Are you ready to take advantage of your next big financial opportunity?

Are you ready to do more with your money? The key is to start preparing now to make the right moves when opportunities reveal themselves. Our experts share their insights on the most advantageous mindsets and practical money moves to ensure you’re ready when the moment strikes.

1. Realizing a dream starts with articulating it

Even the super-wealthy can feel scared to say their dreams out loud, including in front of their spouses. That’s because a dream can be fragile, and vocalizing it might be vulnerable. “Sometimes there are two parties in a room who are not aligned,” observes Senior Wealth Advisor Stephanie Hannan. “The trick becomes drawing that voice out from the one who is just kind of along for the ride.”

What scares people most about sharing their dreams? “We hear quite a bit that people don’t want to appear stupid,” shares Hannan. As with many things in life, practice helps. To get the conversation started, you might ask your partner or a close friend about his or her dreams to encourage regular conversation. The more you talk it through, the bigger chance your dreams will become a reality. Or you’ll at least uncover a few realistic next steps.

Once you start sharing your dreams out loud, there’s no way of knowing what magic could happen. You’ll find one real life example in number three: Invest in real estate with eyes wide open.

2. Invest consistently and strategically

You might hear your friends talking about investment moves like “buying the dip,” which just means jumping into the market when stocks are down. But how do you know when it’s “down?” And what if you end up waiting too long for the lowest dip and suddenly the market’s up again before you act? “We often have this discussion with clients because people think it comes down to timing,” says Hannan. “Often we have to reframe because it is nearly impossible to time the market. It’s really about committing to a specific amount and a specific time frequency. For example, once a month, I’m committing $300 to this account and X amount to this account and being very disciplined and strategic and averaging into the market,” she explains.

You can even think of it as setting your investing budget, suggests Senior Wealth Strategist Jessica Bole. “What is your budget for investing? Do that from every paycheck or every month. Invest before anything else by setting up an automatic transaction into your investment account,” she says. “That level of discipline is what so many people have a hard time starting. But once it’s done, there’s a real sense of relief of ‘I am building for my future,’” she shares.

Once you’ve set your baseline of consistent contribution, you may have more leeway to look out for what Hannan calls “crystal ball” moments. “Once you have what we often refer to as dry powder, you can be a bit more strategic for when you see buying opportunities, or perhaps you see an industry segment dip and you want more exposure. That’s where the engagement of a portfolio manager and a team of experts is really effective,” says Hannan.

As you put more into the market over time, the growth you see may feel like magic or luck. But in reality, you’re tapping into the simple mathematical principle of compounding interest.

3. Invest in real estate with eyes wide open

You may have heard that wealthy people often own real estate as part of their overall portfolios. But it takes money to make money in real estate. “The biggest thing with real estate is that often there’s a misconception of what it takes to own multiple properties,” cautions Hannan. “You are responsible for the maintenance, insurance, taxes, snow removal, landscaping, all the costs that come along with the house. Sometimes that’s overlooked by new investors,” points out Hannan.

In other cases, owning a particular property is more about manifesting a dream than earning passive income. “I have one client who at one point was able to purchase a home they thought would be out of their price range, out of their budget, but through serendipity they ended up buying this dream property,” Hannan recalls. “My client had left an impression with the seller, and inspired them to sell at a lower price,” she says. “It’s one of the mysteries of the world why people would do that, but they got a dream beach property they never would have thought they could afford,” Hannan continues.

Hannan’s client not only dared to dream about owning that beach home, they also shared their desire. Additionally, they created a connection with the sellers of the property which turned out to be the ultimate advantage over pure dollars and cents. See the next point, number four: Be visible before you’re available.

4. Be visible before you’re available

You never know what may bloom from the seeds planted through authentic connection. In the case of Hannan’s client, the result of establishing a relationship was the realization of a dream beach home. For our Senior Wealth Strategist Jessica Bole, it was a promotion to her current role.

“I put it out in the open that I wanted to move into a planning role, and I talked about it with a former colleague of mine,” recalls Bole. That colleague introduced her to the hiring manager who offered her a job. From there, Bole was clear about her goal to move into a higher-level role. She proved her readiness by doing that role before she got the title, without recognition or compensation. When a colleague in the higher role announced his retirement, Bole was the obvious choice.

From where she sits now, Bole strives to open doors for others. She encourages direct reports and mentees to reach out seeking connection. But where to begin? Many may not feel brave enough to request time with an executive leader. “I think maybe start with someone who's a little bit more familiar to you, who's someone that you are working closely with or that you've already had an interaction with, to just say, ‘I’m interested in what you're doing. Would you spend 15 minutes having coffee with me?’” suggests Bole.

“I’ve also encouraged some of my junior colleagues to ask the person they meet: ‘Do you know anyone else who might be interested in talking to me?’” Ending meetings with this simple question will propel you toward the next step in your journey of connection.

Nervous to reach out? You’re not alone. Just know that helping others is gratifying for those ahead of you in your career. “Being the connector, being the one who is helping to facilitate conversations and setting the table, it’s one of my personal passions,” shares Hannan. “I find a personal sense of joy in connecting people.”

If you worry that asking someone for a meeting will be an annoyance, remind yourself you may actually bring the person the joy of being able to open a door for you.

5. Confidence to act comes from considering the possibilities and pitfalls in advance

Once you get clear on your dream and share it with others, it’s up to you to take steps toward making it happen. However, there can be a big gap between your goal and where you stand today. Psychological research has found that the best way to bridge that gap is through what’s called “implementation intention.”¹ Specifically, it isn’t enough just to imagine achieving your dream. You also need to lay out all the steps you’ll need to take to get there. Thinking through the implementation steps can help you solidify if-then statements so you can recognize opportunities when they arise. You’ll also quickly know what action to take without having to overthink it in that moment.

Hannan puts this concept into simple (if not easy) terms: “My clients who are most often able to take advantage of financial opportunities are good at having a plan,” she shares. “The real payoff comes when you decide what you want to do, plan for how you’re going to make it happen and commit to saving, investing or cashing out.”

Considering the possible outcomes from all angles helps you with that key middle part: plan for how you’re going to make your goal happen. Foreseeing possible barriers allows you to pre-plan how you’ll overcome them. Seeing the concrete steps laid out before you gives you that all-important plan and also a real sense of momentum.

Let’s return to the real estate example. Perhaps you have a certain amount of money set aside for your first real estate investment. You craft an if-then statement to help guide your next steps: If I find a two-family property for $450,000 in the next 6 months, I’ll buy it for rental income. Then share your goal and your parameters. If and when the property appears, you’ll be ready and waiting to make your move.

Financial opportunity readiness checklist

Ready to start creating your own luck? You can begin by building the optimal conditions for sprouting your next big opportunity.

• Grow an emergency fund
• Invest consistently and automatically
• Articulate your dreams
• Build a strong credit score
• Engage your network
• Outline possibilities and pitfalls
• Actively seek opportunities
• Make your dreams a reality!

Conclusion: Opportunity favors the prepared

Looking for a place to start? A connected conversation can help get the ball rolling. Once you’ve identified your dreams and start talking about what you want to happen, many other things on the list will fall into place. “Once you come up with a plan and commit to the steps needed to execute it, you’ll know what to expect,” says Hannan. And you’ll quickly recognize when it’s the right time to act.