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Strengthening Your Wealth Strategy: Key Approaches for Today's Market | Sarah Carlson CFP®, CLU®, ChFC® | Fulcrum Financial Group | Spokane, WA

Today, there are an estimated 14.5 million women-owned businesses in the U.S. This represents approximately 45% of all businesses. A study conducted by Fidelity Investments showed that women are often less prepared for retirement than their male counterparts.

Once you are in your 60s, you are likely to focus less on growing your retirement funds than answering, "When do I retire?" And once you crack open your nest egg, how should you allocate its contents? The answer often lies in a substantial shift in your investment strategy. Here are some ideas for investing in your 60s and beyond.

Do you believe you have to be a financial genius to manage your finances? Financial knowledge may seem like a lot to handle, and you don’t need us to tell you that. But we are here to tell you that financial wellness is much more about simple steps than advanced financial strategies. In fact, when it comes down to it, three steps may take you a long way, which are budgeting, saving, and using credit wisely.

Divorce can significantly change life and has considerable implications on taxes. Tax filing after divorce requires understanding new filing statuses, exemptions, child deductions, alimony, and property settlements, among other things. Here are the steps to help navigate filing taxes the first year after divorce.

After years of saving and planning for their golden years, many people nearing retirement fail to consider the tax burden they may face on income they receive after they stop working. While you will likely see a reduction in the amount of taxes you owe after the age of 65, you still need to plan ahead if you want to minimize your tax bill from the IRS.

Passing down an inheritance can be a life-changing event and navigating the transfer of a significant amount of money and assets can pose certain challenges. Historically, inheritances don’t last. This is so common, it is described as “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations.” There is an oft-quoted statistic that 70% of wealthy families lose their wealth by the second generation and 90% lose it by the third. At the end of the day, transparency and communication is key when face-to-face with this transfer of responsibility.

Market uncertainty occurs when investors find it challenging to analyze current and future market conditions due to market volatility. Various factors, such as inflation, central bank policy changes, interest rate fluctuation, investor behavior, unemployment news, and industry buzz, can cause market volatility.

Financial wellness is a state of being when one is in control of their finances, can cover expenses, and save for future goals. Consider financial wellness as your relationship with money; it can be either healthy or unhealthy.

Do you want to get on top of your finances this year? Are you looking for ways to improve your fiscal health? Change may be difficult, especially when you try to change your financial habits. The process might be easier if you take an incremental approach. Here are 12 financial resolutions to consider.