(Are you paying yourself first?)
This week we have a special guest contributor sharing with you pragmatic financial tips. Please let me introduce you my friend Andrea Hauptman-Perez a registered representative and investment advisor.
“You see in the news all the time: people are not doing enough to save and invest for their future. In fact, many people aren’t saving at all! They continue to spend as though they want to work forever – and at the rate they’re going, some of them will.
Many people see financial programs and investing for the future as a luxury, or something they can easily put off until another time. Have you used the following excuses not to save? “I’m just getting started.” “I have plenty of time.” “I want to enjoy life now.” “I have too many bills.”
Every year you postpone starting a savings strategy, you make it tougher and tougher to achieve your financial goals. In fact, if you’re nearing 50 and haven’t started yet, you might not be able to retire when you want to and maintain your current standard of living.
Unfortunately, postponing your investing program for just a few years can cost you plenty.
So How can you start preparing now?
There may never be a convenient time to start a savings strategy. Whether you’re saving for a home or trying to juggle finances to pay for your children’s education. It’s never going to be easy. One possible answer to this dilemma? Pay Yourself First.
To get started:
1. Analyze your current spending and cash-flow: discover where the money actually goes.
2. Reduce Your Expenses: Once the numbers are written out in front of you, you may see several ways of reducing expenses.
3. Establish a Spending and Savings Strategy: Review your accumulation goals, and determine a minimum percentage of your income that you need to invest and save each month to meet your financial goals (10-20 percent, for example) Create an “Expense” item in your budget for your monthly savings amount, this will help prioritize your savings as a mandatory expenditure.
A “Pay Yourself First” philosophy creates an easy, systematic way to accumulate money and break a seemingly overwhelming task down into manageable segments. This strategy will help you get started towards reaching your financial goals.
If you start now, the long-term payoff discipline and follow-through could be a rewarding future.”
How can you start paying yourself more and more every day, every week, every month and every year, and achieve the lifestyle you want?