Three milestones on the road to financial stability

Zachary D. Gildehaus, CFA®, CFP®
Analyst, Client Needs Research
Damien Burleigh, CFP®, CLU® - Analyst, Client Needs
You may find yourself in a similar situation with your financial strategy. You know what you want to achieve, but you’re not sure how to get there.
Edward Jones recommends:
Each of these may seem challenging and trying to accomplish all of them at once may have you feeling lost. This is where a map with clear milestones can help guide you.
Three milestones on the road to financial stability
When preparing for a road trip, you might do a few tasks ahead of time to help ensure the trip goes smoothly. For your financial journey, the following can help make the trip a little easier:
Now that your bags are packed, you’ll want to build a foundation in each of the three goals. While we recommend prioritizing each goal in the order shown below, you can tackle them one at time, save for them equally or put more money toward the one that most appeals to you.
To make it easier, automate as much as you can. For example, you can divert part of your paycheque directly into an emergency savings account or retirement account and set up automatic payments for any debt.
Now you’re building on the momentum you gained in Milestone 1. Again, prioritize each goal in order, and automate where you can. While you should continually manage your budget, keep your debt as efficient as possible and ensure you have adequate insurance.1 Milestone 2 provides a good opportunity to reflect on these.
With Milestone 2 in the rearview mirror, you’re now in the home stretch. But just as a road trip can have a detour, life can be full of the unexpected. You may find yourself back in an earlier milestone for one or more goals, and that’s OK. You can spend from your emergency savings with confidence knowing it’s there for exactly that purpose. If that expense moves you back to an earlier milestone, you can go forward knowing you’ve navigated these roads before.
At the end of the trip, there’s a moment when your destination appears on the horizon and excitement sets in. Take time to look around and be proud of how far you’ve come in your journey. Not only have you built financial stability, but you’re also achieving financial flexibility to do the things you want to do, such as paying for a child’s or grandchild’s education, contributing to a cause you’re passionate about or saving for a major purchase. Whichever road you choose next, your financial advisor will be there to help you at every turn.
Important information :
1. Insurance and annuities are offered by Edward Jones Insurance Agency (except in Québec). In Québec, insurance and annuities are offered by Edward Jones Insurance Agency (Québec) Inc.