well.

BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU INVEST IN

Meeting with a financial planner before you retire can also allow you to better understand what you invest in. Whenever you are looking to invest in something, you may be unsure about how it works and how it can benefit you. 



A financial planner can educate you on how things such as stocks, bonds, and annuities work. As a result, you will be in a better position to know which investment options will best meet your needs.

HELP YOU PLAN YOUR FINANCES

Another reason to meet with a financial planner is that they can help you plan your finances more efficiently. They can help you set up a budget to pay your expenses. 

Financial planners can also help you find ways to pay off debts more quickly as well. A financial planner can give you advice on how to manage debts, whether it is a good idea to get a car loan and/or how paying off your mortgage will benefit you.

PREPARE FOR UNEXPECTED EVENTS

Financial planners can help you prepare for unexpected events. There are times when you might have something such as a medical bill or a job loss that can prevent you from reaching your retirement savings goals. As a result, you will benefit from having a professional guide you through this situation. 

A financial planner can help you develop a budget to cope with a job loss and/or a medical debt. With their assistance, you will be in a better position to get through these unexpected events that can affect your financial situation.

Managing your finances can be a bit complicated at times. Whenever you are unsure about how to allocate your financial resources, it is beneficial to get professional assistance. You will benefit by working with a financial planner. 

This professional will guide you through the process of setting up retirement accounts, finding the best things to invest in and also give you advice on how to oversee all of your financial affairs.

Hosting a Family Reunion This Thanksgiving? 4 Ways to Keep it Affordable

Thanksgiving is the perfect time to bring the whole family together. With everyone already planning to travel for the holidays, many decide to host family reunions during this holiday weekend. Preparing to have a Turkey Day family reunion? Read on for four tips on how to have the most affordable family reunion.

Gather at a Local Park

With 43.5 million Americans already planning a Thanksgiving road trip, odds are that anyone hosting a family reunion at this time of the year should prepare for a large gathering. 

Hosts that are looking for a separate location to have their family gather should rent space at a local park. Renting space at a park is a relatively inexpensive option for a family reunion venue, though you’ll want to do it well in advance.

Many families planning their reunion may find that they can use their local park free of cost. If the gathering is more informal and relatively small, parks make for an easy and free venue to have family and friends gather for a Thanksgiving reunion.

Make Other Bathroom Arrangements

When planning a reunion for Thanksgiving weekend, it’s important to consider details that may be overlooked otherwise. Homeowners worried that their two-bathroom home can’t accommodate everyone in their large family should consider making other bathroom arrangements. 

Port-a-potty rentals like Afford A Potty make it easy for homeowners to keep traffic through their personal bathrooms to a minimum, eliminating the possibility of potential plumbing issues.

Host a Potluck

With the average family spending near 50 dollars to feed 10 people on Thanksgiving, families expecting a huge gathering this holiday, should consider hosting a potluck instead of a traditional dinner. 

By asking relatives to bring their own meals with them, hosts will be able to keep their costs low without fear of running out of food. Be sure to ask family members well in advance what they’re bringing to guarantee that no one shows up to Thanksgiving dinner empty-handed.

Take Family Dues

Many family members view their reunions as a business gathering of sorts. Take advantage of bringing everyone together by taking a collection of family dues to cover the costs of the family reunion. To guarantee all expenses are covered during the big holiday weekend, hosts should be sure to take these dues several months before Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is a holiday that is more enjoyable when shared with our loved ones. If you're hosting a family reunion this Thanksgiving, keep this guide in mind to make it as affordable as possible.

Smart Savings: 4 Digital Ways to Save Money on What You Already Buy

If you remember Sunday evenings being spent at the dining room table clipping grocery coupons, then you will really want to pay attention to this post. You want to save money so that your family can have more disposable income, but you would also like to not have to spend hours trying to get coupons ready to present. 

This is yet another way that technology has come in to save the day. There are now many opportunities for you to use digital media to save money on items that you already buy regularly. Here are four ways that you can accomplish this.

Use Rakuten

If you have not heard of Rakuten, then it is time that you looked it up online today. They represent thousands of products literally. You buy via their app online, and you will get cashback on each purchase. 

You click through the app to go to your favorite online retailers and get a percent back on your purchase. Just look for the items that you would be buying anyway and then watch the savings really begin to add up.

Install Restaurant Apps on Your Mobile Devices

Even great cooks like to eat out every now and then. When that mood hits you and your family, it is time to pull up one of the many available restaurant apps on your smartphone. You can search for an Asian food restaurant, for example, and find many in your area that is currently offering discounts. 



You can also join loyalty programs to earn free meals and more. If you order through the Sonic app, you get ½ price drinks all day and night long. Your phone can save you lots of money in your favorite eats.

Use Ibotta to Get Rebates

Ibotta is a fun app where you actually go in after the fact and scan in your receipts. You will then get rebates on individual purchases, all without having to mail anything in. This not only will save you a lot of money, but it will also save you a great deal of time as well.

Download Digital Coupons

Almost every major retailer today offers some sort of digital coupons. You can go into your store’s app and look for current deals. Then, you will just download the coupon and have your phone ready when you go to checkout. It is really as simple as that.

These are just four of the many ways that you can use digital technology to begin saving money on purchases that you would be making anyway. The key is to plan ahead and have the technology available at a moment’s notice. It is incredible to consider that virtually everything can be bought at a discount if you have the right tools to do so. This is a way to put money right back into your family budget, so begin implementing these strategies today.

3 Financial Secrets of Successful Business Owners

There’s more to owning a successful business than just coming up with an idea and selling your product to the public. Business owners need to be talented marketers, communicators and most importantly, they need to be savvy with their funds.

If you want to improve your financial skills as a business owner, then keep reading to discover the three qualities that all financially savvy entrepreneurs have in common.

They Use Credit Wisely

If you’re attempting to build your small business and you’re putting everything you need on a line of credit or on account, you’re completely shooting yourself in the foot and potentially sabotaging your enterprise before it’s even gotten off the ground. 




When you start your business in debt, you’re creating a situation where your profits don’t have to only exceed your initial investment, but your mounting debts and interest fees as well. If you’re short cash, you’re better off finding an investor than you are utilizing credit.

They Know Tricks and Delegate

There’s always a way around a financial roadblock. For example, if you own a trucking and hauling company, you’d be wise to know that you can use trucking factoring to convert those unpaid invoices into instant cash assets. Financially smart small business owners know these tools and use them to their advantage. 

If you feel overwhelmed or don’t have a lot of financial knowledge, consult with someone who knows the financial experience of your industry better than you do, such as an accountant or financial planner.

They’re Frugal in Their Personal Lives

Any financial planner will tell you that you never want to put too much of your own money into a business. However, that doesn’t mean that entrepreneurs shouldn’t be frugal in their personal lives, especially when they’re still in the process of getting their business off the ground. 

While no one wants to think about their business failing, it’s important that if your business goes kaput tomorrow, you have enough money saved to live on comfortably until you can find a different means to support yourself.

Owning a small business can be one of the most rewarding things you’ll ever do in your life, but it can also be the riskiest. Incorporate these three secrets into your entrepreneurial financial strategy to ensure that you don’t break the bank while attempting to turn your business dreams into a reality.