Financial Wellness Guide

By Brent Meyer — SafeMoney.com Founder & Editor Reviewed by Licensed Financial Professionals  |  SafeMoney.com — Trusted Since 2011  |  Updated Regularly Quick Answer: Discover essential tips for achieving financial wellness. Explore safe money alternatives and start your journey today! Visit SafeMoney.com. Have you ever seen a documentary on thrill-seekers heading to some far-flung destination? Scaling Mount Everest. Base-jumping off Europe’s Troll Wall. Biking on the World’s Most Dangerous Road in Bolivia. Traversing the Alps. Whether one of these treks or someplace else, chances are you will see that they have something in common. Rarely do the thrill-seekers go it alone. Their expeditions often include some sort of guide. And not just any guide. It’s someone who knows the terrain, understands the challenges, and offers the experience to successfully navigate potential mishaps. Although they don’t involve thrill-seeking, money matters can operate in the same fashion. Without guidance from an advisor, it’s easy to make choices that lead not to financial wellness but to fiscal misery.  “ Watch Out for These Financial Blunders. ”  Positive Results Require a Behavioral Reset “Since behaviors (thoughts, habits, actions) influence our results, our first decision is to realize we need to change our decision-making,” Chilton says. “Instead of thinking ‘we need it,’ why don’t we evaluate how that purchase – an item’s cost, ‘taking away from our money’ – fits into our planning.” “No planning, no budget, we get it!” Chilton continues. “If we have priorities set, then we probably move on.”  In other words, managing money without a plan is like steering a ship without a rudder. There isn’t a clear direction to take or a means by which to keep track of progress. It’s a real problem, as just three percent of Americans have a written financial plan, according to Chilton. But by working with a Financial Advisor , you can develop your own financial blueprint and also receive crucial guidance in how to put your best foot forward. Planning Brings More Certainty Similar to how expeditions benefit from the guide’s savvy, you can benefit from the vision, clarity, and accountability that comes from a Financial Advisor ’s expertise. If you were traveling, you wouldn’t go without a GPS or a map for directions. Our financial lives are the same. We need a roadmap to help guide our money behaviors and choices – and to know what ste