Effective planning for Your Future

As I survey the lives of many of my clients, I notice a very interesting pattern. 90% of people don't have a clue on how to plan for their futures. Many of them had never even thought of seeking financial advice for their futures. They were just living for the present.

There needs to be a balance for the attention that we give to the different parts of our life. Many people either live in the past, only for the present, or in the dreams they have of their future. They are all equally important but we cannot get stuck in just one of these categories. Learn from past actions so that your present actions won't make the same mistakes and will therefore leave you looking forward to a brighter future.

The same mentality should be applied to planning out your finances. What past actions have you taken and are you happy with the results that they've given you thus far? If not, what current actions are you taking and are they any different than what you've been doing? How do you want to live your life in the future and have you adjusted your present actions to get you to your goals?

Most people tend to think that whatever they did in the past has nothing to do with their life now. What they're doing right now is exactly what they did before and they expect to get different results from those same actions.

Proper financial planning requires that you look at several different fields of your life. Do you have any debt, and if so, does your debt outweigh your savings and your income? Is your family protected against all of your debt and liabilities if you're not there to provide? Are your prepared to pay for your kids' school tuition? Are you earning the income necessary just to take care of these issues?

You must be willing to answer these questions honestly or you will put yourself in a very dangerous situation financially. Once you've gotten the answers to these questions, the next step is to figure out in which areas you actually need help.

The first step is to protect yourself and your family from any debt that you might have accumulated. If anything happens to you, your family needs to be able to pay for the mortgage, the bills, the credit cards, etc. Once you've provided the protection, concentrate on actually getting rid of any bad debt that you've accumulated. Once the debt is gone, turn the payments into savings contributions... start accumulating wealth.

After the debt is gone, the monthly payments can be used to make sure you and your spouse are prepared for retirement. You can also use some of that money to make sure your kids' college tuition is paid for.

I'm sure you'd agree with me that all of these things are going to cost you some money. Are you earning enough to be able to get rid of your debt, save for retirement, provide protection for your family, and send the kids to school?

Many people can and do honestly say that they're not making enough. However, when they do want to make more, they either think about getting another degree or getting another job. Christopher Columbus said, "I didn't discover America for you to go out and get a job."

The main goal is to start a part-time business that will not only allow you to make more money, but will ultimately allow you to supplement your job income. Then you can quit your job and devote all of your efforts to growing your business and creating a substantial income for yourself.

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