"I expect to spend the rest of my life in the future, so I want to be reasonably sure what kind of future it is going to be. That is my reason for planning." - Charles Kettering, Industrialist, 1950 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The KEY TO A SUCCESSFUL FUTURE - Part I
KEY? What do you think of when you hear the word "Key?" Do your ears perk up? Do you think you are about to learn something significant? Well, I thought I would look up the word in the dictionary and give you a really profound definition. Here is what I found: key[ki:] 1. Schlussel 2. Losung .3. Springender 4. Punkt
Well, I couldn't find an English dictionary so that's what my English/German dictionary said. So much for that idea!
Moving right along, something that is "key" is an indicator, insight, manifestation, or guide. It is something very important that we should pay attention to.
Well, I am going to tell you here what the most successful and financially independent people have in common. It is a KEY piece of information to your financial success.
The most successful and financially independent people are goal-oriented. They clearly define their goals. This allows them to visualize the future and focus on a plan for prosperity.
Do you like to plan for the future? How about even planning for just the month, week or day?
A big key to being successful in managing your money and building wealth are to define what you are after. In other words, be clear about what you want. Once you have a goal, then you can easily outline strategies for achieving it.
Wealth is not defined by your income - but rather by your outcome. Real wealth is not how much money you make but how much is left over. Most financial traps are a result due to a lack of direction, lack of knowledge, and/or a lack of financial control.
Step I: Identify where you are now. Write out your current situation, your income, expenses, assets, talents, debts, etc. Then determine that you will take control of your finances. If you are thinking of excuses why you can't take control of your finances now, then write all your excuses on a piece of paper. Get them all down there in black and white. Good, very good! Now torch the paper! If you focus on excuses, you will not produce results.
Step II: Define your goals in life. List them all. Make categories such as personal dreams, financial goals, talent goals, time goals. The ideas may come slowly at first but keep at it. Soon your pen should just be flowing with ideas.
Include long term and short term goals. If you had unlimited time and money, what would you do with your life? What would you like to be or become. Do not put any limits on anything and do not focus on any negatives. Remember, we already burned that list of excuses a little while ago.
This list will allow you to look ahead and see future possibilities and opportunities instead of problems and roadblocks. It will also keep your dreams alive and help you stay focused on your goals. Half of your power to accomplish something is to define what you are after.
So, put your financial goals in writing. Make them tangible. It is a KEY to obtaining your SUCCESSFUL FUTURE!
by Doris Dobkins, publisher of $MART MONEY NEW$ and editor of the web site http://www.creativefinances.com To learn more about goal setting, check our Doris' book "Financial Freedom from A-Z" at http://www.creativefinances.com/book
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The KEY TO A SUCCESSFUL FUTURE - Part II by Doris Dobkins dorisd@creativefinances.com In our last newsletter, we discussed success and how to achieve it. The Key step we identified is establishing goals. Clearly defining goals allows you to visualize the future and focus on a plan for prosperity.
Your plan consists of two parts: Part A which is your "dreams" list and Part B which is made up of the strategies of getting you from where you are now to where you want to be.
Let's look at some strategies now. We can break strategies down into three components. The first one is Personal Financial Strategies. This includes all the financial decisions you make that are unrelated to taxes, investments and your job. The objective is to increase your spendable income as much as possible by reducing financial waste in areas such as insurance, mortgage interest/payments, credit card interest, etc.
The next group of strategies are related to your largest expense in life - that would be the taxes you pay. To create real wealth, it is vital to get control of your tax life. Every dollar you can save in taxes is another dollar you can invest.
The third strategy component is investing. This is different from saving money. The difference could be doubling your money in 4 years versus 7 or 8. The important points here are to maximize your earnings, eliminate unnecessary fees and commissions and learn to work directly with financial institutions to eliminate the middleman and keep all of your money working for you.
In each of these categories are hundreds and hundreds of ideas, tips, strategies and defenses. And that is the goal of this newsletter - to bring you financially strategic ideas to assist you in building your wealth. What you do with the information and how you apply it to your own financial situation is up to you.
But we do hope that you find this newsletter to be valuable and to make a difference in your financial life.
Remember, you are in control of your finances. If you feel you aren't, now is a good time to change your mind and take charge!
by Doris Dobkins, publisher of $MART MONEY NEW$ and editor of the web site http://www.creativefinances.com