| It's been said that without a plan, you plan to fail. Yet in | | | | daily expense for every item on the list. |
| still, it is shocking how many people expect success in | | | | The left side will be easiest; divide monthly payments |
| their lives without a clearly defined plan. | | | | by 30 and annual payments by 365. Write these |
| In this article, we'll go over some basic ideas that I use | | | | numbers down. |
| to reach my personal goals. I've come to call this | | | | The right hand side is a tad more challenging. However, |
| process "creating a master plan". Not very creative - I | | | | it still won't be rocket science. All you have to do is |
| know - but certainly you get the idea. | | | | price out your desires and follow the same steps as |
| A master plan revolves around the financial aspects | | | | for the left hand side. So, if learning the guitar was one |
| of your dreams and desires. Since this is what keeps | | | | of your goals, find out the cost of weekly lessons. |
| most normal people from excelling, I find it to be the | | | | Let's say, for the sake of example, that it will cost you |
| most important aspect. | | | | $60 per week. Divide that by 7 and you have your |
| So let's begin: | | | | daily expense. |
| Step 1 - Deciding What You Want | | | | Follow the same process for vacations, car payments |
| The first step in putting together your master plan is | | | | on the new Porsche, or any other goal you have. |
| also the hardest. Namely, deciding exactly what it is | | | | Once you have daily expenses for both the left side |
| that you want. Most adults have a tough time with this | | | | as well as the right side, add the two of them together. |
| step... because the idea of "happiness" is nebulous at | | | | This gives you your total daily expense, and you should |
| best. | | | | put this in big bold numbers in the bottom right of your |
| Happiness is always changing. And trying to define | | | | paper. |
| what makes you happy is almost as challenging as | | | | Step 3 - Taking action |
| describing the color blue. Instead, there's an easier way | | | | Now you know what you have to earn before you |
| of defining what you want out of life: figure out what | | | | can have what you want. An added benefit of shaping |
| makes you happy. | | | | a master plan like this that you don't have to focus on |
| This is actually a trick I learned from Tim Ferriss, and it | | | | dollars and cents anymore once you have one. |
| is deadly effective. Never mind wasting time on the | | | | Instead, you can focus on the actions that will deliver |
| word happiness; it's much easier to figure out what | | | | the results you are after. |
| makes you excited. | | | | In my case, I am a professional writer. My clients pay |
| So take a moment and think about what gets your | | | | me either by the word or by the article. Now that I |
| blood boiling. Nothing is out of bounds. It can be | | | | operate under a master plan, I don't even have to think |
| screaming red Ferrari, or it can be a vacation to Belize. | | | | about how much I need to go to Brazil next year. I can |
| Don't be held back if the goal seems unattainable right | | | | simply focus on writing X amount of articles every day |
| now; having a master plan has an uncanny ability to | | | | and my goals are already mines. |
| show you new ways of reaching those goals that you | | | | If you have a more traditional job, where you make a |
| never thought of before. | | | | set amount every month, a master plan is still |
| Cut this list down to the top 3 things, and make not of | | | | effective. Instead of working more, however, you can |
| your choices. We'll be revisiting these in the next step. | | | | use it to craft a workable budget. If you make $100 |
| Step 2 - Commit it to Paper | | | | day, and need $30/day for your goals then you can |
| The next step is to use your current position to plot a | | | | figure out how to shave your expenses until they align |
| course to the goals we discussed in step 1. This is | | | | with your goals. |
| actually easier than it may sound... | | | | Or, you might find the entrepreneurs calling pulling at |
| What I like to do is to take a piece of paper and draw | | | | your heart strings... |
| a line down the middle. On the left side of that line, | | | | In conclusion |
| write down all of your current expenses. On the right | | | | This article is only meant to scratch the surface; it's in |
| side, write down the three exciting things from from | | | | no way any kind of in-depth personal finance plan. |
| the first step. | | | | However, with this information you are well on your |
| Once you have everything written down, it's time to | | | | way to reaching your personal goals. Good luck! |
| quantify everything. The number that we need is a | | | | |