A lot of people think that most of their financial choices are “either/or” decisions. In other words, when confronted with a financial decision, you must either take one course of action or the other. Financial salespeople often abet such thinking when trying to steer you into a particular, high commission financial product. But most financial choices don’t require you to do either one thing or the other. Often, a combination is more appropriate. Here are some examples:

• The investment markets are often scary, and you may be in a quandary about whether to sell a particular investment. If you’re in a dither, why not sell a portion – say half of the amount you hold. That’s what a lot of professional investors have always done when concerned, but not yet dismayed, about a holding.
• Anyone who holds traditional IRAs can convert them into Roth IRAs regardless of income. But you have to pay taxes on the conversion, so you may be reticent to incur a big tax bill. Again, this isn’t an either/or decision. Perhaps converting a portion of your IRA money into a Roth is the answer. You can always convert more money in later years.
• Long-term care insurance policies are an area where a compromise may be advisable. Either you get the coverage with all the expensive bells and whistles or you go without the coverage, right? A compromise might be to obtain a basic policy that offers moderate protection but won’t impair your budget with expensive options.
• Some pre retirees view the decision of what to do with their company retirement savings plans as either taking a lump sum payout from their plans or putting the money into an income annuity (aka pension). But a combination of a part lump sum and part annuity may be a better course of action or take the lump sum now and consider an income annuity later in life.
• The decision about when to collect Social Security is a particularly challenging one that is often viewed as either collecting at the earliest possible time, age 62, or waiting until normal retirement age, which varies depending on your year of birth. But there are often situations where it’s preferable to collect after age 62 or even after normal retirement age – as late as age 70. Also, every month you delay commencing benefits results in a higher lifetime Social Security check.

So keep in mind that very little in your financial life involves an “either/or” decision. Realizing this will help you take better control of your financial future. Remember, it’s your money and therefore you are the one who should be in control.