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Financial Strategies
Take Action: Starting Your Financial Future Today
By Jay Butler
Senior Associate, Bay Financial Advisors, Inc.
Thinking about exercising will not make you physically fit! Likewise, thinking about organizing
all of your financial documents and coming to grips on why you need to develop a financial plan
of action, and considering whether you should do all of this on your own or work with a trusted
advisor will not help you to achieve your financial goals and fulfill your values – unless you take
action!
Planning your financial future and getting "on the road" could be a very satisfying undertaking.
Conversely, putting it off could be cause for regret. Speaking of "On the Road," you might
remember Charles Kuralt’s television program of the same name. In his book America, Kuralt
wrote about his experience sailing off the coast of Maine with friends who had twice sailed
around the world.
I suffered a pang of envy. I learned to sail when I was young enough to cross an ocean
and promised myself I’d do that someday at the helm of my own boat. But promises
postponed have a way of getting broken. Now I was too old, and my ability too rusty, and
that particular dream, like so many others, was left on the shelf for good.
These words not only remind us that procrastination indeed is the thief of time, but they also
remind us of why we have plans in the first place: so that we can experience those things in life
that make living worthwhile. Who among you can look back over your lifetime and wish you
had spent some of your time differently? Maybe you have even asked yourself how and why the
time goes by so quickly.
Take the Long View
When you come towards the end of your life on this earth you could very well look back on your
financial history and wonder why you hesitated to:
Clarify your values and identify your goals
Organize your financial information
Create your Financial Road Map
If you have already taken care of these issues - nice going. However, you are not finished. Now
you have to develop a plan of action and determine what steps must be taken to create the future
that you want. Just because you have completed your Financial Road Map doesn’t necessarily
mean that you will achieve your goals. You are going to have to be very organized and track
your progress so that you know you are continuing to do the right things to achieve your goals so
that you can enjoy more of what is important to you.
Circumstances do change and it is entirely possible that some adjustments must be made along
the way. Changes or adjustments can typically be made in five different areas:
You can adjust your goals
You can change your time horizon for the achievement of your goals
You can increase your income
You can adjust your expenses
You can increase the return on your investments
Typically, the fifth strategy is often the most popular as it appears easier than the other four. It
doesn’t require any discipline like earning more money or reducing expenses do. And, if the
strategy doesn’t work, it is much easier to blame the brokers or money managers. However,
believing that anyone can control or predict investment returns is pure illusion. There is no way
to wave a magic wand to escape these simple facts about financial planning, unless you win the
lottery.
Get Rolling
Are you feeling overwhelmed by the process? If so, then it is very easy to get stuck. As I have
said in previous articles: "Knowledge is not the key to success. The key to success is action."
In order to get the results that you want you must take action. The sooner you begin the process,
the sooner you will be on your way to achieving your goals for the reasons that are important to
you.
Have you ever heard of the life management concept called the Four D’s? This concept states
that there are only four things that you can do with any activity: do it, delegate it, delay it, or
drop it. Most people take care of the financial planning with the third method: delay. Do be
someone who adopts method one or two - do it or delegate it. You will feel good. And it’s good
to feel good.
So, if you are someone who recognizes that hiring a professional is smart delegation and would
like to follow the advice of an expert, I’ll give you some hints on how to spot a Trusted Advisor
in my next article.
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