{"id":6642,"date":"2015-11-11T06:32:45","date_gmt":"2015-11-11T14:32:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.paladinregistry.com\/?p=6642"},"modified":"2015-11-23T09:30:37","modified_gmt":"2015-11-23T17:30:37","slug":"early-preparation-key-financial-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/investing\/early-preparation-key-financial-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Early Preparation is the Key to Financial Success"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a practicing Certified Financial Planner\u00ae<\/a><\/span><\/strong> for 10 years, I can say my best clients have a great relationship with money. And the earlier you save the better your chances of living the lifestyle you want.\u00a0 Because financial planning it is not so much a financial goal but a lifestyle goal.\u00a0 There is an interesting article from Jason Vitug from the Business Insider<\/a><\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0 Jason drove 10,218 miles in 137 hours through 38 states in 30 days which he called his \u201cRoad to Financial Wellness\u201d. Within his 11 best pieces of financial advice he mentioned that \u201cwealth is not measured by how much you spend but by how much you save\u201d.<\/p>\n

I am in my 30s with a 1 yr. old and a beautiful wife and I can say we are saving as much as we can each and every month.\u00a0 Investing becomes much easier if you decide to start early.\u00a0 If you desire to amass $1 million and expect to retire in 30 years<\/a><\/strong><\/span> with a rate of return of 5% then you will need to save $898.00 in required monthly savings.\u00a0 However, if you receive a rate of return of 7% you will only need to save $581.00 a month.<\/p>\n

The next question a prudent investor needs to consider is where should his\/her investable savings go?\u00a0 After an adequate emergency fund (which should be enough to provide for 6 months of living expenses) investors need to consider planning strategies.\u00a0 There is a lot of noise on which strategies are the best.\u00a0 Financial planning strategies can fail but solutions are permanent.<\/p>\n

A permanent solution that young couples need to consider is life insurance.\u00a0 After my daughter was born I immediately purchased life insurance to protect my family.\u00a0 Life insurance is designed to protect your loved ones if there is a premature death in the family.\u00a0 But, which type of life insurance is the best?\u00a0 That depends on the financial goals and objectives of each couple.<\/p>\n

For my family I purchased an indexed universal life insurance policy<\/a><\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0 Indexed universal life insurance is permanent insurance that offers great flexibility for premiums and adjustments for face amount.\u00a0 The indexed accounts are credited with interest based on the growth in one or more indexes and there is a guaranteed growth rate within the policy.<\/p>\n

But what I like best about the indexed universal life insurance policy is the fact that the cash value within the policy can be utilized as a way to generate tax free income for retirement.\u00a0 In other words, this type of policy serves two purposes.<\/p>\n