In order to know where you want to go, you need to know how much time you have to get there. So your age and that of your spouse (if you’re married) will be the root of all your thinking. It will also be important to understand the dynamics of your family. Understanding the makeup of your family could change your approach to everything that you are trying to accomplish. If parents or grandparents are alive and well, then you must understand they may also represent value in your life.

THINGS THAT HAVE SHAPED YOUR DECISION-MAKING PROCESS

Many people in America have had good and bad experiences throughout their lives. In your financial world, there may be some things that need to be discovered. The way you respond to your experiences can and will have a direct impact on the direction you will go in the future. Misinformation, bad results or a lack of understanding is an area that everyone must come to grips with. The reasons why or why you are not doing something are built-in reactions to things that have happened in the past. It is very important to discuss – what has been your experience with financial planning over the past several years? It is time to recognize the good and the bad elements of your experience. It may be time to confront the financial monsters hiding in your closet. Once you confront your fears and anxieties in your financial life, then you can move forward. In order to discover meaningful solutions in your life, you need to uncover ideas that have shaped your life.

REVENUE

Your income is very important. More and more Americans earn and spend their money in a 30-day time frame. In many cases, there is very little room for error in the event of job displacement, illness or a family crisis. If something happens to you, what is your source of income then? What elements in your life can be a source of revenue that could be used to generate income if needed?

Discovering other options and opportunities in your life and understanding how your money works will change your entire thought process and then change your entire life. Remember, everything in your life has value and you must learn to convert value into money. Wherever there is value in your life, you need to have a thought process in place and the proper planning to create money from value. Understanding how value can become money will become a powerful tool throughout your life and create opportunities for your future. The conversion of value into money could create revenue and income in your future. Having this information will help you determine "where you’re at.” Whether you’re in a good position or not so good, it is very important to discover "where you’re at.” Then and only then, with more information and knowledge, will you be able to improve your situation.

WHAT YOU KNOW AND WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

Once you discover your starting point, you will now need to address the challenges you must face in the next 3,000 days. What you know today will determine where you will be at in the future. Some of the bad experiences people have encountered in attempting to plan were the result of the information they had at that time. Products can be purchased and sold but the products you buy are not the source of your knowledge; they should be the result of your knowledge. If you know how certain elements and eventscould change your life, then you can prepare for them. Failure to recognize economic trends and shifts could be a very costly lesson.

SEM

There may be times in our lives when it would make sense to purchase the things we want with someone else’s money (SEM), i.e. banks, credit card companies, mortgage companies, financial institutions. We do this all the time with our homes, cars and education costs. The reality is that if we do this, we are going to have to pay a premium (interest) to someone for the use of their money. There are good ways, and there are bad ways to use someone else’s money in your life. For many Americans, it has become too easy to use someone else’s money for the wrong reasons. Today, some Americans are drowning in monthly payments for the luxury of using someone else’s money. There are occasions when it is prudent to use someone else’s money, but it should not be a daily financial practice.

-Leonard Renier