Is Personal Finance really this uncompllicated?

Now that you are the majority of  way through Business 130.  I am not going to tell you that managing your personal finances is easy.  What I am going to remind you as as overview,  is that the basic concepts are not complicated.  Hard to achieve, perhaps, but available to be understood.

If you stay with   the concept simple is better you'll still make the right financial choices.  So lets review these choices in a nutshell.

Everyone talks about "retirement planning" but it you don't have the basics in place you can't really start.  Based on the success of your goals  and getting the basics right  you are now in the position to think about retirement or longer term planning.

I've tried to keep the class simple 
 

I love the basics

Starting out or when you make the commitment to take charge of your personal finance.

 1 -Live within your means...we started with just $5 savings to think about how you can proactively manage your expenses to improve you cash flow.

2 -Set goals so that you can see your progress. 

  3- Understand that tracking and reviewing helps..you looked at your own personal cash flow and balance sheet.

  4- Understanding that poor credit management and a lousy FICO score help derail your goals  and cost you more to achieve your desired objectives.

5-Saving enough so that  a bump in the road doesn't derail your plans completely.

Understanding the key  financial decisions you will make.  

financial decisions

We don't make the best financial decisions each and every time sometimes we splurge and that's fine but making good decisions on the big stuff helps us stick with a plan.

1.   Proper health care coverage avoids financial ruin.
2.   Smart purchasing of an automobile,   cell phone plan and other large consumer purchases saves your money year in and year out.
3. Why purchasing a home may make financial sense for the long run. 
4. Now you have assets   protect them properly with insurance.
5. Understand enough about taxes not to make bad decisions and minimize your tax bill or get the right help. 

If you  noticed  I've used a similar framework thought the semester .  Its the same one that made  me successful with   financial  planning.  Its basic but its a repeatable mindset.

1- Gain some knowledge, whether from reading (internet)  or a subject matter expert.
2- Think about how you can apply that knowledge to your unique situation.
3-  set goals that you can achieve and take action. ( or simply execute a transaction better ie car purchase)

Long Term Financial Goals - Retirement planning

1. Be willing to defer some of your cash flow in today to help support you in the future 
2. Reasonably estimate what you think you'll need for retirement.   Don't over stress here just review every year.  By the 3rd and 4th time you estimates will improve greatly.
3. Think about what all the sources you  have of income for retirement  from or benefits such as a paid off house.
4. What is your shortfall? 
5. How can you lower the shortfall  by
1. saving
2. choosing the right place to save to make your money grow such as mutual funds .

You don't have to be perfect.. but the more of a dent you make today in your shortfall the  closer you'll be to  enjoyable retirement years.

act now

Keep the focus on doing something today that will help for your future.

It could be anything  saving for a house, paying off your credit cards  etc. ts amazing how when one domino falls they all do  in turn and you are  successful .