Reviewing The Big Game

Reviewing The Big Game

Prior to yesterday’s Super Bowl XLVIII, the favored team had won 33 of 47 games, i.e., 70 percent of the time. While the Denver Broncos were two point favorites in yesterday’s football game, they ultimately lost the Super Bowl title to the Seattle Seahawks, 43-8.

Whether you bet on the comfort of the fan favorite or faithfully hope for the underdog team to pull through, it is impossible to foresee every potential threat to your game plan. Just like the coaches and the players, however, you can still strategize for them. By focusing on your credit and cash reserves, you can build a strong financial defense to tackle unexpected events on life’s playing field.

Credit: If you haven’t done so in the past 12 months, request your credit report. You get one free each year. Read through it for errors and suspicious activity that might indicate potential identity theft. Not scoring as high as you’d like? Review your accounts and credit limits, and consider closing credit cards, starting with the ones with the highest interest rates or annual fees. You can request lower credit limits on the others.

Cash Reserves: Do you need to make home repairs or improvements? Will you be paying tuition or fees for children’s or grandchildren’s education and activities this fall? Is there a charity event coming up to which you’d like to make a good-sized donation? How much cash are you going to need for these kinds of items in the next six months? Plan now how you’ll fund those needs while still maintaining an emergency fund for needs that emerge that you aren’t expecting.

Taking stock of your performance in your financial game can help ensure you have the ability to tackle anything life throws your way. Call your financial advisor for a review to make sure your playbook is diversified enough to take on even the strongest offensive lines.

FINANCIAL FACTS

Enough? – The maximum Social Security retirement benefit that can be received by an individual reaching full retirement age in the year 2014 (i.e., at age 66) is $2,642 a month (source: Social Security Administration, BTN Research). 

No Change? – Medicare is in its 50th year in 2014, having begun in 1965. The age of eligibility for Medicare was 65 in 1965 and remains at age 65 in 2014. Life expectancy has increased by 8.4 years over the 50-year period (source: Medicare, Centers for Disease Control, BTN Research). 

Crazy Increase – Annual tuition and fees at an average four-year private college have increased 491 percent in the past 30 years, more than three and a half times larger than the Consumer Price Index increase of 133 percent over the same period (source: College Board, Department of Labor, BTN Research).