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Dream Reader, Is that you?

Who is my dream reader? At first, when I looked at this assignment, I thought that I would skip it. I already defined who my reader would be in a previous post and maybe even touched upon this in my bio. I have been known to skip the gym, put off writing assignments ( LOL.. hence this late post for Blogging 101), and skimp on sleep ( yes, I know this is not good for me – especially when I feel like a zombie the next morning, but I’m a work in progress) to handle what I may feel is a more pressing matter at the time. But enough about me, this is really about you – my dream reader.

Things always come up but, you have to decide what’s important and how you’d like to define what your life will be like. Sure I’ve mentioned this before nevertheless, I’ll say it again – you can’t take care of others unless you take care of yourself. If you are always putting everyone else’s needs, wants and desires before your own, you will be unhappy and have a very unfulfilled life. Now I know that you don’t want that. You’ve probably heard of that oxygen mask analogy. Basically before takeoff, the flight attendant tells you that in the event of an emergency to put your oxygen mask on first and then help the person, child or adult, sitting next to you. Why do they tell you to do this? It’s simple, before you can help anyone else you must tend to your needs first so that you can give of yourself to others.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not recommending that you drop all the important commitments of your life to go run off and frolic through the tulips. (If that brings you joy, by all means take some time to do that but schedule it first.) Some of us have families, jobs, kids and /or elders to look after. Somewhere in your long to do list, you may need to squeeze some time for yourself and make you a priority. As Joel Osteen says, “You are a victor and not a victim!” Think it, believe it, and declare it! Your circumstances don’t have to define you but you can define your place and your state of mind in the midst of your circumstances.

How can you make you a priority?

Define what you want in life. – Set some goals and boundaries. Commit to a process and let go of being chained to an outcome.
Learn to Say “No”. – Define deal breakers. Identify how you will respond to challenges and naysayers.
Forgive – Forgive yourself and others. (You may not forget, but let it go so you can move on. Be at peace with whomever and whatever that’s stealing your personal joy.)
Make time to do things for you. – What do you like to do? Define, decide and then do it!

I’m not sure if I really defined who my dream reader is. Or am I really writing more to get these thoughts out of my head? Can you relate? I hope to connect to the person who has dreams and may have quite a full plate. There’s no need for you to sacrifice all of your dreams at the hands of your circumstance(s). We are placed here to live joyfully and abundantly and to commune with others.

So what say you? Are you my dream reader? Did this resonate with you? Are you ready to join me on this journey? Please share your thoughts.

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Building Your Financial Roadmap Part 1

How many of us would love to be independently wealthy and not have to worry about finances or what’s going on in the economy? I’m pretty sure that your hand just went up and you’re jumping up and down saying, “Oh me me me!” I know I feel the same way too!

There are certain things that one needs to do in order to get to generating wealth for yourself and securing your financial future. I’m going to introduce to you those building blocks so you can be well on your way.

Define your plan by building your road map

The first step is to define where you want to be. I know you are probably saying I already know where I want to be and that’s rich! Well there’s an old adage that says “if you don’t know where you came from, you won’t know where you are going.”

My goal is to help you to get on task and on target for doing what you need to do to achieve your goals. That means facing things you don’t necessarily want to do or look at. The best way to get to where you want to be on that road is to design a roadmap which will be your financial plan. This plan will serve as the driving force to propel you to where you want to go. You will be able to identify what you want to save and invest for.

Identify your Goals

As part of this first step you need to list your most important goals and decide how long it will take to get there. Your goals can be broken down into short term, midterm and long term goals.

Short term goals typically are less than 3 years and take less risk. Generally you would hold your cash in the bank.
Mid-term goals take 3-10 years which would be more to accumulate assets. Perhaps you are looking to save for a down payment of 20% for a house. It may take you more than 3 years but less than 10 years or greater to do so.
Long-term goals would generally be 10 years or greater because there is a long time horizon or it is something that is needed far off into the horizon. An example may be saving for retirement. It is important to identify these types of goals so you can align your plans and work accordingly to get to where you want to be.

Take 30 minutes. Sit down and identify what you want you want to accomplish for the next year, 5 years and 10 years. It can be difficult to focus on these things but you need to shift your thinking to that promotes living on purpose and allows you to act with intention. If you are able to do these things now, you will find that you will be closer to achieving your goals and have a more enjoyable life which will enable you to live well.

Disclaimer: The purpose of this blog post is to serve as a point of reference and it is for informational purposes only regarding the topic of personal finance. I will attempt share lessons and information that I’ve learned along the way. While I do have over 10 years of experience in the financial market, this blog should not serve as your main source of financial advice nor does this blog serve as a solicitation for clients. You should ALWAYS do your own research and consult your own financial professional when making decisions about your personal financial future.