Safeguard your financial future: Start early, keep it simple

Whether you are a boomer, a millennial or part of Generation X, it’s never too early – or too late – to think about organizing your finances and working toward your goals.

Don’t have a clue about where to start? There are many avenues for advice, from books to the internet to trained financial advisers. But the key is to get started. There’s no time like the present.

So how do you start if you’re in your 20s or 30s?

We asked Robert Tyler, vice president and senior wealth management officer with Washington Trust Wealth Management, in Providence, for a few tips.

He offers these four keys to financial success: Keep it simple; start saving; budget; and attack your debt.

“We have a spectrum of clients who are often multigenerational. In talking with them, we talk about basic things like simple goals,” he says.

Additionally, Tyler said, you have to educate yourself, at least about the basics, such as budgeting.

Tyler said budgeting is a crucial first step. “You have to understand where your money is being spent so that you can save,” he said.

There are many ways to budget and keep track of what you spend, including online trackers. These are fine for some people, while others prefer a paper budget. The important thing is to know where your money is going.

If a lot of your money is going to pay down student debt, you are not alone. But paying it down is important to keep your credit as clean as possible, Tyler said. You want good credit for that future car or house purchase. And don’t assume that there will be debt relief via legislation. “You’ve got to plan for what you have,” he said.

While you are paying down that debt, don’t forget about saving. Tyler recommends automating tasks like this so you don’t forget and you have no excuses. Money goes right into savings for an emergency fund or into your retirement plan or 401(k). Automating goes a long way toward simplifying.

“Some people find this the easiest way to save,” he said.

Tyler also says that if your employer matches contributions, make sure to take advantage of that “free money.”

Getting a bonus or a raise? Tyler recommends putting half in your savings.

Giving back is another issue that comes up in when discussing financial goals with people of all ages.

“Younger people have just as many concerns as older people on this subject,” said Tyler.

For younger people without a lot of extra money, Tyler suggests that donations of time and services are just as necessary as cash.

“Many organizations that need help take donations ‘in kind’,” he said. That means you donate your services, which have a certain value.

“This is a great way to partner and builds a lasting and good relationship” with the organization, he said.

If you start working with an organization when you are younger and you realize the good work going on there, you are more likely to donate money when you are older and have more income to give, he said.

Underlying all the advice, tips and information is one basic bit of advice: Do what you are comfortable with!

FRAN OSTENDORF is the editor of The Jewish Voice.