Top Ten Tips To Be Money Smart
February 2000, New Providence NJ: As you look down the road of life, you can wish, hope, dream, buy lottery tickets or plan for a home of your own, a new car, your children's college educations, and someday, retirement. “Anyone can be money smart. The secret is to plan,” says Diahann W. Lassus, CFP®, CPA, co-owner with Clare E. Wherley of Lassus Wherley, a wealth management firm. The firm offers expertise in fee-only financial planning, investment management, tax preparation, and family office capabilities, with offices in New Providence, NJ and Naples, FL.
On January 27, 2000, Ms. Lassus was the keynote speaker in the continuing SAGE Women's Issues Series at St. John's Lutheran Church in Summit. Her presentation focused on women's challenges at midlife and beyond and the need to understand and take control of one's finances.
“Many people are concerned about their financial future, terrified of statistics that say you need a million dollars to retire, and overwhelmed by financial planning,” she notes. “But there is hope,” she says. Named as one of “America's Top Financial Advisors,” by Worth magazine, Ms. Lassus offered her “top ten tips” to take control of your finances and build wealth.
10. Know how much you owe and the real cost of debt. It is important to understand what debt (credit cards, loans, mortgages) really costs you and not to let it take over your financial life.
9. Simplify your finances. It is very difficult to take control of your financial life if your finances, bank accounts, and investment accounts are scattered in 10-15 different areas.
8. Don't underestimate the value of an IRA, 401(k), or company stock options. Saving small amounts regularly over a long period of time builds large amounts of tax-deferred monies for the future.
7. Plan on retiring to and not from something. What are your hobbies? Passions? It's important in retirement to focus on things that make you feel energized.
6. Toss out the Old Rule Book on retirement. It doesn't work anymore. You can't plan on dying one day before your money runs out. You can't plan on anything that worked in the past.
5. Never invest in something you don't understand. If “they” can't explain it so you can understand it, forget about it. You need to know where your money is going and what is going to happen to it.
4. Avoid the current hot fund or your neighbor's/friend's hot tip. You can lose a lot of money, not to mention friends, if it doesn't work out.
3. Think l-o-n-g--t-e-r-m! Don't worry about short-term fluctuations in the stock market; in the long run, it doesn't matter.
2. Diversify! Diversify! Diversify! The old adage, don't put all your eggs in one basket still holds true.
And the #1 tip to be money smart:… PLAN to make it happen!
Said Ms. Lassus, “You can take control of your financial life. You can make it happen. And you can retire and enjoy your golden and platinum years.”
Highly regarded for her financial expertise, Diahann Lassus was appointed by President Clinton as a delegate to the Retirement Savings Summit held in June 1998 in Washington, DC. She writes and speaks on business and financial topics throughout the United States and appears regularly on CNN, Fox News, CNBC's “The Money Club” and “Power Lunch.” Ms. Lassus has also taught at the University of New Orleans, Upsala College, and the College of Saint Elizabeth. She has been appointed to the New Jersey New Capital Sources Board by Governor Whitman and also serves on the Board of Directors of the New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce. She is the Immediate Past President of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) and Past State President of the New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners (NJAWBO).
SAGE, a private, not-for-profit organization, serves as a community resource for eldercare, with services that promote independence and a dignified quality of life for older citizens and their families. SAGE offers 10 programs and serves more than 5200 elders and their families annually in Union, Morris, Somerset, and Essex counties.
Contact us to learn more about tips to be money smart.
2/23/2000
