These Financial Chores Keep Piling Up

This week is our “Get It Done” week on Morningstar.com: All week we will feature articles and videos offering guidance on ways to help tackle those nagging items on your financial to-do list.

In that vein, we recently asked Morningstar.com readers what is the biggest financial chore that they know they should take care of, but they just haven't gotten around to yet.

For several respondents, the answer was "Create a BUDGET!" and "save, save, save" [in the words of csmith32]. Likewise, reader AllenG is also prioritizing saving: "We intend to pay off the remainder of our debts aside from our mortgage, maximize our Roth IRA contributions, and then contribute as much as possible to my thrift savings plan account."

Others' to-do items ranged from getting cash invested, to updating wills and trusts, to teaching loved ones the importance of saving and investing. The following is a summary of the responses. To read the full thread and weigh in yourself, please click here.

'Put a bunch of … cash to work that's still on the sidelines.' Many readers said that one of the tasks on their to-do lists was putting cash "to work." With cash earning near-zero currently, many people with large cash balances would like to invest that money to potentially achieve higher returns. But finding a good investment, and determining how that will work with your overall portfolio, is easier said than done. Still, as financial "problems" go, it's a good one to have. "I guess this is one of those 'high-class' problems," Fingerlakesguy said.

It's item number 3 on BoomerGuy's to-do list: "Make decision on what to do with 'too much' cash not earning enough $$$," this reader said.

"For me, one 'simple' but big financial to-do. Put a bunch of (inherited) cash to work that's still on the sidelines and further enhance my long-term (20+ year) portfolios. The problem is that there's not much in my view worth buying into at the moment," said rforno.

Morelogic writes: "Open a brokerage account again to put some cash that has been on the sidelines to work in stocks and ETFs. Investigate ETFs to lower my investing cost which is mostly actively managed mutual funds."

Nittwitt, likewise, has more cash to invest due to a bond holding that was recently called. In addition, this reader's spouse received notification of an unexpected pension benefit: "It will roll over into her IRA and we need to decide on the best fund to match her retirement goals. With the markets at near-record highs, and bond yields too low, and with a Fed's promise to increase rates and thus reduce bond values, it is not an easy choice at this time."

And finally, Juris2 has "an inheritance, about a third of which is being held in cash-like accounts and is ready to be deployed for a cash purchase on a house."

'Start teaching grandchildren about saving and investing.' A few readers, such as retiredgary, quoted above, mentioned that one of their goals was to teach loved ones how important it is to save and invest.

Morelogic, for example, plans to "open a youth savings account for my children to teach how basic banking works. What is interest, and how does your money grow with compounding."

Reader dprice has already ticked this task off the to-do list, however: "I promised to buy [my 30-year-old daughter and her husband] one year's worth of term insurance each Christmas for the next five years and made them walk through the time value of money process of calculating cash needs for the next 22 years and discounting it to today.... I gave my post-college son a gift of cash and helped him open his first brokerage account (Vanguard) and create a small 3-bucket portfolio with lots of discussion of risk, return, and portfolio management during the process. These were the most satisfying gifts I have given them for years!"

'Update our will and trusts.' Many respondents mentioned that they need to establish wills and trusts. But as some readers noted, even when a trust has been already established, the beneficiary and other information periodically needs a refresh as circumstances change. "We still have language appointing a guardian for our then-minor child and requiring that she continue to attend high school. That would be a little awkward since the daughter is now 25 and has graduated from college," said KCamp2856.

"Establish trusts," reader thorrr said. "One, to provide for my spouse; a second, for one stepson's potential healthcare expenses; and finally, an educational trust for future of the family tree."

"Finish establishing various trusts for me, wife, children, and grandchild. Wills, POAs, etc. will be reworked along with these," said BoomerGuy.

Thomas47 wants "to keep learning more about generational wealth transfer. We have current wills, trusts, POAs, etc., but [I] am still not sure we have the right balance of flexibility and protection built into the plan."

"We finally revisited our 10-year-old will, trust, power of attorney, and healthcare documents and had our attorney bring them up to date with current estate tax regulations," said carman. "That resulted in a lot of simplification while making our beneficiary/executor contact info current."

'Consolidate,' 'simplify,' and 'document.' Finally, a lot of readers mentioned a desire to streamline their investment portfolios. For some, the goal is to lower costs, or to simplify ongoing portfolio monitoring and maintenance. Some readers also mentioned documenting here--this is an especially important step to take in case the surviving spouse or partner is not the one who is primarily responsible for managing the household finances.

"I consolidated several investment accounts into Vanguard in 2015. My goal was to simplify my investments and I believe I have done that as I now only have six funds, all low-cost funds. I have also documented everything and will review it with my wife and daughter (who will be our DPOA) this year," said johnep.

"Get all financial info cleanly organized so when I kick the bucket everything is clear and well explained," said BoomerGuy.

Chief K plans to "Consolidate some overlapping assets" in addition to updating beneficiaries for mutual funds and update/creating a new will.

"Convincing my spouse that we need to simplify our portfolio to merge similar mutuals into a more manageable number of accounts," said carman. "She's hesitant to make any changes because 'they're performing well,' but I'm tiring of keeping 30+ accounts up to date."