Think of any ‘successful’ individual, whether a business tycoon, a professional athlete or even a prominent member of your family or community. Chances are success didn’t just fall into their laps. They started with a plan and every day they executed on that plan by taking ACTION to achieve their goals – repeating routines and regimens no matter how boring or tedious they become. It’s the difference between ‘dreamers’ and ‘doers.’ Simply put, success is achieved by productive habits that become a lifestyle! For financial success, you must have a plan and every part of that plan must have a gainful purpose.

As a part of our initiative to consider financial literacy a basic need for every American, we’ve simplified the solowealth financial plan  for you in a ‘cut to the chase’ format for maximum impact!  The purpose of this initiative is to empower Americans to accomplish 3 main goals:

1. Manage money and debt wisely
2. Plan and save for the future
3. Prevent and protect against fraud and financial abuse

With greater prosperity comes a greater quality of life – the premise upon which ‘solowealth’ was built. Are you ready to take action?

Step 1: Net Worth

The solowealth Net Worth Calculator tells you how wealthy you are and is simply the total value of everything you own [assets] minus the total value of debts you owe [liabilities]. Don’t worry if your Net Worth is zero or in the negative. You have to start somewhere, so let it motivate you to reach your target number. And when you reach that number, set a new target. Calculate your net worth ANNUALLY and strive to aim higher and higher every year.

Step 2: Financial Goal

The solowealth Financial Goal Calculator tells you how much money to save aside and invest each month in order to reach your financial goal. Whether you’re saving for retirement, a down payment for a house, children’s education fund or startup cost for a new business, you’ll spend what you have unless you know how much to pay yourself first.

Step 3: Cash Flow

The beauty of math is that it doesn’t lie. Money coming IN should be greater than money going OUT. The higher your expenses, the less money you have available towards building your empire (or nest egg). The solowealth Cash Flow Calculator is your solution to stop living paycheck to paycheck just to cover expenses. For each month, check your bank account statements and input your expenses in the appropriate category.

Can’t find the right category? No problem, simply click ADD EXPENSE and form your own category. Save a copy of each month’s Cash Flow statement and note areas where you can cut financial waste. Calculate your Cash Flow MONTHLY and aim to cut an amount from expenses that will at least cover the monthly amount you need for Step 2: Financial Goal.

Step 4: Investment Accounts

Okay, so you’re able to save aside the amount you need for Step 2: Financial Goal. Where do you plant this money seed to grow your money tree? Up until recently, the financial sector had failed to innovate because quite frankly, they didn’t need to. Investment products were traditionally designed to profit large financial institutions, with expensive hidden fees, making investors feel more like the ‘third wheel.’ Along came Wealthsimple determined to become a ‘game changer’ among it’s peers. I personally invest with Wealthsimple and you can find 10 reasons why here. Do whatever it takes to ensure the core foundation of your investments include the following:

• Traditional IRA 
• Roth IRA
• SEP IRA (if you’re self-employed)

Step 5: Insurance

If you don’t have insurance protection, you’re leaving yourself vulnerable to a financial catastrophe. Insurance is about paying an affordable monthly amount of money to protect yourself from draining your hard earned savings and investments, in case something happens that can put your income and assets at risk. The core foundation of your Insurance should include:

• Life Insurance – insurance coverage if you are no longer ‘present’
• Health Insurance – insurance coverage that helps pay for medical expenses
• Disability Insurance – insurance coverage to replace a portion of your income if you are unable to work due to a disability
• Critical Illness Insurance – insurance coverage for costs associated with life-altering illnesses such as cancer or stroke
• Travel Insurance – emergency medical coverage during your travels

The Policygenius Insurance Checkup is a great tool to help you determine what type of insurance you need [and even don’t need] by answering a few questions based upon your current financial status.

Step 6: Credit Monitoring & Identity Theft Protection

There used to be a time when we never even thought about Credit Monitoring & ID Theft Protection. If you’ve been paying attention to recent news over the past few years, then I’m sure you won’t be surprised at why I’m insisting on elevating Credit Monitoring & ID Theft Protection from a ‘Recommended‘ to a ‘Required‘ status.

Unless you have adequate protection, the onus would be on YOU to spend the time and money to clear your records with Credit Bureaus, Financial Institutions and Government Offices. There are many protection services out there but IDShield (offered through LegalShield) is the only identity theft protection service armed with a team of dedicated licensed private investigators to help restore your identity, should it ever become compromised. If that’s not enough, they even provide a $5 Million Service Guarantee. For less than about a pitcher of beer per month, you can protect your name and livelihood with IDShield.

Step 7: Debt Management

You can’t achieve wealth if you have mounting debt! Credit card debt is considered one of the most crippling debts in the world. Why? Because it’s easy to spend money that isn’t really yours and with interest rates in the double digits, the balance can become too big to pay-off in full. Now you’re regularly carrying a balance making minimum payments, which ends up costing you more – making credit card companies rich, while you face financial distress. Need a solution that actually works? Use the 5-Step solowealth Credit Card Debt Solution as outlined below to avoid credit card debt forever! Yes, forever!

1. Figure out where you can cut ‘wasteful spending’ from your monthly budget using the Cash Flow calculator in Step 3 of the solowealth Financial Plan.
2. Use this saved amount to make an “extra payment” towards your credit card balance every month.
3. If your debt is too high, consider contacting  Take Charge America^® to review your credit card debt resolution options.
4. If your credit took a hit while trying to resolve your debt, the Credit Builder Card is a tool specifically designed to easily build better credit.
5. Keep your credit card and use it to pay ONLY ONE easy-to-manage bill each month ie. your cell phone bill. This maintains “activity” on your card to help build & maintain your credit, while allowing you to easily pay-off your credit card IN FULL each month, thereby preventing credit card debt forever! TIP: Did you know using less than 30% of your available credit can help build your credit score, while using more than 30% can actually drop your score? This is called your Credit Utilization Rate. So how do you pay for all other expenses for which you would normally use a credit card? Use your bank Check Card or a Secured Credit Card. If you don’t have enough funds in your checking account to cover your monthly expenses without a credit card, then you shouldn’t be using a credit card in the first place. The best credit card rewards program you can ever enroll in is NO DEBT! Done and done!

Step 8: Home Financing

A mortgage is one of the most expensive financial decisions you’ll make. A wrong decision with regards to mortgage rates, terms, penalties, refinance restrictions and inadequate prepayment privileges can waste thousands of your hard earned dollars. It ‘pays to do your homework’ and Finance of America Mortgage has a great resource to Learn About the Process before purchasing a property, to prepare for one of the most important financial decisions you’ll make.

Step 9: Legal Protection

Imagine a scenario where someone uses the threat of lawyers with the intention of backing you down when a conflict arises, even when they’re at fault. They know how expensive it is to retain legal services, even for something as simple receiving advice over the phone. Maybe they have a friend or family member who’s an attorney or perhaps they’re more financially prepared for legal representation than you are. Either way, the idea is to scare you off and have you back down BEFORE you get the chance to defend yourself. In a sense, it’s LEGAL BULLYING!  

LegalShield is your secret weapon to level the playing field! Instead of paying hefty fees for a few days of legal help, for about the price of a monthly gym membership, you don’t just get an attorney but rather an ENTIRE LAW FIRM who’s got your back for life! Friends and family can only offer OPINIONS to help you resolve conflicts, but now PROFESSIONAL ADVICE – valuable advice that you can actually count on, is only a touch of an app away, with the help of a lawyer in your back pocket who at the same time isn’t emptying it.

The ESTATE PLANNING feature alone which includes making a WILL with annual updates, is worth the value of membership. In short, your LegalShield membership offers you and your family EMPOWERMENT & PROTECTION and you can’t put a price on that. 

Step 10: Tax Management

Think taxes are scary and complicated? They are, so make it easy on yourself with a DIY approach that’s simple, organized and effective. You’ll be amazed!

TASK #1: As a Do-it-Yourself Financial Planner, it only makes sense to file your own taxes using the FREE and EASY tax tool DIY tax.

TASK #2: Have your own business? Freshbooks Cloud Accounting is one of the best investments you can make for your business! Try it free to see why.

That’s it, you’re done! Financial Planning isn’t just about financial literacy, it’s about taking ACTION using the right tools and resources to achieve prosperity. Everyone knows that eating healthy and regular exercise can help achieve personal fitness goals, but how many of us really do it? Personal finance is no different…it’s a choice, a lifestyle and the difference between stress and serenity.

Article by: Rick G, Director, solowealth Inc

Disclaimer: We will never feature products or services that we either a) don’t use ourselves or b) are solely recommended for profit. Every featured product or service is intended to provide consumers with a beneficial purpose, although we may receive financial compensation as a form of advertising. For that, we kindly appreciate your support and we will continue to feature content with the intent to benefit consumers as our top priority.

Comments are closed.