Wanna Be Like Me?
So you think it might be a good idea to be a person of substance? Maybe you want your bank account to be just like Mark Zuckerberg? His wealth may be more than difficult to meet, however, it’s not impossible. By doing the following tasks and you may have a fighting chance.
1. Create Your Own Personal Financial Plan. You need to know where you are headed to get where you are going. Each week when you develop and review your plan you are working towards its completion. Every time you spend any of your hard-earned money the top of mind questions to yourself should be “how does this fit in with my own personal financial plan?”
2. Every Day: Review for 10 minutes your main accounts. Check to be sure all charges are correct and review the purchases you may come to regret later.
3. Once a Week: Look at all your transactions you have made the past week. This will help you stay on track with your own personal financial plan
4. Every Month: Analysis all your accounts making sure that all bills have been paid on time. If you are unable to pay your bills call the institution to alert them that you will not be sending in a payment. You can ask to work out a payment schedule that works better for you.
5. Quarterly: When creating your own personal financial plan, create stepping-stones, which timeline your progression. So if your own personal financial plan indicates you want to pay off $10,000 in a years time than at the 3 month mark, you should have $2500 paid off. If that doesn’t indicate that you are capable of doing that then it’s time to readjust your own personal financial plan and move the plan up some or play catch up and make bigger payments.
6. Write it down! SMART personal financial plan are the best way to success.
7. Work at putting your finances on autopilot. Set up every recurring expense using auto pay with your vendors or banks.
8. Create a personal financial plan mantra: Something like this will work; my intention is to ________________ to meet financial freedom through my own personal financial plan.
9. Spend less than you earn!!!
You are poor I am rich
10. Save 20% of your income. Use that money for savings and retirement
11. Pay off credit card debt to less than 15% of income
12. Think long-term. If you have extra money spend that money on fruitful investments for the future, for example: start a business or buy rental property. Invest in things to bring you passive income.
13. Read personal finance books every month. By doing so you will be up to date of emerging financial issues that may impact your life.
14. Don’t buy with emotions. Buy what you need and try never to pay retail for anything.
15. You are only successful as the 5 people you hang out with regularly. If they are not successful people then spend more time with those who are more financially successful. The old adage “Birds of a feather…” apply here.
16. Everyday, see it as so and it will happen! You have to see it to believe it and make it happen. And as an old friend told me time and time again; “what you think about, you talk about, and what you talk about your bring about. So what are you talking about?”
17. Buy things that will last. If you finance a TV (you really shouldn’t!), then it should last longer than the time it takes to pay it off. This goes for everything. Likewise it should be useful 6 months from now too.
18. Give back to the human race. Help those who are less fortunate than you. You can do this with your time or your money.
19. Prioritize your finances. What are some things that you’re paying for (magazine, extra trips to Starbucks, techie gadgets or impulse purchases) that steal money that you really need to hit your own personal financial plan.
20. Think about what can happen. Do not delve on financial regrets from the past. Use them as lesson to be a better money manager in the future.
21. Having financial problems can be a good thing. These problems teach you skills for problem solving. Digging yourself out of financial ruin, will help you face life’s other challenges.
22. Monitor your money consistently and use any research tools available to you to make this easier and less stressful.
23. There needs to be a purpose for every dollar you have and no dollar should be idle..
24. You will not be perfect and you will make mistakes. Learn from those mistakes.
25. Once you make your own personal financial plan something great happens…peace of mind. When you have achieved peace of mind you will see how everything else in your life falls into place too. In relationships money problems are often the root of difficulties. Money woes can cause health problem too. Get rid of those problems.
26. Whatever you do don’t try to keep up with the Jones. It doesn’t matter what other people do. What only matter is what you do. So be confident that you will be successful with your own personal financial plan.
27. Figure out how to earn more money. When you have multiple streams of income you have financial freedom
28. Don’t count on your friends and family to bail you out of financial ruin. If you spend like someone who has not end to their money resources and don’t have the ability people know that and will not be a supporter.
29. Don’t think you deserve anything …you don’t. When you think like this you always end up regretting it in the end.
30. Enjoy life. Be happy with what you have do not delve on what could have been.
31. Get rid of your junk. Sell anything you have not used or touched in 6 months. Use the money to pay down debt. Don’t spend it.
32. Bring the one you love on board. Tell you spouse, parents and loved ones of your intentions. Let them in on your own personal financial plan. They will support you.
33. Start your family being involved, including your children. Teach them how to have prudent spending habits. Talk to them about your own personal financial plan
34. Practice what you preach. Give you children things that will help them in the long run. Show them how your own personal financial plan can be implemented to help them too. This is the best gift you can give your child. 
- What the future holds
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