4 Smart Money Moves to Consider Right Now

With the coronavirus outbreak looming and trade with China volatile, you might be feeling a bit of tension right now. But like most storms, this one will pass as well. In the meantime, it is usually best to avoid drastic moves.

Avoid the temptation to sell off assets or spend a lot of cash “prepping” for disaster. Instead, focus on the things you should be doing right now, such as…

File your taxes. Some things will always be certain, and the deadline for filing your federal income tax return is one of them. With the average refund amounting to $2,869, you could stand to gain a little cash by filing now.

And if you know you’ll need more time? File your extension now, too. Waiting until the last minute will only add stress.

Stash some cash in emergency savings. This is one “prepper” activity that is always beneficial, no matter what actually happens with the economy. Shop around for the best interest rate available to you and open a savings account for emergency expenses. Having liquid assets on hand can help you avoid high-interest credit cards in the event of an emergency.

Refinance your mortgage. Take a look at your mortgage rate; is it over 4 percent? If so, you can probably get a better deal right now, and save thousands over the life of your loan by refinancing.

One caveat: Refinancing does cost money (several thousand in fees). If you’re close to the end of your mortgage, or plan to sell your home in the next few years, refinancing might not be a good deal for you. Run the numbers with a financial planner or debt expert before making this decision.

Stay the course. Continue with your regular financial plan. Make automatic contributions to your retirement account, divert extra cash into a savings account, make periodic payments toward your 2020 income taxes, or any other financial planning decisions that you’ve previously made. Unless you have some compelling change in your own personal life, disrupting well-laid plans is rarely a good idea.

Of course, if you do feel the need to make some changes, we are available to discuss your options. Give us a call to talk about your situation, and we can help you decide what to do next.

About the Author: Mark Roberts

In addition to managing clients’ money and giving investment and diversification advice, Mark offers something that “the other guys” don’t - a unique approach to Retirement Tax Strategies and distribution. Time and time again, Mark meets with new clients who tell him they have a great relationship with their financial advisor but have never been offered information on this kind of approach to securing their financial futures. Mark has taken this feedback to heart and works tirelessly to ensure that his strategies focus on taxes and distribution. Mark started selling insurance for a major insurance company right out of high school to help put himself through college. After graduating with a degree in finance, he dove into estate planning on the financial side to set himself apart from other financial advisors. However, as changes were made to estate tax laws over time, Mark shifted his focus to income tax strategies. Mark’s philosophy is “the blue prints are more important than the wall paper or carpet.” The wall paper and carpet represent products like investments and insurance policies, whereas the blue prints represent the strategies. Once strategies that truly fit the client’s needs are put in place, our focus can shift to providing you with the right products. According to Mark, “It doesn’t matter what carpet we use if the walls are not in the right place.” Our approach to money management is designed to generate the largest alpha (quality) with the lowest standard deviation and beta (risk). By doing this, we help provide clients with the highest return on the lowest risk. Generating income for our retirees is also very important. Because withdrawing money from your portfolio hurts the account rather than helping it, our goal is to design income strategies to harm the portfolio the least making the money last longer.

4 Smart Money Moves to Consider Right Now

4 Smart Money Moves to Consider Right Now

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About the Author: Mark Roberts