:::GLINT ENTERPRISES:::

:::HOW TO: SET A SOUND FINANCIAL PLAN:::

Today, life in general is marred by a considerable scorch from the effects of the so called global economic depression. We live in a small "global village" on which economic effects and technological advances move from the West & East, to the South.In essence, this article is aimed at giving advice on how to gain full control over ones money against all the effects from the East & West.

The first step is to IDENTIFY YOUR FINANCIAL GOALS and that's the area to be covered in this issue. Planning is all about the future, the future you love to develop for yourself, family and loved ones, and so is financial planning. Goals are the very first step for any planning process and they are set based on affordability, though academics love to call it "SMART".

The way to start is by writing down all financial dreams one wants to realize and prioritise them in order of significance. One can then identify those bearing greatest importance and then emphasise on them. As the plan gets deeper, one shall confront a more apparent challenge; goals competing for attention. For example, does it make sense to use inherited money to further ones education or start own business?

Some goals can be shared between people, e.g. staying out of debt or having a secure retirement. Others are more specific and unique to an individual: while others aim at saving for retirement, others aim for starting their own businesses. However the case, goals should be separated into:
  • SHORT-TERM GOALS: these are those that are short term in nature and take relatively shorter time to achieve. Examples include saving for an entertainment trip, holiday/vacation or even saving for a household furniture.
  • MID-TERM GOALS: These being those that take relatively longer time to realize and examples include saving for a house, special trip overseas or starting a medium business.
  • LONG-TERM GOALS: These are such goals that are long term in nature and take a very long time to realize. They include saving to support one through retirement, paying college/university tuition for kids.
As part of the planning process, consider such questions as, do I have enough cash saved for emergency? Do I want to further my education? Will I need parental support, or are there other people who'll need my financial help? At what age do I want to retire? Note that one of the things that may complicate your planning process is that you may be starting a family or changing careers at an earlier or later age than others.