Blog - Page 13 of 15 - Financially Authentic

How to Financially Simplify Your Life

By Beth Marshall on July 10, 2013 in Financial Simplicity

I feel it fairly ironic that I’m about to share what is a relatively simple process to financially simplify your life. However, I suppose it makes sense too that simplifying should be simple, yes? There are so many tips out there about how to get out of debt, how to save money, and even how to create a budget (what I prefer to call a “savings and spending plan” or a “financial plan” since I hate the icky “b” word) that even to me it often feels overwhelming. Which tip should you implement first? Which one is a “magic bullet” to wealth? How the heck are you going to get it all straight and keep it straight?

Answer: START WITH SIMPLIFYING.

When I talk with people about their biggest money concern, it typically is around the fact that finances feels like such a BIG topic and they don’t even know where to start addressing the challenge. They feel reactive to anything and everything financial in their life and they feel financially overwhelmed by it all. What if just by asking yourself a few questions you could get started on being more financially proactive and empowered?

For me, it begins with getting back to simplicity. Not just in your finances, but also in your life as well. If you’re anything like me before I really started to intentionally focus on building my life on purpose just a few short years ago, you’re running around like some version of a chicken with your head cut off on most days and you can barely catch a breath. You might have a hectic job or career, you might have 10,000 activities to shuttle your kids back and forth to, or you might be busy helping everyone else and their mother with different things while neglecting to take care of yourself and/or your loved ones. Do any of these resonate with you? I know I used to resemble this picture myself (minus the kid shuttling since I don’t yet have any adorable rugrats of my own!).

So how do you begin to simplify so that you can really begin the work of simplifying and designing your life on purpose which eventually leads to strengthening your money management skills and building your financial foundation? I’d suggest 3 steps to begin shifting yourself out of financial overwhelm and moving toward financial empowerment:

1) Choose your attitude

When thinking about simplifying your life or your finances, the most important place to start is with setting a positive intention and if necessary, adjusting your attitude. I see many people try to start addressing their financial challenges with thoughts of “this is so hard, I don’t know how I’m going to figure this out” or “I’m no good at money and I never will be.” There are numerous versions of these self-fulfilling prophecies and if you don’t acknowledge them from the start money and life will always feel hard like you’re always charging uphill, and never simple. I love this quote from Jim Rohn, a well-known motivational business mentor:

“It’s our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome.”

So choose your attitude wisely, and take the time to become aware of any self-limiting beliefs that you may have about money and your finances. I suggest that you set the intention that you will create your life purposefully and intentionally (instead of by default and just grunting it out through each day, reacting to everything), and perhaps this becomes your new money mantra instead: I can more proactively and easily handle money in my life with the right amount of time dedicated to learning what I was never taught about money.

2) Find out what IS working well and what IS NOT working well

Sometimes when we’re impersonating the busy chicken with his/her head cut off we forget to slow down enough to hear ourselves think, and we almost always forget to stop and consciously look at what is going on. Honestly, sometimes doing this can be painful because we realize there are a lot of things that aren’t going as planned or as well as we would like. In my experience, being relentlessly aware and present to what is going on in your life is key to anyone’s recipe for a happy life and it’s also an important part of stabilizing your financial life as well.

Start by taking time to appreciate the positive things in your life and notice what is going well – a job you love (if that’s true for you), family, friends, hobbies that fulfill you, a cause that matters to you, etc. etc. The list of things for which you can be grateful is endless, you just need to take the time to notice!

After you’ve reflected on what’s going well, only then should you take a good and honest look at what isn’t going well. This is where a lot of shame and guilt is likely to show up, whether specifically about your finances and money or perhaps about another area of your life. It’s ok, keep breathing – to paraphrase a famous quote “the only way out is through” and in order to improve something in your life you must first become aware of it. It’s only after gaining awareness that you can work to understand what the issue is and move forward into taking steps to shifting toward more of what you want (and less of what you don’t want). It can be helpful to focus these small steps on simplifying and streamlining.

3) Systemize, Systemize, Systemize!!

While I enjoy spontaneity and “going with the flow,” I swear by the fact that my life is most productive when I have systems in place. I typically have systems in place for 2 things: 1) things that are going well in my life that I’ve figured out and want to replicate and simplify (i.e. getting up early to have some quiet time; working out before the day starts (it almost never happens later in the day); Friday afternoons off to run errands and get personal stuff done so I don’t have to wait in lines on weekends); and 2) any new habit that I’m trying to adapt to that needs some structure around it so that it actually becomes a habit that stays.

You can use this approach for your life in general, of course, however with respect to your finances I would suggest the following systems to start off with if you don’t already have them in place:

Weekly “money date” –Establish a weekly appointment to pay your bills, transfer funds (if applicable), and call to address any other financial matters (i.e. unusual charges on bills; banking matters; legal matters). It’s amazing what just this one habit can do for simplifying your financial life and calming the typical chaos that most people have around money.
Monthly review of actual cash flow vs. planned cash flow – If you understand your monthly cash inflow and outflow (i.e. you have a budget or a cash flow plan), it’s always good to track your actual activity each month and then compare how you did versus what you planned. This will help you to identify how good your plan is and whether there are any areas where you tend to spend more that perhaps you’d like to spend less (or vice versa – perhaps you need to increase spending to make you happy).
Bonus for couples: Schedule regular time to discuss money – Most couples think that it’s not sexy to talk about money, however I find time and time again that it is truly the #1 reason for arguments in relationships (and ultimately sometimes divorce). So do yourself a favor and just set aside 15-20 minutes a week to meet about financial matters, and if there’s nothing specific to discuss then simply use the time to get on the same page about your goals and dreams and whether you’ll need financial resources to support those goals and dreams. At the end of the month, you’ll want to do the monthly review of actual to planned cash flow together (see item above) so you can make sure you’re on the same page as to how you want money to work for both of you.

Quite obviously, the steps above aren’t everything that you will need to do in order to systematically simplify your financial life. However, these are the steps that I always work through with clients so that they can get a solid start in understanding their financial opportunities and challenges. If you settle down long enough to set a positive intention, gain awareness on what’s going well and what could be improved, and then focus on streamlining good habits and new habits then you’re well on your way to establishing a solid foundation for future financial success!

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Financial Infidelity: Are you keeping financial secrets in your relationships?

By Beth Marshall on June 26, 2013 in Financial Infidelity

I could sit here and quote statistics all day long about how money is the #1 reason for divorce. I won’t bore you with that, however we all know just how true that is, don’t we?

Money is serious business sometimes. When one person is challenged by money management, that’s one thing. Add two people into the equation with different approaches to managing money and different upbringings and experiences with money, and you’ve got yourself a witch’s brew bubbling over that’s potentially a ripe environment for keeping secrets.

Financial infidelity can show up in many different ways and it can slowly and quietly tear at the fabric of trust in any relationship (husband and wife, parent and child, sibling to sibling, best friend to best friend. etc.), however for today I’m going to focus primarily on how it can impact your relationship with your significant other. It’s a dicey subject, and not a lot of people want to talk about it (and most people certainly don’t want to hear about it). However, it keeps coming up in the course of the conversations I have with my clients and also when I speak with couples about money in relationships. And I feel that if I don’t take responsibility for shining some light on it, it may significantly impact your relationships before you know it. So I’m diving in…head first.

It starts with just a small white lie or “untruth” (my made-up word for when you’re not sharing the whole truth), never intending to hurt anyone. Someone loans you money for an intended purpose, and you use it for something completely different. You buy new clothes or a new gadget and when your significant other asks “is that new?” you say “oh, this old thing?” There’s a separate bank account that you keep and your beloved doesn’t know that you keep it. You can’t seem to get on the same page with your spouse about how to use the money, you’re tired of fighting about it, and so you throw up your hands and simply just do whatever you want to. It may be even be so bad that you unconsciously (or perhaps consciously) give your significant other the “financial middle finger” just to get back at them because they ticked you off somehow and didn’t agree with something you wanted to do financially. OUCH.

I’ve personally heard every single one of these scenarios (and more) with either my private clients or from people with whom I’ve had a “money confessional” moment. It doesn’t have to be this way if you’re committed to having authentic and truthful conversations about money with your loved ones. Trust me, I’m not saying it’s an easy feat to have those types of conversations…I’m simply saying that it’s worth it to have those types of conversations. Honest and open financial conversations can change your relationships with your loved ones forever, and the added bonus is that they strengthen your financial foundation too!

So how do you start to heal your relationship(s) if you sense that financial infidelity is an uninvited house guest? There are 3 steps that I would suggest you start with to begin to weed financial infidelity out of your life:

1) Be honest with yourself

There’s an old saying that “people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones”. Before you start to think about what your significant other might be doing to impact the level of financial authenticity in your relationship, look inward to see what you might be doing that isn’t on the “up and up” and could be considered hurtful if your significant other found out about it. How are you behaving with money that if your spouse/significant other found out about they would be hurt by or upset about? What might you be embarrassed about if someone found out about it? While I’m a huge fan of financial independence and creating your own financial rules (even if you’re in a relationship, you don’t have to always 100% agree with each other on how to handle the money), it’s always best to be up front and honest about your thoughts and approaches when it comes to financial matters. So start with being honest with yourself, and see if you’re contributing in any way to having financial secrets in your relationship.

2) LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN!!!

I can’t stress this one enough (were the capital letters a good indicator of that one for you?). This is the really, really brave step. It’s time to step forward with your loved one, and let them know that you want to have a really honest conversation about money and how you can be doing things better…together. Share what you learned about yourself and your money habits when you were honest with yourself (yes, it’s time for a confessional). Ask them for their opinion on what they think you could be doing better, what they could be doing better, and what you could both be doing better together when it comes to being proactive with your money and designing a financial plan to support your life. (Don’t forget to breathe, OK?) Sometimes this can be scary stuff, but if you ask the challenging questions and then step back and really listen to what your other half has to say you might be surprised at what you hear. Make sure you respectfully give them the space to speak their peace, even if you don’t agree with what they’re saying when they say it. Be inquisitive, ask questions when they say something that you don’t agree with or understand. It’s amazing what can happen when you genuinely sit down with the intention to listen and hear out the person in front of you. Put yourself in the shoes of your loved ones, and do your best to compassionately hear another person’s perspective!

3) Get on the same page

Once you have been honest with yourself, and taken the time to understand the perspective of your loved one, you’re ready to think about getting on the same page with him/her. Let me be clear, this does not always have to mean that you have to compromise about everything – it just means that you have both decided that it’s time to put everything out on the open in terms of your goals and what you want your life to look like going forward. No more secrets. Dream big together. Once you have goals, you can then incorporate them into a financial plan that will support achieving those goals by budgeting and saving money in advance! Being ahead of the “financial 8-ball” allows you to strengthen your financial foundation, and thus the foundation of your relationship.

I never said this would be easy, and I hope that you’re still breathing at this point (if you’re not, please start again….deep breaths in and out, in and out). I know this can be hard to look at, yet I know from having worked with many couples that when you tackle the big elephant in the room and address financial secrets head on that it only serves to strengthen your relationship for the better. The communication grows, the trust grows, and the love grows.

So if there’s any chance that financial infidelity may be impacting your relationship, is it worth it to you to think about beginning to repair the tiny tears of trust that may ultimately lead to a large crack in the foundation of your happiness? Only you can answer that question for yourself.

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A New View on Wellness

By Beth Marshall on June 12, 2013 in Financial Wellness

MONEY – it’s a word that strikes fear in the hearts of many however it doesn’t have to be that way.

Even worse than the word money is the word BUDGET. It’s like the swear word of money. This one word sends people into a state of financial overwhelm unlike anything else that I’ve seen.

So when people talk about wellness, I find it ironic that financial wellness is often overlooked. Financial stress and overwhelm runs like a virus in your mind subconsciously impacting how you show up at your job and in your life, and many people carry this stress and overwhelm like an unwelcome sack of financial waste on their back. When people don’t feel financially well, it only adds to the mental, emotional, and physical wellness challenges that they may already be experiencing.

What do you think all of that is doing to your mind, body, and soul?

The world that I live in and see every day includes people paralyzed with financial fear, embarrassment and guilt. All of these people were never taught how to properly manage their money, yet they feel they’re the only ones who didn’t get the “money memo” despite the fact that at least 70% of people are living paycheck to paycheck (including people who earn really good money and would consider themselves to be successful).

I’m here to start a revolution and share the good news that personal finance can be taught and it can be friendly and fun while being an empowering part of the overall wellness in your life.

Financial wellness isn’t just about having a savings and spending plan (this is my preferred phrase to describe a budget!), getting out of debt, or saving money, it’s also about aligning how you use your money with what matters and what’s important to you. When you use your money in a way that’s aligned with what matters to you, you’re living a financially authentic life and this is the platform for financial freedom, financial independence, and financial peace of mind.

And it doesn’t stop just at financial peace of mind, either. When you have financial stability and clarity, you then have choice in your life. As you make choices to do more that makes you happy and really matters to you, those choices inevitably lead to opportunities to contribute in a bigger way to other people in your life, to your community, and the world at large. And if everyone were contributing something that mattered to them in a bigger way, imagine how truly connected we would all feel instead of the negativity we see and feel all the time. Clarity leads to choice, choice leads to contribution, and contribution leads to connectedness.

As you can see, being financially authentic and empowered isn’t just about the money. It’s about a pivotal point that we’re at where we have a choice right now to be, do, and have more in our lives. We can have more freedom, more choice, more connectedness, more wellness and more happiness.

As I’ve seen and experienced, living a financially authentic life results in at least 3 key benefits when wellness is considered:

The chaotic energy around money in your life is reduced – Have you ever stopped in the middle of the day to worry about whether you paid that bill on time? How about wondering whether or not you can afford something in your life that came up unexpectedly? When you take the time to be financially authentic and you have a solid financial plan that includes the things that matter to you, you know where you are and you know where you’re going when it comes to your money and your life and there’s substantially less chaos when something unexpected arises. It’s like your “financial GPS” is fully operational and you’re driving in the right direction, so a short detour off of the financial road isn’t such a big deal.
Money decisions are suddenly simpler – I hear all the time how people don’t know what to do when a financial “emergency” comes up, or when they find something that they want to buy but know they probably don’t necessarily need. There’s a lot of energy that goes into trying to make these decisions, and when it’s a “want vs. need” decision there’s a lot of guilt sometimes too. When you’ve taken the time to plan ahead, you’re ahead of the proverbial money 8-ball by having clear intentions about how you want to use your money which simplifies the decision making process. You’re no longer spending days going back and forth on making purchasing decisions, and if you’re married (or in a long term relationship) those money arguments suddenly become a lot less frequent!
Financial stress decreases, and finances become more friendly and fun – Financially authentic plans help to decrease stress and take the sack of financial waste off of your back, and when your money has a purpose and a place to go then you can resume breathing and focus on having more fun in your life. If you’re like most people I talk to, there’s not enough fun igniting your life is there? Financial clarity has been a constant in my life and it has allowed me to take risks, enjoy myself, and live a life that I’ve only dreamed about.

As you spend time thinking about your wellness goals for 2013 and beyond, I would encourage you to start that process by reflecting on and being grateful for all of the awesome things that you already have in your life. Then, ask yourself whether the pillar of financial wellness in your life could use a little attention – what could you accomplish with the extra time and energy that you would find if once and for all you empowered yourself to be financially authentic and clear?

Could you stop working in a job that was no longer a good fit for you? Could you see being laid off as a blessing to have the time to reconnect with what you’re passionate about instead of being fearful about it? Could you be brave enough to start your own business doing something that you loved that made a difference to others? I was blessed to be able to say “yes” to all of these questions because of the financial clarity and wellness in my own life.

The options are never-ending really…is it time for you to choose what wellness really means to you?

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How to Make Your Own Financial Rules

By Beth Marshall on May 30, 2013 in Financial Foundation, Financial Plan

It’s confession time again. I am a classic “Type A” and overachiever in recovery. For the most part, I like rules, I like order, and I like structure and systems. There, I said it out loud.

But can I confess something else? In the last few years, I’ve broken a lot of the financial “rules” that the financial experts say I should adhere to. When you start a business like I’ve done, sometime you have to break the rules to get yourself on the fast path toward a longer-term goal. So yes, I’m currently carrying debt related to the business. And yes, I’ve taken money out of my retirement account to fund the business (I can hear the experts screaming now “noooooooooo!!!!).

When it comes to financial “rules,” there are lots of financial experts out there telling you what you should do with your money. Pay yourself first, save 3-6 months of living expenses, don’t carry credit card debt, etc. etc. etc. And in general, I think they have solid ideas that should be considered when you’re building your financial plan. I incorporate many of these ideas in the plans that I design for my clients.

But the one big thing I find that these experts are missing is that people want CHOICE in their lives when it comes to how they live it. People want to live and be happy now, and not wait until they “get to retirement.”

Can I tell you a secret about these financial experts? Sometimes they drive me nuts. They have a lot of good intentions and are doing their best to teach you what has worked in the past to be financially “safe” and end up with a boatload of money when you retire. It’s what I like to call the “accumulation method” where you save up a ton of money and for the most part, wait until “someday” to have fun.

Well you know what? Life’s way too damn short. And from my perspective, life is to be lived NOW and experiences are to be had NOW (not when you retire). It’s time for us to create our own rules!

Now, before everyone starts to go off the reservation spending all their money and racking up credit card debt to live a life that they can’t afford and saying that I said it was ok to do that, that is NOT what I’m saying. What I am saying is that it’s in your best interest to invest some time in developing your own financial rules that work for you and your life and that will help you to achieve your goals and choose what is important for you.

Be intentional with your money. Be intentional with your life. Sit down and take time to decide which of the traditional financial rules will serve you well and which ones you want to redefine a bit more for yourself so that you can enjoy your life here and now. It’s important to have a financial framework that allows you to build financial freedom for yourself while also experiencing life joyfully.

Establishing your own financial rules can be a bit tricky if you’ve never tried before, so here are the 3 steps I would recommend if you’re wanting to reconsider your own rules:

1) Ensure your financial stability – I’ve had clients that get really excited when they hear that I’m not afraid to break some of the more traditional financial rules that most people would suggest. However, let me be clear – while I am not afraid to bend and mold the rules to meet each client’s need, it is critically important to be working toward a basic level of financial stability before changing the rules in any substantial way. The reality is that life takes money to live, and money is a tool to support goals. So first and foremost, develop a financial plan to suit your life that allows you to handle your commitments (i.e. bills, etc.), save some money, and pay down your debt, if applicable. Having a financial foundation will allow you to absorb future unanticipated bumps in the road.

2) Consider the rules of the past – Many of us learn things about money from the people around us while we’re growing up (parents, grandparents, neighbors, etc.), and we never stop to really think about whether these rules or beliefs actually work for the lives we are building for ourselves now. In my household, both of my parents worked as employees and while they taught me many great things about money, I absorbed the belief (or rule, if you will) that financial security came from a paycheck and benefits. It wasn’t until I realized that this little gem of a belief was rattling around in my head (unconsciously rattling, I might add!) that I could examine it and decide consciously whether it was still true for me as I considered entrepreneurship that would require me to be responsible for my own paycheck and benefits. So, ask yourself this question as you think about changing your own financial rules – what beliefs or rules were you taught that may no longer serve you where you are in your life now? Once you gain awareness of what these beliefs and rules are, you can spend time understanding them and begin to choose differently and consciously.

3) Balance short-term goals with long-term goals – If you listen to many of the financial experts, a significant portion of them are highly focused on saving for retirement as the “mecca” of all times in our lives. While I agree that long-term saving for retirement is indeed important and that there are smart ways to do that, for me life is also to be enjoyed now and money is to be used to experience the present as well. As you’re considering new financial rules for your life, think about some of the experiences that you say you’d like to do “someday” and think about whether you should fast track those things to do sooner rather than later. Should you save for that vacation to Italy 3 years from now instead of when you retire in 20 years? Perhaps you’d enjoy date night with your husband or wife once a week to keep your marriage strong? Maybe you love a certain place to vacation and you’d like to buy a small second home for regular time off to rest and relax with friends and family? Each of these choices might make you happier now and result in a better balance between fun and financial responsibility.

As my mentor would say, live life like you mean it and go for your dreams. I know I live a much happier life now that my paycheck no longer defines my worth and I balance my retirement goals with living in the present, and I’d love for you to have the same for your own life!

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Things My Parents Taught Me about Money (and Life)

By Beth Marshall on May 15, 2013 in Budgeting, Family Finances, Financial Freedom, Financial Plan

Have you ever had one of those moments where you had to admit to yourself that your parents were actually right? And perhaps beyond that even that they were really smart (or if you’re from Boston like me, “wicked smahht”)? It’s humbling…I have one of these moments at least once a week if not more often. And as much as I may hate to admit I might be wrong about something, I’m so grateful that I’ve had my parents to show me the way (financially and otherwise).

As I reflected on what I wanted to write about this week, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about exactly what it was that my parents taught me about money and life that have made such a difference in how I was able to build a strong financial foundation that has afforded me financial freedom and choice in my life. I also thought it might be helpful to share what they taught me so that you could not only learn from what they taught me, but also understand why it’s so important for me to teach others how to plan for their financial futures and use their money efficiently and effectively.

While there were many lessons that my parents taught me, I’ve boiled it down to 3 key lessons that have impacted how I handle my money and to a larger extent, my life.

Lesson #1: Failure to plan on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.

This phrase was (and still is sometimes!) one of my Dad’s favorites. Any time I used to try to rush him to do something that I needed quickly (a ride to the mall, a decision about something I wanted to do, etc.), this gem of a statement would pop up. And while it annoyed me when I was younger, I’ve come to appreciate the importance of looking ahead at where you want to go and establishing a roadmap on how to get there.

From a financial perspective, this lesson also applies. I’ve had clients in the past who tell me “so-and-so did this” or “so-and-so wouldn’t let me XYZ” and that’s simply putting the power in someone else’s hand when perhaps you didn’t take the time to plan financially in advance on your end. When you understand your “money map” and know how your money is being used, you can use money as an effective tool to live your life and avoid situations where someone else has control over the decisions that you make.

Plan ahead, and you’ll be less likely to run into an emergency where you’re dependent on someone else! As I say to my clients all the time, focus on developing your own personal economy and you’ll understand what true freedom and choice is all about!

Lesson #2: Live within your means

This one may seem obvious, and it’s said often by lots of financial experts, yet I find that the true lesson in these words is often missed since they are repeated so often (and people get tired of hearing the same things). While both of my parents used this phrase and lesson often, since my Mom was in charge of the family finances it was primarily her who taught my sister and I what this really meant, both in word and in reinforced action.

Let me share a story from when I was about 17 or 18 years old. (PS – My Mom doesn’t remember this story, but I absolutely do because it taught me powerfully about living within my means.) At this point, I had a license and my parents had given me a credit card that was an extension of one of their cards. This was as much to learn how to use a credit card responsibly as it was for my parents’ convenience for me to be able to buy certain things on my own that I needed (with their approval in advance). One day, my mother told me I could buy new basketball sneakers for the upcoming season and I could spend $80. I headed off to the mall after school that same day and found a pair of sneakers that cost $100.

I rationalized to myself, “what’s another $20? This newer brand and color looks better so I’ll go with the $100 pair.” Time went by, and a few weeks later my mother showed up at my bedroom door holding her credit card statement and said “do you have $20?” I looked at her funny and said “yes, I do – why?” She said “if you want $100 sneakers then you can pay the difference from the $80 I asked you to spend since you work and earn your own money.”

Now, this might seem harsh to some of you but I have to tell you it was one of the best lessons my parents ever taught me about money. It wasn’t about the fact that my parents couldn’t afford the additional $20 (they totally could). This was a lesson that taught me the importance of planning and sticking to a plan because without one my parents would not be happily and successfully retired in their early 60s with the opportunity to spend several days a week watching their 2 beautiful grandchildren. Those small $20 differences add up over time when you start to think about the freedom that our daily choices can provide for us, don’t they?

Lesson #3: Always be ahead of the “financial 8-ball”

While my mother didn’t necessarily explicitly teach us this lesson, her financial habits and actions of sitting down each weekend at the kitchen table to pay the bills and attend to financial matters showed us everything we needed to know. Sometimes it was simply writing checks and paying the bills, sometimes it was following up on charges that didn’t make sense (i.e. medical bills, odd charges on monthly bills), or perhaps even transferring money into a savings account. No matter what she was doing, it usually involved about an hour to 90 minutes of her time and for the most part we never saw her sit down with the checkbook and the bills again until the following weekend.

I use this habit with my clients all the time, and I call it a “money date!” It’s amazing how impactful and freeing it can be to sit down just once a week and handle all of your financial matters for the week ahead. You stress less about money knowing that you have set space aside to pay your bills, transfer funds between accounts, and look ahead to make sure you’re always ahead of things that you need to address.

So what does all of this boil down to? Having a plan, living within your means and being ahead of the “financial 8-ball” doesn’t just happen without some effort on your part. In my mind, having a cash flow plan (a.k.a. “budget”) that helps you to be in control of your money is a critical piece of being on a path toward financial freedom and independence. But here’s the catch – you have to start somewhere, yet many people were never taught and don’t know how to develop a plan that works for their life.

If you’re looking for a place to learn how you can get started on your own path, make sure you take advantage of the FREE CALL this coming Tuesday to get the information you need to move beyond financial overwhelm and stress into a world of financial peace!!

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