Financial Planning for Life Events Whew! All the children have finally moved out of the house. At last, you and your spouse have the home all to yourselves. You no longer have to devote time, space and resources to raising a family. Ideally, your income will be at the highest level of your career. So, what to do? Well, you could take a trip around the world — if you can afford it. Better yet, you can also use the "empty nest" time and reduced family expenditures to increase contributions to your retirement savings account, including an IRA. There are several IRA types from which to choose, including the traditional and Roth IRAs as well as the spousal IRA. Determine whether a traditional IRA or Roth IRA may be more appropriate. Just think of all the costs you had to bear as the parent of one or more children — food, clothing, education, etc. Now is the perfect time to invest the money you had been spending on those items to save even more for the future and your impending retirement. Redraw your budget to reflect reduced child-care expenses and reallocate a greater proportion of your earnings to savings whenever possible. Revisit your financial goals. As you no longer have to support children, devote more of your savings to long-term needs. Adjust your investment mix to reflect a shorter time horizon. You'll want to start protecting the gains you've worked hard to achieve. Now is the time to consider switching from more long-term, aggressive investments that offer greater potential returns but at a higher risk, to safer options that offer lower potential returns but provide more stability during difficult market conditions. Begin thinking about long-term care needs Depending upon your age, you may only have a few years between when your last child leaves and when you retire, or you may have many years left. In any event, when your last child leaves home is the perfect time to begin thinking about the possibility of future long-term care needs as you grow older. Consider purchasing a long-term care insurance policy to help you cover the expenses of such things as lengthy hospitalization or home healthcare. Don't wait until such needs become reality. Let us help you plan for your life events. Have an advisor contact you directly for your personal consultation. #40030