Don't Bury Your Treasure!
by Brian Watson
Brian Watson is an experienced financial planner with techniques you can use to increase your wealth. Read Brian's articles and learn to make the best possible decisions to benefit you and those closest to you.
Are you doing everything you can to achieve your financial goals? Or are you letting inertia control your financial destiny? Many people have the idea that financial planning is a one-time check up on their finances. This couldn't be further from the truth. Financial planning is a process. The real value someone can expect from financial planning is a sound initial strategy, followed by consistent, periodic reviews to update the strategies, given changes in a person's life and goals, tax law changes, etc.
The aim of financial planning is to assist you in achieving your financial goals. Do you have a lump sum of money and want it to have a long-term positive financial impact? On average, a financial windfall is spent completely within two years. Would you be very happy if two years from now you had spent all your money?
Before you go out and buy a new car or draw up plans to redesign your house, let's talk about goals. First, decide what your vision is of your life with the addition of this financial change. Would you like to "live the high life" for a couple years, buy things left and right, then have nothing left and go back to the way things used to be? Or would you rather choose to work towards improving your financial situation over the long run? Your answer will lead to two completely different paths.
The number one problem people face today from a financial standpoint is living above their means. Regardless of how much money you have or make, you must live below your means. This basically means that you cannot spend all of your money now, but you must save an amount of money that will accumulate over time. The day will come when you you will no longer be working, and you will need to live off of your investments. When that day comes, your standard of living will be directly determined by the amount of wealth you have accumulated. If you have the ability to drive a nice car and live in a nice house and still accumulate money, great. But before you increase your standard of living today, you must plan so your standard of living will last for the rest of your life.
Many people have the attitude that they will worry about retirement or other financial goals "soon." The problem is, soon never gets here. The people in this scenario reach a point in their later years when they must drastically cut down on how much money they spend. But planning ahead can prevent this problem. You must commit yourself today to making smart financial decisions and backing your decisions up with actions.
Organizing your financial situation may seem difficult, but there are professional advisors who help people with their financial lives every day. If you do not make it a priority today to plan financially, when will you do it in the future? When will you take pro-active steps if you currently act passively? Inertia and procrastination can be devastating to your financial picture. Some people have a false sense of security because the negative effects are not always seen today. They are often seen in the future when the damage is no longer preventable. It is never too late to start planning or review planning that has been done in the past. Retirement is the longest vacation of your life. Make sure you do everything you can to make it an enjoyable one.
Brian Watson
Koss Olinger Financial Group
2700-A NW 43rd St
Gainesville, FL 32606
(352) 373-3337
brianw@kofinancial.com
Securities Offered Through ValMark Securities, Inc. Member NASD/SIPC. ValMark and Koss Olinger are separate entities.
Advisory Services offered through Koss-Olinger Consulting, Inc., An SEC Registered Investment Advisor
2700-A N.W. 43rd Street, Gainesville, Florida 32606
(352) 373-3337 * (352) 373-1864 Fax * (800) 373-3302 Toll Free
Prosperity Partners, Inc.
800-868-6230
JasonR@ppicash.com
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