Financial Planning Resources
This is the place to start. There are some core practices that make the difference between success and failure. If you do not already know those principles, you will be able to learn quite a lot by studying these resources.
Before you can live in a place of financial success, you have to build a firm foundation. To get your financial life in order, you first need to take an inventory of where you are. Based on that information, you can begin building the foundation.
- Start with creating a budget. Be honest with it and use it as a roadmap for moving forward. Make one of your primary goals to get a handle on your debt load. Begin to reduce it as much as possible, and learn to use credit cautiously with great wisdom.
- Then, begin building a savings account. This foundational savings account is sometimes known as an emergency fund. Life happens, and a lot of life’s happenings cost money. Your emergency fund can be used to help keep you out of debt (and despair) when life comes at you unexpectedly.
- Make sure you have adequate insurance: auto, homeowners (even if you are renting), health and life are the basics. Disability insurance and maybe long-term care insurance might also be good ideas.
Invest some time in your financial future by digging into the resources on this site. They come from many sources, including articles I have written, links to federal government and other websites, non-profit consumer organizations, and more. There is a special section from the premier financial planning organization - the Financial Planning Association (FPA). FPA resources are interspersed in the various sections, and you can also find them on the FPA Resources page.
Stay as long as you like, and if you have questions,
contact us, we will do our best to give good answers.