我如何确定我的长期财务目标?
The first step is to decide what you realistically want to achieve financially. 财务目标可能包括提前退休, 旅行, 度假屋, 在一个养家糊口的人去世后，确保你的家庭经济上的安慰, 为照顾年迈的亲戚或建立家族企业做计划.
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Is there any validity to financial planning "经验法则" such as "saving 10 percent of your gross income?"
以下 经验法则 may work for some people, but they do not make financial sense for everyone. What is more important is to be able to know whether a particular rule of thumb suits your situation. Here are six of the more common rules along with some considerations that should not be overlooked.
1. 人寿保险应该相当于你年薪的五倍.
This rule of thumb has been used to answer the question: How much life insurance should I have? 最理想的人寿保险金额是你能承受的金额, 当投资, generate enough income to allow your survivors to maintain the level of income they are used to. “薪水的五倍”在某些情况下可以达到这个目的, but there is no substitute for making the calculations necessary to find out how much life insurance you need to buy for your particular situation. The amount of life insurance you need depends on how many people there are in your family, 除工资外，是否有其他收入来源, 你的孩子们都多大了, 还有其他一些因素.
2. 每年把工资的10%存起来.
You may need to save much more than ten percent of your gross income to have a comfortable retirement. The amount you need to save for retirement depends on how large your existing nest egg is and how old you are. 那些很晚才开始存钱的人, 比如在40多岁的时候, 每年至少要存15%到20%.
3. 尽可能多地为退休计划做贡献.
这对大多数人来说都是有意义的, 但是如果你在退休计划中积累了一大笔钱, 比如说接近一百万美元, you may reach the point where the negatives of contributing to your retirement plan savings outweigh the positives.
4. 你需要退休前收入的80%才能舒适地退休.
Although people may need 80 percent of their salaries during the first few years of retirement, 后来, 他们往往可以用更少的钱过得舒适. The amount of income you need depends on whether you have paid off your mortgage, 你是否有其他的退休收入来源, 还有其他因素.
5. 从100岁中减去你的年龄，然后用这个百分比投资股票.
This is one of those "cookie cutter" rules that only pans out for certain investors. 对其他人来说，这会导致投资组合过于保守. The best method of allocating percentages among various types of investments depends on your investment goals and needs and your willingness to risk your capital. 在这种情况下，经验法则根本不能很好地服务于投资者.
6. 保持一个相当于六个月开支的应急基金.
Depending on your family's situation, three months' worth of expenses might be enough. On the other hand, for some families, even six months' worth might be totally inadequate. The amount you should keep on hand depends on how easy it would be for you to take out a short-term loan and how much money you have in savings and investments among other things.
不依赖任何经验法则来做财务决策. 相反，仔细考虑你的需求和目标是什么, 然后计算你需要做些什么来实现它们.
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What do women in particular need to keep in mind with regard to financial planning?
越来越多的女性保持单身, 近一半的婚姻以离婚告终, and the odds of becoming a widow by the age of 55 hovering around 75 percent, nearly 9 out of 10 women will be solely responsible for their financial well-being at some point in their lives. 但许多人对此准备不足.
Here are several areas where women fall behind when it comes to planning for their financial future:
女性的退休储蓄要少得多, on average 60 percent less than men according to a 2010 study conducted by LIMRA of close to 2,500名员工. This is significant because women typically live longer than their male counterparts and need more retirement savings.
- 在同一个LIMRA研究中, 29 percent of men and only 14 percent of women consider themselves knowledgeable about financial services and products. Fifty-four percent of women felt at least somewhat knowledgeable about financial products and services, 但近四分之三的男性也有同样的感觉.
2011年，RocketLawyer委托哈里斯互动公司进行了一项调查.Com发现的超过1个,000人接受了调查, 5%的女性没有遗嘱, 26%的人认为成本是他们没有手机的主要原因.
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What special problems do unmarried couples have to be concerned with in financial and 遗产规划?
In 2016, 1800万成年人同居, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of the Current Population Survey. 自2007年以来，这一数字增长了29%. Because unmarried couples don't enjoy the same legal rights and protection as married couples do, 财务规划的考虑事项，如退休计划, 遗产规划, 税收也可能大不相同. 例如:
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未婚伴侣不会自动继承彼此的财产. When an unmarried partner dies intestate (without a will) the estate is divided according to laws of the state, with property and assets typically going to parents or siblings and rarely or never to the beloved partner. 换句话说, married couples who do not have a will have state intestacy laws to back them up, but unmarried couples need to have a will in place in order to make sure that their wishes are met.
- Couples who aren't married also do not have the right to speak for each other in the event of a medical crisis. 如果你的生活伴侣失去意识或丧失行为能力, someone has to make a decision whether to go ahead with a medical procedure. 那个人应该是你, but unless you have a health care directive such as a living will in place, 你没有法律上的权利替你的伴侣做决定.
- 税收和遗产问题也更为复杂. 在大多数情况下, it makes more sense not to own property such as a car or electronics equipment together or to have a joint loan. 而婚姻财产可以由法官平均分配, there is no legal recourse for unmarried couples in the event of a breakup. 另一个例子是房屋所有权. If one partner is listed as the sole owner of a home that the couple lives in together and he or she dies, 幸存的伴侣可能会无家可归. 这可以通过适当的资产标题来解决, in this case making sure the home is in joint tenancy with rights of survivorship.
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