Proactive financial planning

Proactive financial planning can start with some simple tips such as knowing the "28/36" rule. Allocate 28% of your monthly budget on housing and keep total debt costs such as student loans and credit card payments within 36% of your monthly income.

retirement savings

The experts claim stocks and bonds, for instance should reflect the amount of time you have until retirement and your tolerance for risk. A typical investing rule of thumb is that the percentage of your assets invested in stocks should be 120 minus your age. To put it another way, if you don't need to tap that money for several decades, you may be able to take more risk with it — as long as you have the stomach for the occasional dip in your balance.