5 Steps to Build Financial Confidence

If you struggle with having confidence in your financial decisions, you're not alone (particularly if you're a woman).

In this episode, WHZ VP, Associate Financial Advisor Holly C. Wanegar, CFP® explains the steps you can take to build up that confidence so you can move more confidently toward your goals.

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Transcript

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Welcome to You and Your Money. Today's episode features Holly Wanegar, Vice President and Associate Financial Advisor at WHZ Strategic Wealth Advisors. So now let's talk about financial confidence, especially for What would you say it really means to have financial confidence confidence? Yeah, it's a great topic, especially with Women's Month. And really, financial confidence comes down to being informed and empowered to make knowing where you are, what your goals are, where you wanna go, and having a solid strategic plan in place to help you get there. All right. Well, that's important obviously for everyone, but why is this conversation especially important for women Holly? What's up? Yeah, so for a couple reasons, Gary. First, women are earning more than they have in the past, and we are also seeing that they're increasingly leading household financial And data shows as a whole, they tend to be more prudent and successful investors over the long term when compared to their male And despite all of that women still report showing lower when it comes to investing and long-term planning, which is really And another big reason that we like to talk about this topic with women especially right now, is that we're at the start of this historic wealth transfer what's being called the Great Wealth Transfer. You may have heard of it. I have. Over the next couple of decades, it's expected about $84 trillion is expected to pass down from older generations, and this will be the largest generational transfer of wealth in history. And women are expected to inherit the majority of it, either as a surviving spouse or a younger family member. So, it's really important that women feel confident in their financial abilities now. Yeah, so $84 trillion of wealth being exchanged that is indeed a huge amount of wealth there, yeah. It's a big number. Tell me about it. it's, yeah, definitely a big number. So, there's a lot of opportunity with that as well as some risk. We wanna make that this inheritance isn't lost to taxes or expenses and things that can be avoided through having a solid financial plan. And so, you know, whether it's from who is inheriting it or who is passing it down, being really knowledgeable prepared is important. And we at WHZ are actually launching a special series on YouTube and major podcast platforms in collaboration with KKC Law on this topic. The first episode dropped last Wednesday, February 25th, and we'll be sharing a new episode every other Wednesday through the end of April. So we'll be covering lots of key information around this topic, so encourage everybody to check it out and learn more about how to protect and build generational All right. And we go to your website to to see WHZwealth.com, yep,/wealthtransfer. All right. Sounds like a great and valuable series too, Holly, and thanks for sharing that. That also goes along with the idea that for women especially, the challenge isn't really ability, it's having confidence in their own knowledge and confidence enough to participate. That's what we're leaning Yeah, exactly. it's really about feeling comfortable stepping into that driver's seat engaging fully in financial planning and decision-making. Why the hesitation? What causes the Yeah, it's really interesting. So historically, women haven't been included as much in financial decision-making, so that would really pertain to the generation down the wealth. Yep. And then to add to that, the demands of women now building their careers and caregiving for both children and older family members, sort of that sandwich generation. So, so with those headwinds there, therefore, women, it's been challenging to prioritize. Financial planning often gets pushed to the back burner. So, if a woman or really anyone wants to start building financial confidence, how do we begin, Holly? What do we So something we heard actually from a, from a young WHC employee who joined us in the fall, action is the best remedy to anxiety. Mm-hmm. So taking action and putting a plan in, in place ahead of time is really the, the best first step, and knowing your numbers, knowing the data. clarity is important, so household income, Yeah. savings, retirement accounts. All right, so keep going. What about taking the next step of managing investments and planning for the Yep. So once you have that clarity and, and you're ready to take action it's working with a professional who can help really understand your situation and have sort of that, that unbiased view is really invaluable. And then confidence grows when you know why your portfolio is structured the way it is and how your financial plan supports your family and your goals. So, working with an, with an advisor to tailor that is really important. That would be the next step. That makes a lot of sense. Any final words or advice before we wrap up, Yeah. again, like I said, confidence comes from action and really taking that first step. A lot of times it's, it's hard to get started with these things, so don't wait until you sort of say, "Oh, I'm not there yet. I'm not ready." Take action, take the first steps, ask a lot of questions, take ownership of, of your financial future. Engage. And, and again, we encourage everyone to, to check out that series about getting ahead of, of the wealth transfer. It can maybe help learn some of those questions to ask and, and get started. For more information regarding Sa. wealth management and customized financial planning with WHZ Strategic Wealth Advisors, please visit whz wealth.com. WHZ Strategic Wealth Advisors offer securities and advisory services through Commonwealth Financial Network member FINRa SIPC, a registered investment advisor, fixed insurance products and services offered through CES insurance agency. They practice at 697 Pomfret Street, Pomfrethe Center, Connecticut 06259 and three nine two a Marrow Road, Tolland, Connecticut 06084. They can be reached at 860-928-2341 WHZ Strategic Wealth Advisors do not provide legal or tax advice. The tenured financial services team strives to support clients in achieving their financial life goals while providing Absolute Confidence and Unwavering Partnership For Life.