Maintaining Financial Wealth
This week’s blog, Debt Centre the HOME of Debt Eezy and Consumer Debt Support, takes an in-depth into Maintaining Financial Wealth and what should be in place to have financial wealth or achieve financial wealth with peace of mind. This topic is the most ignored discussion by the masses, simply because of so little understanding of what it is and mean to maintain financial wealth and wellness.
How would one then achieve the goals to become financially sound in the next 5 years. The best place to start, is right in the beginning. Start by collecting all your financial information as listed below. It is really vital to know your monthly worth of your income and your annual worth of income. This play an important role in putting your financial plan together that is sustainable and can help to achieve the financial goals.
- Bank statements
- Income pay slips
- Make a list of your family and household bills.
- Make a list of your debtors you owe money to, your accounts.
- Draw your latest credit report
- What investment plan do you have
- Emergency financial plan
- Children’s educational expenses per year
- Your retirement investment portfolio.
- Collect your household family expenses.
- See where you are overspending and what you can do to reduce that spending.
- The money you make free by cutting expenses, have a plan in place for that money.
- Insurances to cover you in the event of death or permanent illness, and a income protection plan that is put together for your own unique situation.
When one lacks in the ability to financially plan, it filters through in a negative to your bank balance and sustainability of the financial goals that needs to drive your money to a start-up savings account. . It is a good plan to get a financial adviser on board that can help you find out your net worth today and what your net worth can be in the next 5 years. Planning for future one’s financial stability understanding the power of investments that will provide for your income when you are no longer employed or when you take the retirement option. Having money invested can also help you pay for a deposit for the new home, buy items that you need for the children at University and cover other expenses you would most likely pay a lot in interest if you borrowed the money to pay for the items.
I am sure when you visit a financial planner, they will advise you to start with the most basic steps to ensure you get into the new routine of saving or investing. A life cover is important when you die that will take care of your loved ones, but saving or investing any money that is left in your budget every month, that is where it all starts. What would you need to do to have complete picture of your financial situation to determine what you can save? It is never easy to start saving as we all know there pops up accounts or needs that needs to be covered that we did not make provisions for in our disposable income. This leads to cheating one self and using the money that is saved, and the goal is then lost and you lost the first leg of the race. So, get on the phone and find yourself a reputable financial planner and do not delay in getting this vital step done.
The budget:
It is the most vital heart beat of any salary or wage earner to do a budget before pay day. So many consumers have not idea what a budget is, neither do they know where to start with their budget. The month has 30 days? Right? Do you know what your financial position was last month and how much you spend and what you spend your money on? Do you know the new loans you opened what you need to budget for to ensure you have enough money to repay the loans of the money you borrowed and cover the family expenses and pay all your other accounts? Where do you start? Get yourself a budget book and start recording your expenses for the month in you budget notebook. This will help you to keep track of your finances and compare the finances with the previous month. The pattern and family behavior will be noted and one can make better and more sound financial decisions on what is important expenses and what can wait for the year-end bonuses.
Your expense tracker:
It is so important to get the expenses tracked each of and every month. Not knowing what you spending will cripple you financially and not making the choice to change your ways will keep you in the spiral of not having the ability to stay out of debt. When you lack with discipline to keep track of our finances then you realize the impact it has on your pocket and the negative spiral that you simply do not recover from again. Keep track is to keep afloat.
The Household Financial track sheet:
The next step is to put the family and household expenses in you track sheet. Use your budget book to keep track of the monthly expenses towards the family. Do a realistic reality check of what is really needed for the family needs. Where can one spend less on day to day expenses that is maybe luxuries? Can you migrate to a cheaper mobile account, or a lower DSTV package? Can you buy your veggies at a market instead of the Supermarket where the price could be more due to shops mark ups that you are paying?
The debt financial track sheet:
This is where the real investment into becoming debt free begins. There is two way for consumers to plan to become debt free. Once the track sheet is completed with the account number, Balance outstanding, interest rate and total that will be collected by the lender on the money borrowed, the monthly installment. Doing this exercise, you will soon realize the money creditors collect on interest, service fees and insurance is money you could have saved or invested, money that could be working for you.
Looking at the debt situation, and realizing you could be over-indebted you could need the services of a registered debt practitioner, we at Debt Centre help consumers that is over-indebted to pay less on their accounts, we can negotiate for lower interest on unsecured debt, investigate reckless lending and refer the application to court to enforce the new debt payment plan.
The question is what is consumers doing with the money that they are paying less in debt review? Is some of this money going towards a retirement annuity or savings plan? In most cases we have found during our follow-up sessions with consumers the money is spend on eating out at restaurants and spend on items that the consumer did not really need in the first place. This money spend is gone and have no gain for the consumer as the potential to save is now lost.
Your financial wellness plan begins with you! Understanding the power of money that is put away, that grows in interest capitalized, topped up every month with a new added amount to the account where the saving is nesting into a nice nest egg for the day you need that nest egg.
We hope this week’s blog has shed some light on the importance of investing and saving, please comment on our blog, we would like to hear from you.
Conclusion:
When you realize the impact saving will have on your financials and the small sacrifice you make to stay with-in your financial means to reach your goals is not easy. When you are ill you visit the rooms of a doctor to help you get better. When you don’t know how to save money find yourself a registered Financial adviser. When can’t pay your accounts from your monthly income you find the help of a registered debt counsellor? These services are there for you to tap in live a better tomorrow.
Message from the author.
I understand we all are affected by the weak economy. Don’t forget we at Debt Centre is here to assist you, and you are not alone. May God be with you and your families during the trying times. Never give up on hope.
