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ARHCU's Financial Planning Basics

Taking care of your long-term financial affairs can one of the easiest things to put off. It often seems that dealing with daily finances and the other activities of everyday life take precedence over the need to create a workable financial plan. American River HealthPro Credit Union is here to be your trusted financial advisor. Below are some ideas that will help you come up with a plan that will cover the basics and put you on the road to a secure financial future.

Develop a financial reserve. Being prepared (with 3 to 6 month's living expenses) can help relieve some of the financial anxiety we often feel. Consider an automatic savings plan with some amount being deposited into a savings account from each paycheck. The fund will grow and you may end up not even missing what is saved each month.

Get rid of high interest rate credit card debt. Interest rates on some credit cards are high. If you are carrying over balances and paying interest, cut down on your card use, pay more than the required monthly minimum and eliminate this expense. Also, you may want to consider our ARHCU Visa® Card with a low fixed rate.

Develop a household budget. This is often one of the most dreaded parts to being financially responsible. To make the process less dreaded, call it a "household spending analysis." Determining how you spend your money will probably lead to identifying how to reduce some expenses. Click on ARHCU's Monthly Household Spending Worksheet to fill in your expenses, or you can use common financial management software (Quicken or Microsoft Money) to help. These relatively inexpensive programs will also help organize your finances and may save you time.

Save for retirement. Your financial lifestyle during retirement is largely dependent on the financial decisions you make before retiring. Social Security and the traditional company defined benefit plans are becoming less important. The responsibility for preparing for a financially secure retirement is shifting to the individual.

Start with your employer's retirement plan. Many plans, especially 401(k) plans make it easy to save, offer investment flexibility and enable you to reduce your taxes. Many plans also have provisions for the employer to make contributions on your behalf. Review your plan details, contribute as much as you can and at least contribute enough to get the full employer "match."

If you have taken full advantage of company sponsored plans, and can still afford it, consider contributions to an IRA or Roth IRA. The tax deferred compounding aspects of these plans enable your funds to grow faster.

You can schedule a meeting with Paul Swagart from the Financial Network to learn about other investment options.*

Be sensitive to taxes. No one likes to pay more income taxes than absolutely necessary. Be aware of the opportunity of deducting certain items like mortgage interest, state and local taxes, charitable contributions and certain medical expenses. Also, consider the preferential tax treatment from capital gains on your investments.

Have a sensible investment strategy. Start with an asset allocation goal that divides your investments into equity, fixed income and cash investment categories. Click on ARHCU's Personal Balance Sheet to fill in your investments. Your initial asset allocation should be based on your time horizon (age) and how you feel about taking risks. The younger you are and the more comfortable you feel with risk, allocating a larger portion of your funds to equities may help you earn the higher returns of stocks that have historically been available. However, remember that all investments involve risk and that past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Investing for your future does not have to be complicated and at American River HealthPro Credit Union, we make planning for your financial needs easy and convenient. As a member, you can take advantage of Paul Swagart's expertise. He can help create an investment program that is right for your specific financial goals.* Please contact Paul Swagart today at 916.985.6700 ext. 3335 or swagartp@financialnetwork.com.

Be adequately protected. Insurance provides protection against the unknown. Make sure your possessions, life and health are adequately insured. Examine the level of deductibles and the coverage amounts to get the protection you need at the lowest cost. Click on and fill out the following ARHCU insurance worksheets (Health Insurance, Life Insurance, Property Insurance and Vehicle Insurance) to view your coverage and see how well you are protected.

Take care of estate planning. Having a well thought out will can ensure that your assets are distributed as you desire on your death and can help reduce any estate taxes that may be due. But estate planning is more than reducing taxes. Your estate plan should include documents that designate someone to make financial decisions if you are incapable of making them (durable power of attorney for finances) and that designate someone to make medical decisions if you are incapacitated (durable power of attorney for health care).

Finally, organize your records. Having a system for handling monthly expenses can reduce the stress and time needed to handle your everyday finances. Using a system to keep track of investment and tax records will make every tax season less "taxing." Keep other important information organized. Having to hunt for the name of your insurance agent, an account number, a frequent flyer number or any other bit of information can be a waste of time.

Family Records Almanac

Using the ARHCU Family Records Almanac can be a major step toward gaining control over the vast amount of information that is important to you and your family. The documents you can download and print can serve as the basis for organizing and storing important information and documents.

After printing the pages of the Family Records Almanac, you may want to store them in a binder for convenience. You may also wish to consider using plastic storage sleeves to hold the documents that correspond to the information you record.

After reviewing the Almanac pages, start gathering the information you want to enter and the documents you want to keep. You may also wish to get other members of your family involved in this process.

As you gather your information, you may also find that you wish to include more items such as a family tree or information on your pets.

It seems that our lives continue to get more complicated and that we are overloaded with information. Knowing what to keep and having an organized way of keeping the things that are important is not always easy.

The Family Records Almanac can make the task easier. Having your important information in a central location can help provide the peace of mind knowing that you can easily find what you need when you need it. Please click here to print out the complete ARHCU Family Almanac. If you prefer to view & print individual pages, they are listed below.

Financial Security

Other Finances

Home and Other Property

Insurance

Family Information and History

Organizations and Affiliations

Permanent Calendar

*Securities and advisory services offered through Financial Network Investment Corporation, a registered broker/dealer and member SIPC. Financial Network Investment Corporation is not affiliated with American River HealthPro Credit Union, 12519 Folsom Blvd., Rancho Cordova, CA 95742 Investments: Are not FDIC Insured | Are not NCUA Insured | Are not a Deposit | Offer no Bank Guarantee | May Lose Value | Are not Insured by any Federal Government Agency