What is the first step in creating financial strength?
Updated: Mar 23, 2022
FGM Mission: Strengthening Families with Trust and Understanding
There are 4 steps in creating financial strength. A Personal Financial Checkup is the first step, and it plays a key role in creating financial strength for you and your family. It involves creating and maintaining a monthly budget planner with the intention of managing your money more wisely. It enables you to visibly see how much money you are making on a consistent basis. It maps out how much you are spending inside and outside of your budget. It helps you manage the list of growing accounts and debts. It empowers you to create an emergency fund by mapping out your unwanted monthly expenses. Lastly, it helps you set financial goals that will ultimately impact every major life decision you have ahead of you.
The 4 Steps to Create Financial Strength
Step 1 - Manage Your Money Wisely
Managing your money wisely can be broken down into 4 basic tasks. They are the following:
Don't spend more than you make.
Manage your debt.
Create an emergency fund.
Set Financial Goals.
Now Ask Yourself
Do I maintain a monthly budget to visibly track my income and expenses?
Step 2 - Protect Your Income and Your Family
Protecting your income and protecting your assets are key ingredients for creating a stable financial future.
Now Ask Yourself
Can I afford to lose 12 years of my life to market volatility?
Step 3 - Accumulate Assets
Understanding the following 4 concepts will help simplify making decisions about your accumulated assets. They are the following:
- The Effect of Inflation -
Now Ask Yourself
Are my hard-earned savings losing or gaining value over time?
- The Power of Compound Interest -
Now Ask Yourself
How much compound interest am I making on my money?
Now Ask Yourself
Can I afford to pay the cost of waiting for the future?
- The Effect of Taxes -
Now Ask Yourself
What can I do with my money to avoid paying unnecessary taxes?
- The Effect of Risk -
Now Ask Yourself
How much of my money is at risk?
Step 4 - Preserve Your Legacy
Creating a valuable estate can take a lifetime of effort. Protect that hard work with a plan to conserve and transfer wealth during your lifetime. Make sure your legacy does not end up in the wrong hands.
Now Ask Yourself
Have I protected the life I am living and the loved ones I will leave behind?
Now that you know what a Personal Financial Checkup is and what the 4 Steps to Create Financial Strength are, it is your chance to take action and implement what you've just learned.
Now Ask Yourself
Am I willing to take action and take the first step?
Your Mission: Download your blank Monthly Family Budget Planner below and begin to manage your money wisely. Then, use schedule a discovery meeting to speak to one of our team members about your next step.