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What are You Investing For?












Much like an exercise program, you'll want to determine your goals before
you begin to invest. Your goal might be retiring in 20-30 years, kids college
funding or, if you got started a bit late, retirement in the next 5 to 10
years.

It's very important to think through what your goals are and then determine
your investment style. I should make it very clear that when I talk about
investing, I'm not simply talking about taking chances with your money and
hoping for a big return. I'm much more subdued, but at the same time aggressive
in obtaining the biggest return for the least amount of risk.

Before we actually talk about that however, I should point out what your
situation should look like before you begin doing any kind of investment.

If you've met with us in the past, you'll be familiar with the Financial
Freedom Steps. These steps are helpful to anyone who desires to get their life
on the right track. The first step is to develop and actually use a spending
plan or budget. You should keep track of all of your income (paycheck) as well
as all of your outgo (monthly expenses). It's been said that budgeting is
telling your money where to go, rather than asking where it went. If you do not
have a plan for your income before you receive it, then it will go places where
you simply can't even track it down.

Most of the people and businesses we help get set up on a budget tell us
that they feel like they've gotten a raise when they start living on a budget.
I bet that if you haven't ever done a budget, you can't tell me off hand where
all of your money is going. Try it and find out.

While you are developing a spending plan, you should also be striving to
save $1,000 for a 'beginner' emergency fund. Once that is complete, Step 2 is
to aggressively pay off all of your debt (except for your house) as quickly as
possible. Step 3 is to finish your emergency fund with between 3 and 6 months
living expenses. Then and only then do we recommend beginning any investment
program. The reason is simple... the biggest wealth building tool each of us
has is our income. Once your income is freed-up, you can focus more of your
time and energy in earning back the money you were formerly paying in interest.
After all, if you're paying a credit card 17% in interest and pay that card off,
you are now receiving a 17% return for yourself by not paying it to the bank.
If you can then earn 10% on your money, that is a 27% spread!