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The majority of the conversations that I have with people reveal a very interesting fact to me: many people have no idea how to plan for their futures. Most people don’t even look into the future. Most people live for the present and their spending and savings habits reflect that very same mentality.

There needs to be a balance for the attention that we give to the different parts of our life. Many people either live in the past, only for the present, or in the dreams they have of their future. They are all equally important but we cannot get stuck in just one of these categories. Learn from past actions so that your present actions won’t make the same mistakes and will therefore leave you looking forward to a brighter future.

The same mentality should be applied to planning out your finances. What past actions have you taken and are you happy with the results that they’ve given you thus far? If not, what current actions are you taking and are they any different than what you’ve been doing? How do you want to live your life in the future and have you adjusted your present actions to get you to your goals?

Many people are completely unaware that their current situation is the result of their past actions. So they continue to do the same things and follow the same patterns expecting to get different results.

To properly plan for your finances, you have to first look at your any debt that you may have accumulated. Do your savings outweigh your debt? Do you even have any savings? Are you prepared to pay for your kids’ college tuition? Are you prepared to comfortably retire? Is your family protected from all of your liabilities if you’re not around to take care of them? Are you making the type of money you need to pay for all of these liabilities?

You must be willing to answer these questions honestly or you will put yourself in a very dangerous situation financially. Once you’ve gotten the answers to these questions, the next step is to figure out in which areas you actually need help.

If you’re in debt, your first goal should be to immediately provide protection for your family so that they don’t take on your debt and the mortgage is paid for if you aren’t around. The next step should be to completely get rid of your debt. You will never be able to truly enjoy financial independence if you have any debt whatsoever.

After the debt is gone, the monthly payments can be used to make sure you and your spouse are prepared for retirement. You can also use some of that money to make sure your kids’ college tuition is paid for.

It is quite obvious that getting out of debt, providing family protection, preparing for retirement and college costs is going to require a significant amount of income. Are you earning the income necessary to achieve all of these goals?

Looking at the statistics of our country, the majority of people can easily admit that they’re not making enough money. Those same people believe that to make more, they either need a second degree or a second job. Christopher Columbus didn’t discover this beautiful country for you to go out and get a job.

The main goal is to start a part-time business that will not only allow you to make more money, but will ultimately allow you to supplement your job income. Then you can quit your job and devote all of your efforts to growing your business and creating a substantial income for yourself.