If you’ve just been diagnosed with cancer, everything may feel like it’s in a whirlwind. Suddenly, you’re feeling the need to take stock of all of the decisions you’ve made thus far in life and are working to figure out how to move forward as responsibly and safely as possible. Your routine is now punctuated with doctors’ appointments and phone calls from concerned friends and relatives, all of which can make you feel like you’re losing control of your life. One of the things many recently diagnosed cancer patients have to face is what to do about their personal finances, both in the present and the future. Here are a few tips and pieces of advice to keep in mind as you consider how to handle your investments after receiving your diagnosis.
Get help from others
Even if you’ve always managed your finances, it’s a good idea to get someone else involved with such a major diagnosis. This is because there are sure to be times when you or your family members’ emotions will be running high, and you want to make sure that you’re making sound financial decisions so you can continue counting on your investments for future financial wellness. A portfolio rebalancing tool is just one of the many ways that you can get some outside assistance when it comes to your investments. With a portfolio rebalancing tool, you can automate your investing strategy complete with target allocations and smart alerts so that you’re always staying up-to-date on what matters most to you. Whether it’s allocating money for your retirement or your kids’ college funds, you’ll always stay on track with a rebalancing tool, and built-in analytics tools can help ensure that you fully understand how to make your money work for you.
Involve your children
Especially if your children are high-school-aged or older, it’s a good idea to involve them in how you’re investing your money and what you want to use it for. If your investments are a part of your life insurance policy or other aspects of your will, it’s crucial that every member of your family understands your last wishes regarding how to spend that money. It might be tempting for your teenage son or daughter to drop some of their inheritance on a new car should something happen to you. Even so, if you’ve walked them through why you’ve been saving this money for them and how you want it to be used, then you can help them make sounder financial decisions in the long run.
Re-evaluate your budget and your will
After such a serious diagnosis, you may find that your financial priorities are shifting. Perhaps you need to account for higher medical costs or you’re worried about the legacy you’ll leave to your children, so you want to increase your life insurance contributions. The chances are high that you don’t currently have a budget line for receiving quality cancer care management in Moorestown, NJ, or wherever you’re receiving treatment; it’s vital that you start accounting for those costs. Whatever your financial goals, now’s the time to re-evaluate your budget so that you know that you can provide for your family in the immediate future, as well as after you’re gone.
You may also want to take this time to revisit your last will and testament to determine whether or not it meets your current needs and wishes. For example, if you now have grandchildren that you would like to account for or a close family member that has passed away, now is a good opportunity to rewrite and add in any additional details to ensure that your wishes are honored should you pass away. While nobody likes to think about their death, getting a serious cancer diagnosis can require looking at things from a more serious perspective and working to ensure your finances are managed the way you want.
