Financial consultant and money expert Jeffrey L. Wendel has helped many people achieve their wealth management goals. As a part of helping them build wealth, Jeffrey L. Wendel assists his clients with understanding taxes, the various ways to invest, and, most importantly, preparing for retirement.

One of the central focuses of wealth management is creating a financial portfolio. While working with a financial consultant is always the best way to go about building a portfolio, everyday consumers can also build their own portfolios.

Creating a financial portfolio involves a person taking inventory of their entire financial picture, which requires looking at both assets and debts. Once the inventory is complete, the person can devise a plan for increasing assets while decreasing debts. While this might appear simple, building a portfolio requires discipline and a commitment to saving and reducing existing debts.

When looking to build assets, the best strategy is to diversify. This refers to acquiring a variety of investments to hedge against risk. People looking to invest have a number of avenues from which to choose, including retirement funds (401K), real estate, the stock market, and index or mutual funds.

Building a portfolio also involves reducing one’s amount of household debt. Paying off existing credit cards and loans frees up a lot of disposable income that can be used to build assets. At the same time, if it is necessary to maintain debt, choosing loans that have investment potential can generate income at some time in the future (such as education and mortgage loans).

Building a portfolio on your own can be quite confusing, which is why it is often beneficial to seek the help of a professional financial consultant.