April

April Session 1: Automate My Savings
A recent study found that people who automate the process of putting money toward their goals achieved a 73% increase in savings over people who didn’t. The bottom line is that you’ll save more by automatically transferring part of your income to your goals each month. The machines always remember to make the transaction and aren’t tempted to spend the money instead of depositing it.

Tip: Most financial institutions allow for multiple savings accounts, and many allow you to name each account after the particular goal you’re trying to achieve. Distribute the money for each goal to a different account and name it accordingly. It may seem like a small thing, but anything that will help you stay motivated to stack up those funds is worthwhile.

April Session 2: Review My Retirement Plans
Because taxes and retirement considerations are so intertwined, it’s a solid idea to do an annual review of your individual account elections and your overall retirement plan once you’ve completed your filing with the IRS. A few of the questions to ask yourself:

• Am I contributing as much as I could be to retirement?
• Am I maximizing matching employer contributions?
• Does the risk tolerance of my investments still match my target retirement date?
• Does my asset allocation need rebalancing?
• Are there retirement plans from past employers I could roll over into an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) for easier management?
• Do I need to set up an appointment with a professional to review my retirement strategy?

Tip: Keep in mind that the deadline for making a contribution to an IRA for a given year is the tax-filing deadline date of the following year. For example, if taxes are due April 18, you have until that date to make a contribution for the previous year.