Financial Life Coach

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Truth in Media for the Financial Life Coach Melody Young Liberty University Abstract Americans are caught in the trap of uncontrollable spending, living above their means and either not saving at all or not saving enough, especially for their retirement years. The media is not always truthful in their reporting; however, randomly selecting articles related to personal savings and retirement resulted in the discovery of financial professionals and journalists warning Americans to take control of their spending early, to live within their means, to pay off their debts and be free to save more now so that later they can live a better life. . Certainly, the financial coach has an ocean of prospective clients. His mission field is…show more content…
In fact, it states a new breed of retirement investors has emerged – the 401(k) millionaires. The article presents 5 strategies used by the 401(k) millionaires. Most are over 50 years of age and deferred an above average 14% of their income to a 401(k) over the lifetime of their careers. In other words, they maximized on the time value of money - the compounding of their investments - and from the tax savings of deferring their income. Second, they averaged 34 years of employment with one employer. This is unheard of in today’s workforce, so people must consider a 401(k) untouchable, resisting the urge to cash it out or borrow from it between jobs. Instead, opting to roll it into the new employer-sponsored 401(k) plan or IRA is the best practice. If faced with a waiting period to join the new employer-sponsored 401(k) plan, it is best to keep saving, either in a traditional or Roth IRA. Knowing the vesting schedule is also important as sticking around a little longer to acquire full vesting can add a hefty…show more content…
Awareness of a person’s current financial position is the foundation of moving them towards a better financial position. Personal financial statements will help people understand the basics increasing and decreasing personal net worth. Ramsey (2013) could not emphasize the concept that a person’s earnings are their greatest resource. This article emphasizes it in even greater magnitude by discussing the necessity of protecting this greatest resource with insurance. Murphy’s (2009, lecture 4) time value of money with the compounding of earnings and Murphy’s (2009, lecture 7) investing recommendations correlate beautifully with this article’s third important point from young adults to invest early and develop a diversified investment
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