Joel Steele: Don’t put off important financial decisions

What motivates you? When making financial decisions, most people have a spark that causes them to take action. However, it seems all too often many folks put off these decisions, sometimes to the last minute.

It’s important to understand, there is usually no gain by waiting. There’s not a moment of clarity that comes over time. More often than not, financial decisions are hastily made at the deadline when you are forced to make your move.

Going forward, you shouldn’t put off important financial decisions, whether it’s about a 401(k), pension or other retirement issue. I would like you to identify what motivates you. If you do that, I believe you’ll have a better chance of financial success.

There are too many potential sources of motivation to list. It may be fear, uncertainty or wanting to get ahead that motivates you. The sooner you identify the specific thing that makes you act when it comes to decisions, the better decisions you may make.

There have been many times that I’ve encountered people who thought they could not retire. These folks put off a financial review because they feared they would have to keep working well into the future. Quite a few could have afforded to retire before they actually did.

Don’t let fear take over. If the outlook isn’t good, it’s better to have a running start to improve things. If things do look good, that’ll help keep a smile on your face for your remaining working years.

Uncertainty and anxiety can make it difficult to get motivated to take control of your finances. This is why I occasionally suggest asking a friend or a family member who they turned to in order to get a sense of whether they are on track or not. Even an online search for an experienced financial professional may be a good start. It’s better than just waiting for a solid retirement to be delivered to your door one day.

Let’s say, for example, that you discover what motivates you is making sure your family will be OK if you’re gone. In this case, you’re probably going to make sure you have adequate life insurance, and that when choosing your pension option, you will include your spouse in case you pass away.

You also periodically would check to make sure you had beneficiaries up to date. Do you see how discovering what motivates you can help get important decisions made sooner than later?

Another example is that you are motivated by the threat of an unstable economy. Unfortunately for many who have these concerns, they don’t take action until it happens.

If you discover this is a true concern, I believe you then will be motivated to take action to help ensure you’ll be prepared if a market meltdown occurs. In fact, any concern could be used as positive motivation.

Don’t just worry about something. Recognize it as a driving, constructive force to act before it’s too late. If you’re worried about inflation, there are things you can do to counteract that. If you’re worried about outliving your assets, there are also ways to help make sure that won’t happen.

Motivation to you is like gas to your car. Without motivation and astute financial decision-making, you may just coast down the road of life. Eventually though, you may hit a speed bump or worse. I suggest you fill ’er up with some self-inflection time to learn what makes you run.

Again, you don’t need to have a degree in finance here. You just need to know yourself. Your concerns and goals can be translated into steps to get to where you want to be. You won’t know where you stand until you sit down and lay it all out. The steps may be simple, but initiating them may be more challenging.

Somewhat similar to dieting and eating healthy, everyone knows they should be doing it, but it can be difficult to actually do it.

If you were motivated enough to read this article, I hope you’ll take it one step further and find what motivates you before today is over. You can’t light a candle without a spark.

I hope you find your spark and become motivated to make the best financial decisions as they come up instead of putting them off because you may be afraid of making a wrong decision.

Joel Steele is co-owner of Steele Financial Solutions. Reach him at (856) 321-0070 or www.steelefinancialsolutions.com.