Month: August 2024

Originally published by rollingout on July 11th

As you begin your journey toward a family of your own, you may be thinking about how to set new family traditions that build financial confidence and prosperity. From starting a business to owning a home and watching your kid graduate (maybe even crossing the stage at Howard University or Florida A&M), these goals and traditions can be within reach. That’s something to celebrate and go after!

But as your success gains momentum, you might have questions about what to do financially. That’s OK, we’re here to help so you don’t have to go at it alone.

Family milestones—like seeing your kids graduate without a huge amount of college debt or supporting your community—take planning. Storing cash or leaving money in a savings account will only get you so far. The key is to get started now and take advantage of financial tools, including some you may not have heard enough about.

To help you reach financial confidence and set new family finance traditions, consider these five key steps:

1. Prepare for your family’s education

While there are several tax-advantaged accounts that let you save for education, the most common is a 529 plan. The account will grow tax-free, then as long as your beneficiary uses the money for qualified educational expenses, they won’t owe federal tax when they withdraw the funds. And there are new opportunities to use the money for a beneficiary’s retirement if it’s not used for education. Most states do not tax qualified payouts (distributions), and you even get credit or tax deductions now.

2. Save so that you don’t have to work some day

Retirement for us will be different from what our parents and grandparents had. It’s smart to put money away for retirement as soon as you’re able, so check whether your employer offers a plan like a 401(k) or 403(b). These accounts allow you to save on taxes as you save for a comfortable retirement, and you typically contribute the money directly from your payroll. If you’re self-employed or a plan isn’t available through work, look into an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). It’ll work a little differently than an account sponsored by your employer, but will help you save—while keeping more of your money instead of paying it in taxes.

Investments can be a great way to grow your money over time. But investments alone can leave you vulnerable. That’s why it’s so important to include strategies to help protect the income that you’ll use to create generational wealth.

3. Safeguard your family’s financial stability 

You may think of life insurance for funeral expenses, but there’s much more to it. A policy helps your family’s financial stability if you pass away earlier than expected. Life insurance can help ensure your loved ones may be able to keep the family home, avoid picking up another job and achieve their college dreams.

You have many types of life insurance to choose from to meet your needs and your budget. Term life insurance will pay a death benefit during a certain time frame. But there’s also permanent life insurance, which pays a death benefit no matter when you die—and includes additional benefits that you can use when you’re alive.

Whole life insurance, for example, provides a life-long death benefit and builds cash value that’s guaranteed to grow year after year. Once your policy builds up cash value, you can access it for any reason, like to upgrade your house, help pay for education or take advantage of a business opportunity. But accessing cash value reduces your death benefit.

4. Strengthen your family’s safety net 

Your ability to earn a living is probably the most important financial asset you have—it funds all of your expenses and goals for the future. While it may not seem like it, even an ordinary paycheck adds up over time. All your pay will total hundreds of thousands of dollars, maybe even millions over your lifetime. Unfortunately, disability is fairly common—about one in four people will become disabled by illness or injury before age 67.1

Disability income insurance can provide a critical safety net, allowing you to cover your expenses and continue building your wealth if you’re unable to work due to injury or illness.

5. Talk to a financial pro

The good news is that you don’t have to figure this out by yourself. Talking with a financial expert can be a game changer. In fact, Northwestern Mutual’s 2024 Planning and Progress study showed that, on average, African Americans who work with us:

expect to retire more than two years earlier (age 61.1 versus 63.5)plan to pay off college debt 5.5 years faster (pay off at age 40.7 versus 46.2)have nearly three times as much in retirement savings ($71K versus $26K)

Our financial professional will ask thought-provoking questions to guide the conversation. They’ll learn about your biggest financial fears and deepest dreams to tailor a financial plan with recommendations just for you.

Learn more about building generational wealth with Northwestern Mutual.

1. Based on today’s 20-year-olds. U.S. Social Security Administration Fact Sheet.

This article is part of a paid program.

Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NM) (life and disability insurance, annuities, and life insurance with long-term care benefits) and its subsidiaries in Milwaukee, WI. This article is not intended as legal or tax advice. Consult with a tax professional for tax advice that is specific to your situation.

International Olympic Committee news

The Games are the first to be fully aligned with the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s strategic roadmap, Olympic Agenda 2020, with sustainability and legacy driving every aspect of their planning and delivery. Olympic Agenda 2020 shapes the future of the Olympic Movement and the Games, making them more sustainable, cost-effective and aligned with the needs of the host communities, and the challenges of our times.

“When the IOC put together the reforms of Olympic Agenda 2020, our ambition was to make the Games more sustainable, more responsible and useful for the host population,” said Tania Braga, IOC Head of Impact and Legacy, speaking at a joint IOC-Paris 2024 press briefing dedicated to sustainability and legacy. “This translates into reducing the footprint and minimising any negative impacts of the Games, while creating positive benefits for the hosting population well before the Games start.

The idea is that the Games adapt to the hosts and to the needs of the local population. Legacy and sustainability have become central to all aspects of the Games, from the initial moments of dialogue before the candidature, to decades after. Paris 2024 has done an amazing job in bringing this ambition to reality.

Tania Braga
IOC Head of Impact and Legacy

Delivering more sustainable Games

Amongst Paris 2024’s key sustainability commitments is the objective to cut the carbon footprint of the event by 50 per cent compared to the London 2012 and Rio 2016 average, aligning with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

“We believe the Games can change society, but that they also have to evolve with it,” said Georgina Grenon, Paris 2024 Director for Environmental Excellence. “Today, we’re proving that the Olympic Games can provide and showcase concrete solutions to secure climate ambition, to protect biodiversity and to develop much higher circularity – and that is across all operations.

These are Games that deliver more with less, better, while leaving a long-lasting legacy. For that we have turned the Games into a laboratory and a springboard for innovation.

Georgina Grenon
Paris 2024 Director for Environmental Excellence

Ninety-five per cent of Paris 2024 venues are either existing or temporary. All venues are powered by renewable energy and accessible by public transport, significantly reducing the carbon footprint. Paris 2024 has also significantly cut its use of resources compared to previous Games, prioritising renting and sharing over buying, and controlling the full lifecycle of resources – before, during and after the Games. To date, a second life for 90 per cent of equipment and goods has been secured.

Creating lasting social benefits

Millions of people and businesses across France have benefitted from the Games initiatives even long before the event’s kick-off.

“We are fully aligned with Olympic Agenda 2020 and we worked to maximise positive impacts of the Games for those who need them the most,” said Marie Barsacq, Paris 2024 Director for Impact and Legacy. “Today in France we can prove that sport is not only about high performance and sport practice, it also has a massive social impact. This is a key factor for achieving long-term legacy.”

Paris 2024 has focused on bringing more sport to more people, particularly the young. The Games have helped introduce 30 minutes of daily physical activity into French primary schools, provided free swimming lessons to over 36,000 children across France, and engaged 5 million young people across eight editions of Olympic and Paralympic Week.

The Games have also generated substantial economic opportunities for their hosts. More than 181,000 people have been employed in Games-related jobs, boosting the local job market. Ninety per cent of suppliers are French, with 78 per cent being small- and medium-sized enterprises. The Games are expected to generate between EUR 6.9 and EUR 11.1 billion in economic activity within the Paris metropolitan area, significantly benefitting the local economy.

Seine-Saint-Denis – one of the poorest and youngest areas in France and the heart of Paris 2024 – stands to gain significantly from the Games, with 80 per cent of the public investment targeting the region. The Aquatics Centre, strategically located there, will be transformed after the Games into a multisport facility, featuring fitness areas, a climbing wall, a skatepark and more. The Olympic Village, also in Seine-Saint-Denis, will become a new residential district with 2,800 apartments for 6,000 people, 25 per cent of which will be social housing.

“Today, Paris 2024 is proving that it is possible to stage spectacular, inclusive and unique Games in a more responsible, more sustainable and more useful manner,” said Braga. “We can say that Paris has already established new standards for more sustainable events and more sustainable Olympic Games overall.”

Read more about all you need to know about Paris 2024 Sustainability and Legacy.