Panic! I’m Now in Charge
Your world has been rocked. You are now divorced or have lost your spouse. This is a huge change and potentially extremely stressful for you. Not only do you have to create a new life for yourself as a single, but you are now in charge of everything. Everything you once took responsibility for as a couple, plus everything your spouse took responsibility for as a couple, now rests on your shoulders.
Many who are now in charge of their finances, where before their spouse handled the finances, could now feel a degree of panic. Are my finances in good enough shape that I won’t run out of money? Are the investments I currently hold appropriate for my new situation in life? Are the advisers in my life really taking care of me, or taking advantage of me? How can I know? What if I make a mistake? How will a mistake impact the rest of my life? These questions can seem overwhelming, but don’t panic.
Not everything is equal as many divorced couples have learned. In splitting up $2,000,000, perhaps one spouse gets the house worth $1,000,000 and the other spouse gets stocks worth $1,000,000. Looking at this more closely, the spouse with the house is responsible for costs related to upkeep, insurance, utilities, etc. The spouse with the stocks may be invested in large cap, dividend paying companies that create an income stream of perhaps $40,000 per year? Definitely not an equivalent division of assets.
I Need to Spoil My Children and Grandchildren
Along with the stress of the divorce or losing a spouse comes concerns for ongoing and impacted relationships. Children and grandchildren could be in a distressed state along with you. Often as a sign of love, concern, and support, individuals would like to lavish these loved ones with gifts, and sometimes out of feelings of necessity. But does this spending turn into overspending? What is the right balance of “what they need” versus “what can I afford?” After a time of spending, it could be easy to begin worrying that you have spent too much and it could affect your standard of living for the rest of your life. But how can you know?
And what about other expenses moving forward. Can I afford a new car? Do I need to sell the house? Can I go on that trip with my friends? Not knowing your financial situation can cause ongoing anxiety and loss of sleep. This lack of confidence is not what you want day-in and day-out in your life moving forward. So what can you do?
Mary Tyler Moore – You’re Going To Make It After All
What if you could learn a simple truth about your investments that would ensure you didn’t run out of money for the rest of your life. What if your retirement income was strategized for and confidently created so that this income worry was taken off the table? What if you had a document, a plan, that provided logically and mathematically based information that gave you a great understanding of why investments make or don’t make sense for what you are trying to accomplish? Wouldn’t this clarity of knowledge give you confidence that you are making good financial decisions and confidence to know that you’re going to make it after all?
There is a planning process that can help you gain the confidence you deserve as your life moves forward. The Simplicetree® financial planning analysis uses unbiased and logical math to give you the information you need to have confidence in your investment decisions. This planning process also generates the matrix you need in order to know whether or not you are on track.
Many people don’t act until their desperation factor exceeds their embarrassment factor. Don’t wait until you are desperate. There is no need. And there shouldn’t be any shame (or embarrassment), in not knowing something. You are new to this season of life. The shame would be in not finding out.
The Simplicitree® analysis discussed in the associated video shows how you can put away any panic, be confident you are going to make it, and know that you have the investments that make sense, specifically for you, moving forward.