Business | Investment
Make financial planning your new year resolution
While nobody can predict the future, 2008 certainly has all the early signs of a financially tricky year.
- Bloomberg
- Published: 00:34 December 29, 2007
While nobody can predict the future, 2008 certainly has all the early signs of a financially tricky year. But even if you knew exactly what was coming in the new year, what's smart for you isn't necessarily the same as what's smart for your nephew or your boss.
Rather than muddle around in the dark, bumping your shins on things you can't see, Bankrate has assembled a panel of experts who are willing to shed a little light on the upcoming year and tell you just how their predictions affect you.
So get out of that fog. Bankrate's experts will take the guesswork out of 2008 and help you know what to do.
Different stages in life mean different financial paths to take.
Young: You're in the real world now. That means you need to think about credit, retirement and health care.
Middle-aged: We know you're already overwhelmed, but some things just can't be ignored any longer.
Senior: You're running out of all those tomorrows you were counting on. But you've got some good times coming.
Meet the experts Fred Brock, Laura Rowley and Russell Wild have more than one thing in common. Not only are all three best-selling authors of books on personal finance, but they also understand the discipline it takes to make good financial decisions.
Reinvesting their profits in a US college town, where the cost of living is lower but there's plenty to do, paid off for the Brocks.
College towns
He believes 2008 is the year many retirees will return to college - or at least move near a college or university. "College towns - and lots of other places for that matter - are actively recruiting seniors," he says.
Rowley's guiding philosophy: You can't spend your way to happiness. She advocates, "The way you handle money - spend it, save it, invest it - should align with your value system."
Generally upbeat, Wild sees gathering storm clouds ahead.
"Healthcare continues to be a national disgrace ... It is far and away the number one reason for bankruptcies," he says.
So what's ahead? While all is not doom and gloom, none of our experts see rainbows reflected in the skies. Caution seems the predominant mood with a possible recession ahead in 2008.
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