Читать книгу Family Financial Freedom - Floyd Saunders - Страница 12

Today does not define who you are, where you are going or how you will get there. Despite tough times, you are still in charge of your life, your future and what you make of it. The financial world is full of examples of people who started with nothing and build their finances to the point they were free of debt and worry. If you have lost everything, you really have no choice but to start over. If you have been an investor in the stock market (even with just a retirement plan), and lost half you nest egg, now is not the time to hide in the sand and doing nothing. Remember an education is power and a financial education is financial power. It allows you to take charge of your money and make it work harder than you do.

Remember this adage: “Failure to plan is planning to fail.”

Create a financial plan by first knowing where you are now (setting your net worth), then comparing that to where you want to be in the future. Once you know your direction, the next step is creating the plan. It is just like planning a trip, first you figure out where you want to go, and then you plot your trip on a road map. Along the way to check off the mile markers to figure out if you are there yet.

Before we move on, remember this is a financial measure, not a personal measure. I have found too many times people get all caught up with measuring their worth with how much money you have. Money is just a medium of exchange; it helps you get you where you want to buy. Remember the Beatles hit record “Can’t Buy Me Love”? You can have a lot of happiness by having enough money to buy the things in life you need or even want, but you can’t buy love, that has to come from within you. Now let’s move on to the next step, personal budgets.