A good financial plan could enable us to retire without financial worries, to fund children's education, to ensure quality care for elderly parents, to fund business ventures, to provide meaningful contributions to schools and churches, and to donate to charities while living.

The first step toward achieving that goal is to become debt-free over a five-year period and to make purchases with cash, if possible. If that isn't possible, try establishing no new debt that will take longer than one year to pay off.

Plan to set aside one-fourth of your net pay for investments.

Women are seeking ways to improve their financial clout and to instill strong, financial values in their youth. Now is the time to start saving for the time when you will no longer be an active participant in the workforce.

Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself. Resources include books, public library, magazines, trade journals, newsletters, audiocassettes, seminars, colleges and associations. We should try to determine the areas where we need improvement, gain the knowledge or skill we need, and then schedule our learning!

Failing to plan is just like planning to fail. With the low start-up costs for a home business, the risk is minimal compared to the traditional retail businesses in town. But with good planning, there will be a greater probability for successful income very quickly.

Do you know where your money goes from each paycheck? Do you keep track of your monthly income as well as monthly out-go? Once you have discovered where all of your money goes, then you can actually begin to plan your finances for a secure future. Knowing the bottom line of your monthly cash flow log, you will be able to designate a portion for your home business operational expenses and the rest to your financial planning areas.

Can you imagine the feeling of financial security, knowing that your entire paycheck could be used for cost of living expenses only, with no debts? The excess income funds that were wasted on credit could be used entirely for your future planning and for some enjoyable discretionary spending

Angela Watkins offers businesses valuable tips on how to boost marketing efforts while saving money.
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