FIVE FINANCIAL STRATEGIES

THRIVENT FINANCIAL’S HANNAH SORENSEN

It could happen anytime. Your spouse dies. You lose your job. You fall seriously ill.

These life changing events are often huge surprises. Your financial security shouldn’t be.

“You need to know what bills you have and where your money is stored,” cautioned Hannah Sorensen, Financial Associate with Thrivent Financial in Fargo. “I see so many women trying to recover from a tragic situation and I think it’s scary when you don’t have the necessary knowledge.”

Understanding your money matters now and preparing for later doesn’t have to be daunting. Sorensen offers these five tips for smart financial planning:

Start Now (whenever now is)

Regardless if you’re 72 or 22, you should know your financial picture. We’re not talking a state-of-theart digitally-enhanced image, more like a Polaroid. “You need a snapshot of your current financial picture,” explained Sorensen. “You need to know what money you have coming in and what your required expenses are.”

The simplest way to start this process is by creating a budget. You can make your own with a spreadsheet or hire a professional like Sorensen to map it out for you.

Plan For a Life Changing Event

It’s not a matter of ‘if’ your world will be rocked, but ‘when.’ “Life is unexpected,” said Sorensen. “If something drastic happened, how would you respond to it?”

She recommends comprehensive financial planning, including, but not limited to, a diverse investment

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portfolio, stable retirement goals and adequate insurance coverage.

“I work with people to look at the full picture,” she said. “Where are your gaps? I help you fill them in.”

Create a Catered Plan

“You are unique and you need a unique plan,” Sorensen said.

It’s like finding the perfect hair color. The boxed drugstore varieties look great on the shelves, but one-color-fits-all usually doesn’t work. Your best bet is to hit the salon for an individual, professional consultation to find the perfect combination of highlights and lowlights.

The same theory holds true for your money. “It’s really easy to give overall advice, but that advice may not be specific enough for you,” added Sorensen.

Establish Trust

Nothing rubs Sorensen the wrong way more than an ‘expert’ who talks the whole time. “You want them to listen to you,” she advised. “The more questions they ask you, the more you know they have your best interests at heart. The more they talk about themselves and a certain product, the less I would trust them.”

Sorensen encourages her clients to write down their life goals and interviews them about their risk tolerance. Additionally, she reaches out to clients’ beneficiaries to make sure everyone is on board with her tailored plan.

Create a Retirement Paycheck

The magical day where you finally walk away from your full-time gig also means you’re giving up guaranteed income. That’s why it’s crucial to create your own paycheck in retirement.

“It’s going from being a saver to a spender in a way,” said Sorensen. “I’m here to help you look at those dollars you’ve saved for all those years and find out how to allocate them correctly for you.”

Sorensen said people often think their expenses will go down in retirement, but in truth, they don’t. Even though you may not have a mortgage anymore, you don’t want to drop the items you’ve become accustomed to having like a cell phone, Internet and dinners out. Let’s not forget that you might also have grandchildren to spoil.

Finally, don’t forget to keep family in the loop about your financial security. Sorensen advises everyone to have a will, health directive and power of attorney. If you’ve worked hard to prevent surprises in your own life, you should give your loved ones the same courtesy.

For more information contact Hannah Sorensen, Financial Associate with Thrivent Financial at 701.388.4649 or hannah.sorensen@thrivent.com. [AWM]