Introduction
The holiday season is not just about festive celebrations and giving gifts. It can also be a strategic time for financial planning that sets you up for success in 2025. In this article, we will explore actionable insights to help you get ahead financially and join the elite 1% who are crushing their goals while the majority of the population struggles.
With startling statistics revealing that nearly half of Americans have $500 or less in their savings accounts, it’s crucial to understand how to leverage the upcoming months to improve your financial stance.
The Current Financial Landscape
Shocking Statistics About Savings
- Half of Americans' Savings: Nearly 50% of Americans have $500 or less in their savings accounts.
- Income vs. Inflation: Inflation is outpacing wages, which means that what you save today will be worth less tomorrow.
- Debt Levels: Household debt in the U.S. has climbed to an unprecedented $7.8 trillion, highlighting the financial stress on American families.
As we approach this holiday season, it’s essential to be mindful of these trends. Instead of falling into the holiday shopping frenzy, let’s prepare to invest in our futures.
Preparing for Financial Success
Understand Your Financial Goals
- Create a Budget: Take stock of your current financial situation. What discretionary spending can be cut back?
- Plan Your Expenses: Calculate your anticipated expenses for the next year and strategically plan how to address them.
- Track Your Progress: Regularly assess your financial health to stay on target.
Invest in Your Future
The holiday season is an excellent time to start planning for your retirement, even if it feels far away. If you're young, consider your goals for the next decade:
- Research Investments: Understand how various investment vehicles work, such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.
- Explore Retirement Accounts: Consider contributing to accounts like a 401(k) or an IRA for tax advantages.
The Importance of the 4% Rule
The 4% rule is a critical concept when planning your retirement withdrawals:
- It suggests that you can withdraw 4% of your retirement savings each year, adjusted for inflation.
- If your time horizon is shorter, this rule may not be suitable for you; adjust your withdrawal rate accordingly.
Strategies to Maximize Your Wealth
Dollar-Cost Averaging
Start practicing dollar-cost averaging by consistently investing a fixed amount each month. This approach allows you to:
- Mitigate risks associated with market volatility.
- Take advantage of market dips and accumulate assets at a lower cost.
Build a Balanced Portfolio
Utilize the principles of a three-fund portfolio:
- Dividend Stocks (e.g., SCD) - for stable income.
- Broad Market Index (e.g., S&P 500) - for capital appreciation.
- Growth ETFs (e.g., QQQ or VUG) - for substantial growth potential.
Debt Management
- Pay Off Debt: Focus on eliminating high-interest debt before investing.
- Avoid Holiday Debt: Resist the urge to overspend during the holidays; instead, set a budget for gifts and holiday festivities.
Utilizing External Resources
Collaborate with Financial Professionals
Consider seeking advice from financial planners who can guide you based on these metrics:
- Living expenses in retirement
- Different income sources (Social Security, pensions)
- Personalized strategies based on your financial objectives
Conclusion
This holiday season can be more than just a time of giving; it can be your springboard into financial prosperity. By understanding the current economic landscape, planning for your future, and intelligently investing, you can position yourself ahead of the curve for 2025. Remember, avoid unnecessary debt this season, stick to a budget, and start steadily investing.
Let this season of gratitude inspire you to take concrete steps towards securing your financial future. Happy Thanksgiving, and let's turn these holiday expenses into steps toward wealth!
by the end of this video I'm going to show you how you can use this holiday season to actually get out ahead and be
able to crush it in 2025 and be able to do things that 99% of people are not going to be able to do 99% of people are
struggling with something that's going to show up in this video let's see how many of you are beating these or
planning for this type of stuff in the future so that you can be the top one% nearly half of Americans have $500 or
less in their savings accounts so that's 50% of people about 29% of respondents have between $51 and $5,000 in their
savings accounts while the remaining 21% of Americans have 5,1 or more you hold much cash in their checking accounts as
well of those surveyed 60% report having $500 or less in their checking account while only about 12% have $201 or more
if you have $500 or more in a savings account congratulations having money saved is tough because the dollar is
just becoming worth less and less each year inflation has come through and wrecked Havoc inflation has also been
outpacing wages for a while and will continue for the foreseeable future wages are projected to outpace price
increases by 20125 getting out ahead of this before that actually happens is something that most people are not going
to be able to do so let's get you there in this short video I'm going to give you some random facts specifically from
2024 and some things that have been shocking me me when I've been doing my research lately and also some things to
help you plan especially for retirement but even more so if you're not even close to retirement this is the time to
start thinking about the next 10 years or even possibly down further so that you can get started on this now by the
end of this video I'm going to show you how you can use this holiday season to actually get out ahead and be able to
crush it in 2025 and be able to do things that 99% of people are not going to be able to do since it is
Thanksgiving here in America I'd love if you'd take just one second and go down in the comment section and tell me
something that you're thankful for we could all use some positivity this season I'm thankful to have the best
girlfriend SLT travel partner SL teammate in the world I'm also just incredibly grateful to God that he
blessed me with this platform on YouTube to be able to reach you and to be able to help out wherever I can I'm also
super thankful for the best little production assistant out there Basher Happy Thanksgiving everyone one
okay let's get back to some interesting stats and how you can win in 2025 many know that they should save for
retirement but most don't know exactly how to be able to pull that money out or how to prepare for the time when they
actually take the money or what if you only have a 10year time frame rather than a 30-year because you decided to
work for a lot longer and so now you want to take out just a little bit more than what some are saying is the
allowable amount or you have different types of accounts or different types of Pensions and things and so how does all
that play out the 4% rule assumes you withdraw the same amount from your portfolio every year adjusted for
inflation this is ideal for those with a 30-year time frame but this is just a cookie cutter approach what if you want
to take out more per year or you want to go on a trip or you want to pay for your grandkids schooling how can we plan for
those specifics based on what you're invested in and how long you're projecting to want this account to last
and then based on the future economic Outlook we can make an educational forecast to actually be able to withdraw
even more upon retirement this chart here shows an example of this but it's best to do this type of planning with a
professional and I do these types of conversations every day with my clients here's a simplified version from Charles
Schwab suggesting the allocations and withdrawal rate if you have a 30-year time Horizon and you have a moderate
asset allocation you could take between 4.2% to 4.8% if you have 10 years and it's more
in a conservative style asset allocation you could take 10.6 to 10.9% when planning for retirement I always ask my
clients What specifically will be your living expenses at that time because it's going to be different than what
you're at now for some of them it's actually a little bit higher because medical expenses might be higher
especially if you're younger and retiring younger but for most of them the actual living expenses are going to
be much much less in retirement than they are now especially if you have a paid off house by then I also want them
to track what types of income or sources of income will they have at that time be sure to factor in Social Security a
pension annity income or other non-portfolio income when determining your annual spending this analysis
estimates the amount you can withdraw from your investable portfolio based on your time Horizon and desired confidence
not total spending using all sources of income for example if you need $50,000 annually but receive 10,000 from Social
Security you don't need to withdraw the whole 50 ,000 from your portfolio just the $40,000 difference as far as what to
invest in to get you to your goal eventually I found this information very interesting especially for those of you
that have been watching me and following this channel for quite some time Charles Schwab says rather than just interest
and dividends a balanced portfolio should also generate capital gains we suggest using all sources of portfolio
income to support spending investing primarily for interest in dividends May inadvertently your portfolio away from
your desired asset allocation and may not deliver the combination of stability and growth required to help your
portfolio last so basically what they're saying there is this old idea of putting everything into bonds and just sitting
it there is actually going to take away from your goals specifically a portion of your portfolio can be in something
like that but the rest needs to look different what they're describing is actually my new three fund portfolio we
have the interest SL dividends through something like SC d a good solid dividend ETF we then have solid
sustainable appreciation in a broad US market index like the S&P 500 and then we have a moderate amount of growth in
this solid appreciation with something like a growth style ETF something like scg or QQQ M or vug investing in this
style portfolio will not only likely get you to your goal faster but also grow your net worth like crazy and beat most
all other investors even professional Traders the L and great Charlie Munger who is actually an investing
professional himself explained that 95% of these professional Traders can't beat the S&P 500 the rise of index funds has
created what Munger described as absolute agony among intelligent investment professionals who find
themselves in a near impossible position of trying to beat the indexes a feat that as Monger put it 95% of people have
almost no chance of beating over time one last thing to consider and then I'll explain how you can win in 2025
Americans have accumulated unprecedented levels of debt according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York their Q2 2024
household debt and credit report indicated that total household debt Rose by 109 billion to reach $7.8 trillion
mortgage balances are up $77 billion reaching $ 12252 trillion auto loans increased by $10 billion reaching the
1.63 three trillion Mark and credit card balances are up by $27 billion reaching $1.14 trillion it's clear that Americans
are seriously feeling the financial squeeze these days now right now we're about to enter some craziness in the
holiday season people are going to go further into debt to buy unnecessary things and to get a moment of Joy but
will suffer all next year paying it off through highin credit cards or loans they're also going to make it so that
they can't be putting any of that money towards in investing and if you're not investing or putting that money to work
for you then it's going to be very tough for you ever to get ahead my challenge to you is to break the cycle this
holiday season don't unnecessarily go into debt get real with your situation and try to figure out an actual budget
and see where you can make just a minor cut put a spending limit on gifts or cut in other areas make a sacrifice now so
that you can live the life that you've always wanted sooner than you thought possible in 2025 I believe we're going
to see a volatile stock market and I believe there's going to be some solid dips in there which are going to be
great for any of you that are going to be able to invest consistently this will be the time that you can really build
your wealth so I want you to do whatever you can to try to be able to dollar cost average which just means putting a set
amount into the market every single month no matter what whether that's $100 a month $500 whatever you can do but
make it your goal to do that every single month in 2025 you're only going to going to be able to do that though if
you get yourself out of debt as soon as possible and make sure you don't go further into the debt over this next
month or so watch either of these two videos to keep you going strong in investing but specifically watch this
one to see my three fund portfolio and specifically how much to invest within each of the categories based on your age
Heads up!
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