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Do You Have a Plan?
The main reason most people fail to achieve lifetime financial
security is lack of organization. It is critical to have a sound
plan-a disciplined approach-to guide you to the financial
critical mass. Establishing a pattern of spending, saving and
investing ensures financial stability.
Building a plan is simple. First develp a financial profile of
yourself, then use strategies that meet your needs. It's
basically a three-step process:
- Now- What do you have?
- Future- What do you want? Where do you want to be
financially?
- Intermediate- How are you going to reach your goals?
The last two steps will vary significantly depending on the first
step, more specifically, your age and financial situation. The
intended audience of this project-middle and high school
students-have very different goals and priorities than a middle-aged
parent or someone about to retire. Stages of life can be
categorized by decade:
- 20s: begin a career and maybe a family
- 30s: raising children and advancing in career
- 40s: paying for children's college education, earning more
- 50s: reach career and earning plateau, starting thinking
seriously about retirement
- 60s: start retiring, thinking about estate planning
- 70s: retired
Of course, everyone's case is a little different.
There are a few other important factors to look at: how much do
you earn? What are your financial responsibilities? How much risk
can you tolerate? Most teens do not earn a six-figure income, but
neither do we have to worry about paying a mortgage or a car
loan. That makes our saving situation very unique.
After checking where you are now, the next step is where you want
to be or what do you want.
Online Resources
Networth Financial Planning Center-Learn
all about financial planning from several companies in the business.
Networth Insider-Links to many sites
on the Internet, sorted by category-investing, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, news, retirement, economy, etc.
Prudential Securities-Learn to define your financial goals.