Pasadena Magazine

February 2016 - Beauty, Love and Money

Pasadena Magazine is the bi-monthly magazine of Pasadena and its surrounding areas – the diverse, historically rich and culturally vibrant region that includes Glendale, the Eastside of Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley all the way to Claremont.

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LAKE AVENUE FINANCIAL Alex Chalekian, CEO We're all familiar with the term "New Year, new you!" But how does that coincide with your fi nances? New Year's resolutions are so easy to make, but it may not surprise you that only 8% of us actually stick to them. Why is that? Is it because many of us come up with lofty resolutions that we couldn't possibly stick to? Or because we enjoy making resolutions that we look forward to breaking? Whatever your excuse may be, it all boils down to the fact that we're creatures of habit. Most of us are set in our ways and it's hard to break our usual routine. This is particularly true when it comes to money. Especially if we come up with lofty fi nancial resolutions that would be a dramatic change from our normal routine. So how do we break out of this beha vior? My suggestion is to come up with easy solutions that will help make your fi nancial resolutions attainable. Q: What's an easy trick that I can imple- ment in 2016 to help get my fi nances in order? One of the easiest ways to get your fi nances in order and help you get closer to your fi nancial goals, is by setting up an automatic savings plan. Many of us have good intentions when it comes to start saving. We'll usually start put- ting some money aside in a retirement account or some sort of reserve fund. But before you know it, we get busy or sidetracked and forget. By automating this process, you reduce the chances of going off-track and not reaching your goals. Make sure to set aside a percentage of your income into a retirement account. If you're trying to accumulate wealth, it's crucial that you add monthly contributions into your portfolio. The best advice a fi nancial planner can ever give you is that you need to "Pay yourself fi rst!" Q: Creating a budget seems like such a pain, is there a better way to do this? Absolutely! We all realize that setting up a budget can help monitor spending habits, pay your bills on time, save for a rainy day and get closer to reaching your fi nancial goals. So why do most of us cringe when we hear the word budget? I think the biggest hurdle is knowing where to start. Instead of writing expenses on a piece of paper and trying to remember every single item you spend money on, I suggest using technology to your advantage. There are many programs to help you keep track of your spending. At Lake Avenue Financial, we offer our clients an online tool to help them auto- mate their budget. After linking your fi nancial accounts, you can go back and see where you're spending your hard earned dollars. Then, you can create a budget accordingly by coming up with attainable goals and areas you can spend less money. You might realize that you spend way too much money on technology and tell yourself that you aren't going to buy that new device coming out next month. The system will monitor your budget and let you know if you're on track! Q: I would like some sort of support system to make sure I stick to my goals. Should I fi nd a resolution buddy or work with a fi nancial advisor? Having someone to keep you accountable is crucial in staying on track. Whether it's a friend or a professional, the ability for a partner to call you out when you're deviating from the original plan is important. Take a close look at your habits when you're around your co-work- ers. Do you feel pressured to eat out for lunch every day? That can lead to spending a lot more on food than you had originally budgeted. Talk to them and come up with a plan to help every- one save money. Maybe everybody can bring food from home Monday through Thursday and plan on going out to lunch on Friday. If your fi nancial resolutions are more complex than that, getting a fi nancial planner involved is the way to go. Their depth of knowledge and fi nancial guidance will be priceless! Contact Info: 70 S. Lake Ave., Suite 820, Pasadena, info@lakeavefi nancial.com, 866.528.3660 www.lakeavefi nancial.com 68 FEBRUARY 2016 T R E N D S I N C O M M E R C E A N D C A S H DOLLARS & SENSE dollars_Feb16.indd 68 1/20/16 2:47 PM

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