Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/74289
Where to Protect Your Follow a Financial Roadmap Taking charge of your finances, through the ages Life changes, and so should your plans. But for every stage of life, there are important ways you can plan and protect yourself (and your loved ones) against financial woes. What steps should you be taking? Malory Ogrizovich, financial representative with Northwestern Mutual, offers four milestones, age by age. 1. In your 20s you should: Manage student debt, start a three-month emergency fund and set up a budget. Start small, make regular contributions to your company's 401(k) plan—at least enough to take advantage of any employer match—and open a Roth IRA. Begin saving for a home and consider life insurance. 2. In your 30s and 40s you should: Consider getting life and disability insurance if you're married or have children. Get a will, powers of attorney and health care directives, and balance college savings for kids versus retirement for you and your spouse. Keep building your emergency fund to six months. 3. In your 50s you should: Consider your long-term care needs and develop concrete retirement plans, such as when and where to retire, your expenses and income. 4. In your 60s and beyond: Coordinate any pension and government benefits with savings to build a retirement paycheck, update your estate plans, review legacies for charities and family members, and consider paying off a mortgage or other debts. Got Credit? When you make a plan, revisit it annually with your financial professional and when you're contemplating a major life change, such as getting married, having a child, switching careers or getting ready to retire. To keep up on your credit history, head to annualcreditreport.com, a site trusted by the experts. Once a year, you can obtain your credit history for free from the three major credit bu- reaus to understand where you're at, and to look for any unusual things you may need to follow up on. Get specific Attach figures and behaviors to your discussions. Don't just say you can't go shopping or you can't buy a snowmobile, talk specifically. What is our goal number to be reaching? What dollar amount would tell you that we're being financially success- ful? What behaviors would help this? Change the way you communicate Alter the way you communicate and treat each other with respect. Many times, once you get over the personal issues, talking about the other stuff is fairly easy. Remember, it's just business—but it's the business part of a relationship. Finances Identity theft is just as invasive as someone breaking into your house, but often has longer finan- cial consequences. To help protect you, Mike Masino, information security instruc- tor at Madison College offers a few quick tips Know what they're after. Identity thieves look for information that will allow them to get into your accounts to spend your money, or get information to open new loans. While paper statements from the mail and stolen cards from your wallet are still used, most of the information thieves get a hold of is found online. Make yourself a harder target. Minimize what people can see about you online, from your birthday to your employment history. Use passwords made up of symbols, letters and numbers. And when looking at your finances or shopping online, look for the "https" in the web ad- dress to signal that you are using a secure site. Keep an eye on your accounts. Check your credit card and bank accounts daily or weekly to en- sure nothing odd is showing up. Take extra steps. Run a credit check on yourself to see if any new accounts have been opened in your name or if there any debts you could be unaware of. Or consider putting a lock on your accounts through the three major credit agencies, which will prevent anyone, including you, from opening new lines of credit without going through several extra steps. Act quickly. If you catch some- thing unusual, contact your credit card company or bank. Catching it quickly makes it easier to take the proper next steps. July 2012 bravamagazine.com 63