James Seramba, certified financial planner, discusses the process of choosing a financial planner
Video Rating: 0 / 5

5 Mistakes in Financial Planning – as part of the expert series by GeoBeats. One of them is not really knowing where their money goes once a month. Not creating a budget. Secondly is using credit cards indiscriminately, meaning you charge stuff and you build up a balance and you do not pay them off every month. Credit cards are, to me, a necessary evil. You need them to build credit but you can abuse them and many, many people do. So, you know, either do not bring the credit card with you, or really plan out how you are going to use your credit. Another mistake people make is they are afraid to invest because of what has been going on in the stock market, and so they keep all their money in very risk free investments like money markets, cash. That, over the long term, is not going to grow your wealth. You really do need to take some risk, and invest your money in the stock market, or in bonds. Which leads to my next mistake, is that some people do invest their money, but they do not diversify. I know you have heard that word a lot, diversify. It means not having all your eggs in one basket, and so have some of your money in US Stocks, have some of your money in International Stocks, have some of your money in bonds. So that you diversify it, so if usually the stock market goes down, bonds go up, so it gives you a little bit of a cushion, it will be a smoother ride, less volatility. And lastly, be sure and open your statements. A 401K statements every quarter, or your …