Sifting through an overabundance of financial information available can make finding the solutions that best suit your overall financial plan challenging and difficult. However, making solid decisions about how to accomplish your long term objectives should not be a nerve wrecking process that ultimately makes you insecure about your choices. This article will give you three key principles you can follow to make sure you navigate these complexities successfully.
#1 – Get rid of the “should-a’s” and “could-a’s”- getting over financial mistakes.
One sure way of sabotaging any financial goal you may make for yourself is by dwelling on what you should have been doing or could have been doing some time ago in regards to your savings plans. It is never too late to make improvements and change your old financial habits into more prospering ones. Start where you are and renew your commitment to your financial plan.
#2 – Write down your financial goals and setting financial priorities.
Many individuals talk about the lifestyle they would like to live when they retire or the funds they think they’ll need to pay for their child’s college tuition in the next ten years, but really never make a plan to accomplish these goals. We suggest you write down your financial goals, along with some timelines in which they must be accomplished. Doing so will help you determine your financial priorities and how aggressive your savings goals may need to be if you’re playing “catch-up”.
#3 – Choosing a financial representative.
After you finish making financial goals and priorities, the next step in financial planning is to choose a financial professional you can work with. Working with a financial planner involves working with someone who listens to what is important to you and works to help make it a reality. After helping you create a strategy that will help you reach your goals, your financial representative should perform regular monitoring to determine how well the strategy is working or not working. In other words, your financial representative should take a genuine interest in helping you and should make you feel comfortable working with them.
In summary, getting back on track to reaching your financial goals can be done in three easy steps: 1) stop beating yourself up for the late start on savings and re-commit to doing something different; 2) know where you want to be financially and determine your financial priorities; 3) work with a professional financial expert who will not push THEIR plan for you, but listen to you and help to make YOUR goals a reality.
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As we continue to seek to progress during challenging economic times, it becomes even more critical what you do with your money. Download this free guide to get on track to taking control of your finances.
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We have gotten into some challenging times since we needed a new roof, AC unit, furnace, and kitchen appliances. Everything has gone at once. So, we started to lay out a financial plan to help resolve it all. I love what you said about how a financial service should perform regular monitoring to make sure that the plan is working as you go. We will seek a planner in the near future.