Grow and protect your money

We have seen it too often with family, friends, and clients: people buying things they cannot afford at the time or living beyond their means; not prioritizing what is important for their financial future. Think about it. What is going to build your financial future? And, yes, many people would say, “I want to enjoy it now while I can.” And to that we respond, “Think about those days that you will not be able to work even if you want to.” How are you going to provide for yourself when the time comes that you can no longer work? Are you going to depend on your company to sustain you with a pension, or now wait-we already said that companies are no longer providing the traditional pensions. Are you going to depend on the government to send you that Social Security that you have or will be accumulating over the years? I am sure that by now you know that Social Security alone may not be enough to live on. How are you going to handle health costs, not to mention the cost of Long Term Care which is expected to quadruple in the next 20 years. As mentioned in the study performed by National Retirement Risk Index (NRRI), the cost of health care raises the risk of households being financially unprepared for retirement from 44% to 61%.

The financial future has changed, and some people are not changing with it. Many young people think that they can work and spend, and at the end of the rainbow, their company will provide a pension. Think again; things have changed, and you are not changing with it. Your parents were given a pension upon their retirement. Most of you will not be getting a pension. It’s on you to save and take care of the contribution from your employer. Did you know that?

And all alone, you are responsible for managing your finances so you can have financial freedom in your golden years. It can be done, but you have to have discipline and motivation to create and maintain a financial lifestyle that will grow and protect your money.

Back to living today. You need to make it a habit of asking yourself, “Is this a need or a want,”-a must-have or would-like-to-have. The needs and must-haves you have to take care of. These can be referred to as non-discretionary expenses. These are the things that are essential for your everyday life (and we must caution you, that within these non-discretionary items there are many different ways to satisfy those needs).

Why are you trying to keep up with the millionaire next door? This will be covered in future writings. Now, suffice it to say that the millionaire next door might not be a millionaire; it just might be that he/she spends like one.