Life Stages

In my latest article, I will address one of the comments a number of our readers have shared with us over the past week. Several readers have told us that "building wealth" sounds great, but they just don't have time to think about this due to other life events and priorities.

The way I'd like to respond to this comment is to outline an illustration of the life stages we go through and the various events that will be competing for our attention:

1. Your Roaring Twenties: At this stage, most of us are concerned about graduating from school, finding a good job, and paying down debt if we've financed our education. As we start to accumulate some savings, most of us will find a way to spend most of our income stream on discretionary expenses such as eating out with friends, buying a gadgets or wardrobe, and taking an occasional trip / vacation somewhere. If we're lucky, a few of us may be thinking about saving or, even better, investing this money.

2. The Thirties: By now, you're either advancing in your career or thinking about what you want to do professionally for the rest of your life. If you're in a steady relationship, you also may be thinking about settling down if you haven't done so already. This means you'll have some big expenses in store if you haven't dealt with them already such as owning your first home or paying for your wedding. If you're already past this stage, then you may be thinking about starting a family if you haven't done so already.

3. Forties and Fifties: I've lumped the next two decades together because I haven't yet seen a specific differentiator between the two. In general, individuals are reaching the height of their earning power. The areas for concern can include but are not limited to retirement and saving for your kid's college tuition. I've also met many individuals who are starting to re-think their investment strategy and their financial goals at this stage. One of the key concerns is, "Will I have enough and what do I need to do to hit my financial goals?"

4. Your Sixties: By now, you should be enjoying the fruits of your hard work over the past three to four decades. If you're working, you do so because you want to. If not, then you're working because you haven't met your financial plan and don't have enough to provide for your own retirement. Assuming you're in the latter, there is heightened urgency to build your net worth and cash flow so you're able to comfortable deal with rising healthcare costs and other similar expenses that will come up over the next two or three decades afterwards.

Even if this profile isn't 100% accurate to your unique, individual situation, I've intentionally sketched a life stage profile to show the types of real-life events that will distract you from improving your financial education and building your wealth.

If you don't start now regardless of whatever stage you're at, then when are you going to build your financial plan? You should start today without delay.

Bonus: I'm going to help you get started. During this past week, I discovered an incredible offer from Jay Minton at National Training Institute. If you check out his link in the upper left, he's giving away a free book, DVD, and eBook. All you pay is the shipping and handling. It may be worth your time looking into this especially if all you have to give up is a latte or two or bringing a brown bag lunch to work instead of eating out. I am not affiliated with this offer and will not make a penny if you decide to take advantage of this offer. If you decide this isn't for you, then I encourage you to review my recommended reading list and visit your local library to start building your financial education!

To your wealth and success!

Brion,
Co-Founder, Financial Fitness Pro