CNBC, September 3, 2017
If kids can get organized for the start of school, adults should be able to do something similar with their finances.
The beginning of fall is the perfect time to revisit your financial wellness and make some changes before the end of the year, experts say.
These days, families have less slack in their budgets than before, according to research by The Pew Charitable Trusts. Household spending has risen 25 percent or more in the past two decades, even adjusting for inflation — yet incomes have not kept pace, the study said.
In addition, previous Pew research found that one in three American families have no savings.
“All the planning is meaningless if we don’t follow through.”
1.) Budget
To that end, this is a crucial time to revisit your 2017 cash flow and see how it is shaping up.
“There’s no sense in setting a 2018 budget if you’re not going to adhere to it,” said Mark Avallone, president of Potomac Wealth Advisors and author of “Countdown to Financial Freedom.”
Avallone added that “all the planning is meaningless if we don’t follow through. It’s very important to track your revenue and expenses and automatically save any discretionary cash that’s left over,” he said.
“Traditionally people say 10 percent, but in reality they may need to save well over that target.”
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