Financial Milestones Before 45 and After 45
On September 9th, Ty McGilberry, AIF® (Pegasus Financial Planning), Co-Vice Chair of the WTS Philadelphia Strategic Partnerships Committee, led a discussion on the economic impact of the pay gap, including how that impacts retirement for women.
We discussed how women have a higher chance of disability than men, which leads to more health considerations when planning. With these headwinds that impact the financial futures for women, we discussed how a strong financial foundation is important. That foundation is based on managing debt, planning for risks, and understanding cash flow.
We broke down planning milestones into 3 phases of life - post college under 27, young families and emerging professionals 28-55, and pre-retirees and retirees 56+). Each milestone built on the previous phase of life, so we discussed setting up an emergency fund, understanding interest rates (their impact on debt and their impact on savings accounts), knowing the difference between investing and gambling or guessing (retail investors don't have the tools or the resources to build a portfolio of stocks that minimize risk and Google & Yahoo Finance are not stock research tools), paying for college/education for kids, caring for elderly parents, and what it means to pass wealth onto the next generation.
Lastly, we covered understanding the difference between an advisor that is a fiduciary and a sales person that sells financial product and services. We discussed how the industry makes money and why some sales people will push product over helping people make informed decisions that are in their best interest. The key take-aways included:
- Know your numbers (cashflow is king).
- Surround yourself with professionals (hire people that know what they are doing).
- Investing is not gambling or a strategy of hope (have a plan and process to buy and to sell investments).
- Ask questions (find out what you're paying for, how the people you hire communicate, and how they make money).
Click here to see photos from the event!