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Organize finances to track progress
Investing
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A few years ago, the National Association of Professional Organizers designated the first week of October as Get Organized Week. And while you may have misplaced your notification of this event, it’s nonetheless a good time to see just how organized you are in the important areas of your life — such as your finances.
You can organize your finances in two basic ways: by keeping track of where your various accounts are located and by consolidating your assets. Let’s look at both these areas.
To begin with, you might think it’s no big deal to keep track of your financial accounts. After all, no one lets these accounts just slip away, does he? Actually, you might be surprised: At least $32 billion, and possibly much more, of “lost” property (savings, investments, retirement accounts and so on) are in the custody of state treasurers and other agencies, according to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators.
How do people misplace these funds? They might move from a town and forget to close a bank account. Or they might leave a job and not realize they’ve left behind money in a 401(k). However they do it, it happens — but you don’t want it to happen to you.
Fortunately, it’s not hard to keep tabs on your various accounts — you just need to make a list. Where do you keep your checking and savings accounts? Where are your investments held? Do you have a retirement plan, such as a 401(k) with your current employer? How about any retirement plans with former employers? If you have individual retirement accounts, do you keep them with multiple providers? By answering these questions, you can develop a comprehensive list of what you own and where it’s located. Of course, it’s a good idea to update this list periodically — at least once a year — to reflect any changes in your ownership.
Knowing what you have will be helpful to you in evaluating your financial situation today. But if you want to help yourself make progress toward your goals for tomorrow, you’ll also want to consider another organizational technique: consolidating your assets.
Specifically, if you have some stocks here, a couple of certificates of deposits there and some IRAs at still another place, you might consider consolidating them with one financial services provider.
With all your investments in one place, you possibly can reduce the fees and paperwork associated with maintaining your accounts.
And when you eventually start taking withdrawals from your IRA and 401(k), you may find it easier to calculate these required distributions if they’re coming from just one provider, rather than multiple sources.
But most importantly, when you consolidate your investments with one provider, you’ll find it easier to follow a single, unified investment strategy. A qualified financial advisor can look at all your assets and determine if you’ve got redundancies in your holdings and if you need to increase your diversification. Keep in mind, though, that diversification, by itself, can’t guarantee a profit or protect against loss.
Get Organized Week lasts only seven days. But by using this time to begin organizing your finances, you could see benefits for years to come.

Cardella is a financial advisor for Edward Jones, which provided this column.

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GPA grows trade, market share
Intermodal volume up 20 percent
port photo
Rubber tired gantry cranes handle cargo at the Chatham Intermodal Container Transfer Facility at the Port of Savannah. The Georgia Ports Authority's Mason Mega Rail project will double rail lift capacity to 1 million containers per year by 2020 - photo by Provided

The Georgia Ports Authority achieved 14 percent growth in March container volumes, moving 355,208 20-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers.

From July 2017 to March, TEU container trade grew by 9 percent, or 255,786 additional units for a total of 3.08 million, a new record for Savannah.

"Savannah's continued strength is a reflection of our customers' commitment, Georgia's leadership, and the many dedicated service providers, GPA employees and ILA members who come together every day to achieve great things," said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. "March marked our 17th consecutive month of business expansion thanks, in part, to a strong economy and growing market share."

Intermodal rail volumes jumped by 20 percent in March and 15.4 percent for the fiscal year to date, for a total of 318,454 containers handled over nine months – another record for the GPA.

"As the numbers show, our rail cargo is growing at a faster pace than our overall trade," GPA Chairman Jimmy Allgood said. "This is important because rail is playing a key role in our responsible growth strategy. We anticipate our rail infrastructure investments to take 250,000 trucks off the road each year by 2020."

The GPA recently broke ground on its Mason Mega Rail Terminal, on which the Port of Savannah will build 10,000-foot unit trains within its own footprint. From the expanded rail infrastructure at Garden City Terminal, Class I rail providers CSX and Norfolk Southern will provide direct rail service to major Southeast and Midwestern markets from Memphis to St. Louis, Chicago to Cincinnati.

An added benefit is that the Mason Mega Rail project will move all rail switching on terminal – improving vehicle traffic flow around the port.

In August, the GPA will open its Appalachian Regional Port in Murray County. Located in an industrial belt, including the production and export of carpet and flooring, automobiles and tires, the ARP will provide an alternative to all-truck transit to Northwest Georgia.

Each round-trip container moved via the Appalachian Regional Port will offset 710 truck miles on Georgia highways.

March was also a strong month for roll-on/roll-off auto and machinery units at the Port of Brunswick and Ocean Terminal in Savannah. Colonel's Island Terminal in Brunswick handled 66,144 cars, trucks and tractors, while Ocean Terminal added 4,050, for a total 70,194, a 17.2 percent increase.

"The global economy is thriving and our volumes are following suit," Lynch said. "As existing accounts grow their footprint in the expanding auto facility in Brunswick, Georgia's competitive logistical advantages are drawing additional business across all of our docks."

Lynch noted that for the fiscal year to date, Mayor's Point breakbulk terminal in Brunswick grew by 44 percent (34,515 tons) to reach 112,728 tons of forest products. At East River Terminal, bulk cargo expanded by 34 percent July-March (189,918 tons) for a total of 750,384 tons.

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