June 1, 2011
Graduates can be successful in this challenging economy if they set clear goals, create an effective financial plan, and spend their money wisely.
financial plan
May 4, 2011
Why do I refer to the financial calculator as both a retirement calculator and a financial freedom calculator? Well, because I challenge the notion (as I hope you will) that you must wait until you’re sixty-five before you can live the life you truly desire. Instead, I encourage you to replace the “R”-word, retirement, with two new ones: financial freedom.
April 25, 2011
April is Financial Literacy Month and I started the month talking about defining financial literacy and how to begin. Then I started to talk about the money rules. There are nine rules to the game of money that I describe in my book, Money Smart. They are absolutely critical to your success with money and its role in your life as you work to create financial freedom. Follow them and you will quickly see a positive change when it comes to money. Break them often enough and you will almost certainly insure that money ends up subtracting from your happiness rather than adding to it. So here is the second of three of the nine Rules of Money that I am sharing:
Money Rule: Be Disciplined
Discipline simply means being committed to doing what you need to do to get the things you said you wanted. To be successful with money and to be successful in life, you need to be disciplined. If you are not, you are unlikely to achieve anything like the life you wish. With a positive attitude and good discipline, your chances for success with money and in life are very good. You will find that this money rule will have an especially large impact on your chances for success. In Money Smart, I discuss strategies for boosting discipline, because it is a challenge for everyone.
I provide nine Money Rules in Money Smart; and three great money rules here to get you going on your road to success with money. The Rules are a road map to success, follow them and find your way to financial freedom. Financial Literacy Month is a great time to start.
April 22, 2011
April is Financial Literacy Month and I started the month talking about defining financial literacy and how to begin. Then I started to talk about the money rules. There are nine rules to the game of money that I describe in my book, Money Smart. They are absolutely critical to your success with money and its role in your life as you work to create financial freedom. Follow them and you will quickly see a positive change when it comes to money. Break them often enough and you will almost certainly insure that money ends up subtracting from your happiness rather than adding to it. So here is the second of three of the nine Rules of Money that I am sharing:
Money Rule: Have a Written Financial Plan and Follow It
You must have a written financial plan that identifies what you want and how you’re going to get it. If you do not, you will have created a very high probability that you will never achieve the kind of financial freedom you desire. Your written financial plan is the map of how you will spend and save your money and reach your destination. Over the years, through talking and working with a lot of people about their personal money management, I have been stunned that most people do not really know where their money goes. Plus, half of the people who believe they live within their means do not. They just don’t know it. If you do nothing else, you absolutely must know how you actually spend your money and its impact on your life. Write down your plan and follow it. My book, Money Smart, walks you step by step through the process of creating a personal money management plan that is simple to follow. All the tools you need are there and electronic versions of the worksheets and calculators are free on www.moneysmartonline.com for your convenience.