Ep 58: Clean Out Your Financial Junk Drawer
InvestingOn This Episode
Most people have a junk drawer at home with rubber bands, clothespins, highlighters, a tape measure, and a pair of scissors. But most people have a financial junk drawer, too. We’ll share what’s often in there and how those things might be put to better use.
Takeaways
Have you cleaned out your junk drawer lately? No, not the one in your house. We mean your financial junk drawer. Here’s what might be in it.
A really old life insurance policy
It’s good to have it reviewed. If it’s a term policy, there’s nothing really to review. Your only options are to keep paying on it till the term expires or cancel it.
If it has a cash value, you can roll it into something else. Some newer policies offer long-term care benefits. You might be able to get a death benefit or lower premium or sometimes both, depending on your situation.
An outdated will or estate plan
We see a lot of people that are moving here from other states. They bring their old estate plan, and it may not apply to Arizona. Review it every three years. That doesn’t mean you need a new one each time, but just make sure it’s up to date.
A Social Security estimate from more than 10 years ago
You can go to SSA.gov and set up an account. You can download a new statement each year. If you haven’t taken it yet, you can get an estimate. We can help you run projections based on that.
On today’s show we also discuss 401k statements, savings bonds and more. Listen to the full episode or use the timestamps to jump to a specific section. Thanks for listening! We’ll be back for another show every other Thursday.
We see a lot of people that are moving here from other states. They bring their old estate plan, and it may not apply to Arizona. - Mark Silverman, CFP®
The Layout
1:52 – Life insurance policy
3:24 – Will or estate plan
4:34 – Social Security estimate
5:26 – 401k statements
6:46 – US savings bond
7:45 – Vacant lot
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