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What do boa constrictors have to do with your retirement savings?

More than you would think!

Experts say that to pursue long-term goals, you must be 50% sure you can achieve your projects. If you're 100% sure of yourself, you won't try because you have nothing to prove. Alternately, if you're 0% sure of success, you won't even bother.

My granddaughter recently showed me the power of hope in going after life goals or financial goals.

"What do you wish for?" I asked her.

"Well, I wish for a snake, but my parents said I can’t have one, so there’s no point in having the wish," she replied.

She wouldn't even imagine a future with a snake because she saw her goal as having zero possibility of happening. I couldn't overrule her parents, but I could dig deeper.

The more we talked about reading books, going to the Zoo, and watching YouTube videos to expand her knowledge and pursue her passion, even without actually owning a snake, the happier she became about her wish.

If you approach your financial goals with this kind of creativity and openness, you will discover that instead of waiting to enjoy your long-term goals, there are likely various ways you may start enjoying life now.

For 2022 you are able to increase your IRA contribution to $6,000 per year and if you’re over 50, then the amount is increased to $7,000 per year.  For 401(k) savings plans, the amount is raised to $20,500 per year and if you’re over 50, it’s been raised to $27,000 per year.  This small increase may not seem like a lot, but it really adds up over time.

Saving money is pretty important right now, and although many of us are doing simple things like trimming the grocery budget, being mindful of how much our utility bills cost, and reducing our habit of shopping online, there are ways to actually prioritize saving money without it being a stressful experience.

Believe it or not, you can implement these simple money hacks to save more without too much difficulty.

As I walk through the savings tips in this article, think about how they might become a habit in your life. If you can find ways to save money toward something impactful, rather than spending it in a way that doesn't align with your true goals, you're much more likely to stick to the plan.

There are five main strategies to save money, and in this article, I'll share how you can integrate them into your everyday life, which will help you secure your financial future.

Despite what you may have heard about paying off your mortgage, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. This is because the answer to this question comes down to YOU, your goals, your values, your wishes, and your desires.

So, should I pay off my mortgage?

In this article, we will discuss the framework that can help you identify the variables to consider before answering the big question yourself.

By going through different scenarios where it's a good idea to pay off your mortgage early and others where it would not be beneficial, you're able to see all sides of the equation.

If you decide paying off your mortgage early is the right decision, I'll share three strategies to help expedite paying off your mortgage ahead of schedule.

Have you ever noticed your tendency to want to stick with a failing project "just a little longer" with hopes that it will pan out? Or maybe, when faced with a loss, your immediate tendency to blame a particular moment or decision, touting, "I should have known."

Perhaps to your surprise, these are called biases, and they have the power to impact your investment decisions and financial plans beyond what you may initially realize. Biases can hold you back from making important decisions, allow you to stay in a bad situation longer, and even cause you to avoid exploring potentially excellent agreements, investments, and relationships.

Of course, you're probably like me in that when I first heard about biases, I thought none of them applied to me - surely, I'd just be learning what biases everyone else has! To my surprise, a single class on biases opened my eyes to the fact that I have personally experienced every single one of them!

When I started my career as a financial advisor, I felt I needed to include every bit of information possible for any situation upfront - every tip for personal finances, every helpful trick I'd learned for navigating the different stages of life.

What I discovered, however, was that more often than not, if the information presented wasn't relevant to my client's life at the time discussed, the information wasn't retained.

Life is busy. With everything going on in our lives, hearing information that we don't need at the time we hear it just isn't effective.

What Are the Four Phases?

What is the secret to success for a strong financial future and secure retirement savings?

What is the one key personal finance habit you should cultivate to have financial security now and for the rest of your life?

If you have a history of financial education, you might immediately equate financial health with a steady income, a balanced portfolio, rental income, or any other part of a fully complete financial plan.

Those are all important, but one lesson will help you reach your financial goals and ensure your retirement income is enough to both live on and thrive on.

What personal finance habit could this be?

Few experiences are more frustrating or frightening than facing retirement around the time the stock market crashes.

Even if you have done the financial planning, retirement planning, and have retirement savings, you will struggle with the question, "Should I even think about retiring during a stock market downturn?"

Rather than panic as you imagine your retirement income slipping away as stock prices plummet, pause and practice calm. Here are a few ways you can decide if you're ready to retire, even if you're facing a bear market or other uncertain economic conditions.

Recently, a friend came to me and asked what she should do with her inheritance. She received a very large sum and was feeling overwhelmed.  Having recently lost her father, she was now grieving for the loss of both of her parents. She vacillated between wanting to spend some of the money and then feelings of guilt for having received so much money to begin with.  

My grandfather fell victim to a “boiler room” confidence scam.  The “stock-broker” called him up, pitched him a stock, which he bought, a few months later, after the stock was worthless, he sent my grandpa some paperwork and said, fill out this paperwork and you’ll get your money back.  Sure enough, grandpa filled out the paperwork, and a few weeks later a check arrived for the full amount of the investment he lost.  The man who handled this transaction garnered immediate trust from my grandpa.  A few weeks later, he called and said, I can’t work for this disreputable firm, I’m going out on my own. He then offered to “let” my grandpa invest in his newly formed brokerage firm, and my grandpa didn’t hesitate.  At this point, he completely trusted this man and invested a significant amount of money.