Simple Things Investors Can Do to Build Financial Confidence

Do you and your family have significant assets and still feel uncertain, anxious, or unclear about whether you are on the right path for financial success?

In this guide, you’ll learn nine simple steps to prioritize, protect, and grow what you’ve built so you can create a legacy, involve your family, and spend less time worrying while living the life you’ve earned.

1. I Don’t Know What Confidence Means, or What to Prioritize

Many families do not have a complete picture of their financial lives, and a lack of knowledge creates a lack of confidence. Financial confidence is rare — only about one in four Americans has described themselves as extremely confident about their finances, and fewer than three in ten feel sure in their ability to build an investment plan to grow and protect wealth.

It may seem obvious, but investors cannot reach an undefined destination.

Start your road to confidence by simply describing what financial success means to you and your family. For some families, confidence means not worrying about money, supporting specific causes, building a personal or business legacy, or maintaining or improving their lifestyle without worry.

To prioritize your financial goals, consider ranking them in three tiers: core needs like financial independence, asset protection, and healthcare; aspirational priorities like philanthropic, long-term growth, and tax strategies; and optional lifestyle pursuits like second homes, travel, and passion projects.

2. I Worry About How Much My Family Needs, and I Want a Real Number Per Month

Investors often worry because they do not know how much money they need or how to get a figure. What does it cost you to live the life you want, and how will you sustain that cost for the rest of your life, which could be for decades?

This number should reflect your spending, retirement, and health care costs, inflation, taxes, goals for family and charity, and be tested under different ages, growth rates, and market assumptions.

The relatively easy solution to this quandary is to use a retirement calculator that lets you enter your current savings, target investment goal, expected return, inflation, and tax treatment, and then shows whether you are on track or facing a shortfall. Examples include Bankrate’s Retirement Calculator, AARP’s Retirement Calculator, and FINRA’s Retirement Calculator. Your wealth manager can provide this information as well through a more in-depth financial planning conversation.

When you see the calculator results, you finally know if you are on track, ahead, or facing a gap, instead of guessing. That clarity can turn your lack of confidence and resultant worry into a specific plan to build a more secure financial future.

3. I’m Concerned I’ll Run Out of Money

The flip side to not knowing how much you need is the fear of running out of money. Approximately two out of three U.S. adults fear outliving their money more than death.

The “four percent solution” is a widely used, easy guideline that suggests retirees can preserve their assets by withdrawing about four percent of their initial portfolio balance in year one, then increasing that amount each year for inflation over a roughly 30‑year horizon. Many planners use it as a starting point, then tailor it to the client’s needs.

For example, a four percent withdrawal scenario for a 65‑year‑old couple with a nest egg of $750,000, would earn a total yearly income of about $30,000 in the first year, not including Social Security, pension plan income, and other income-producing assets.

Many investors forget that their portfolios need to grow over the long term, not just produce income. The reason is simple: you need growth to offset regular withdrawals, the growing cost of health care in retirement, and the impact of inflation.

A simple printout that shows monthly withdrawal amounts and balances based on different growth scenarios can turn your anxiety into confidence that you won’t run out of money or eat into capital.

4. I Don’t Know How to Protect My Money from Taxes, Inflation, and Cybercriminals

Proactive planning on taxes, inflation, and cybersecurity can increase your conviction, just as procrastination can increase your worry.

Taxation

Taxes are a big worry, and many investors simply don’t know where to start. For instance, do you invest in charities through donor-advised funds for tax deductions? Should you do tax-loss harvesting? How about investment opportunity zones? Educating yourself on these and other potential solutions is a start; working with your wealth management team, if you have one, can help improve your confidence level as well.

Inflation

Inflation eats wealth, and it’s often a silent killer. 92 percent of retirees worry about inflation eroding their savings. Even with a seemingly benign 3 percent annual inflation rate, over 30 years, $750,000 in today’s money would buy you only about $309,000 in 30 years. A growth component in your portfolio is essential to protect against inflation.

Cybersecurity

Many investors lack confidence in protecting their wealth from cybercriminals. Almost one in three Americans was scammed in the past year, with an average loss of $1,600 per victim.

You can lower your risk with a few basic practices. Use distinct passwords for each financial account, enable two‑factor authentication wherever possible, and review your statements monthly, if not more often. If something looks off, contact your advisor or bank directly using their real phone number, not a number in the email from the potential scammer.

5. I’m Not Confident I Have the Right Retirement, Estate, or Legacy Plan

A solid retirement plan to help you achieve your income, growth, estate, and legacy objectives may sound fairly straightforward, but many investors aren’t sure that their current plan will help them deliver the outcomes they’re working toward.

Retirement

Among high‑net‑worth investors with at least $1 million in investable assets, about 68 percent say they expect to be financially secure in retirement, but only 34 percent are very confident, and 58 percent still worry about outliving their savings.

Estate

Many households delay their estate planning. Only about one‑third of Americans have a will. Without a current estate plan, your assets may not pass as you intended, and your heirs may face avoidable taxes, fees, and delays.

Legacy

Legacy planning reflects what you want your wealth to stand for. Decide how you want to support family members, how much freedom and responsibility you want them to have, and which causes you care about most. How confident are you that you have a solid legacy plan in place?

6. I Worry I Won’t Have Enough Money to Make a Difference Through Charitable Planning

Many investors worry they will not have enough to make a difference, or that they will pick the wrong charities.

Charitable giving often takes a back seat to other priorities, like paying for college, rising health care costs, or preserving their lifestyle. 44 percent of affluent non-givers in 2022 said they did not give because they felt they needed to take care of family first.

Creating a giving policy is a practical way for families to increase their confidence to invest in causes they care about. Consider setting an annual giving budget as a percentage of income or assets. Focus on one or two causes that match your values. Invest via a donor-advised fund, in which you gain tax advantages and decide which charities to invest in over time.

7. I Don’t Feel Confident Talking to My Family About Money

Many parents struggle with how much to share about their family’s finances. More than half worry that money conversations will cause anxiety for their children, and nearly two-thirds of parents feel uncomfortable discussing their own finances with their kids

Plus, many parents feel that their adult children lack the financial literacy to keep the family assets and legacy alive and thriving.

For adult children, parents can develop a family financial document that states goals, says where to find documents, and who to call in emergencies. For teenage children, you can build their confidence (and yours) by giving them a practice budget. You can also review the costs, benefits, and drawbacks of a new cell phone plan for them or have them research and compare college tuition and scholarship costs.

8. I’m Not Sure About My Financial Advisory Team

The top reasons investors leave their current advisors are poor and infrequent communication, lack of transparency about fees, and investment performance that didn’t meet expectations.

However, your advisor team may not know you are unhappy; if so, it’s time for a candid conversation. Simply ask your advisor about your issues. If that discussion leaves you better informed and more at ease, it can restore confidence. If your conversation does not assure you, it may be time to look for a new wealth management team.

9. I Don’t Know What I Don’t Know

A big obstacle to financial confidence is uncertainty about what questions to even ask. Many investors assume their plan is great until a transitional life event, such as a divorce, loss of a job, or sale of a business, reveals gaps in what they know. Working with an advisor who asks the right questions can be an effective way to close the gap between what you know and what you need to know.

Frequently Asked Questions About Financial Confidence

What documents should families keep?

To feel confident, your family should know where everything is, so keep all your key documents in one secure place. Include your will and estate papers, a list of all accounts, recent statements, important contacts, and insurance policies. Add directions for logging into online accounts and keeping devices safe so your family can quickly find what they need.

How much cash should I have for emergencies?

Consider holding at least six to twelve months of cash for monthly expenses. If you own a business with considerable expenditures, you might want to have a larger reserve fund.

How can I worry less about paying for my family’s and parents’ health care costs?

Healthcare is a key worry for most investors. They may need to plan for their own rising medical expenses as well as their aging parents.

Families can worry less about healthcare by turning unknowns into specific numbers. For couples retiring at 65, healthcare premiums and out-of-pocket costs could total approximately $345,000 over the length of their retirement, with costs starting around $12,800 in the first year and rising with age. These are today’s dollars; actual outlays will likely rise with increasing healthcare costs, inflation, and client age.

One solution is to fund a health savings account (HSA) each year, then invest the balance and let it grow. HSAs provide tax-deductible contributions, tax-free growth, and tax-free withdrawals for qualified medical expenses in retirement. Restrictions apply.

The daily financial news makes me nervous; how can I remain confident?

Confident investors don’t respond emotionally to every short‑term market move. You cannot control markets or headlines, but you can control how you respond by filtering out daily market noise. Ask “Does this news story change my long‑term goals?” If the answer is no, why change?

The Confident Investor’s 9-Point Checklist

Use these questions as a quick checklist to ensure you will be confident in your financial plan:

• Do you know what financial confidence means?
• Do you worry about how much money your family needs to retire comfortably?
• Are you concerned you’ll run out of money?
• Do you know how to protect your money from taxes, inflation, and crooks?
• How confident are you that you have the right retirement, estate, and legacy plan?
• Do you worry you won’t have enough money for charitable giving?
• Do you feel confident talking to your family about money?
• Are you happy with your advisory team?
• Can you concede the ambiguity that you don’t know what you don’t know?

Final Thoughts on Simple Ways to Feel Good About Your Financial Future

Financial confidence is a habit. When you know your goals, protect what you have built, plan thoughtfully for retirement, taxes, and legacy, and keep your family informed, worry can give way to confidence.

At Glassy Mountain Advisors, we help families achieve their dreams, enjoy their lives, create lasting and meaningful legacies, and build generational learning and growth.

As your investment partner, we look to guide, clarify, and empower you every step of the way. Ready to get started? We are here to help.

Schedule a complimentary financial planning discussion to feel confident in your family’s financial plan.

The information provided in this report should not be considered, tax advice,  financial advice or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any particular security. You should always consult with your tax professional with regard to specific tax questions and obligations. Glassy Mountain Advisors, Inc. is an independent investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. More information about Glassy Mountain Advisors including our investment strategies, fees and objectives can be found in our ADV Part 2 and/or Form CRS, which is available upon request.