Early on in life, most people believe they have plenty of time to save for retirement or save for unexpected things that come up along the way. Obviously, that is a fallacy.
Today, most Americans have no Emergency Fund. Their emergency fund is the credit card!
It's funny when a client tells you, "I'll start saving when I have no more debt." My question is to them, "Do you have a plan to pay off your debt?"
Their response is usually "No, not really", or, "We use our tax returns to pay it off." My response, "What did you do last year?"
Their response, "Paid off debt." Year before? Paid off debt. You see the trend here?
No one really has a defined plan to pay off their debt. People will go out of their way to either, Avoid Pain or Gain Pleasure... to avoid the problem.
One thing is for sure... THE PROBLEM IS GROWING FASTER THAN THE SOLUTION.
The average American household carriers $15,000 in credit card debt. That's not counting car loans, student loans, mortgage, etc...
The average American household income is $51,000.
As you can see here, there is a financial divide between MAIN Street vs. WALL Street!
The rich keep getting richer, and the middle class keep moving further and further down the wealth later into poor or poverty. They can't gain any financial altitude.
As we were growing up in school, we were taught about currency... A penny, nickel, dime, and quarters, but no one ever taught us how to turn that penny into a quarter!
People today are more focused on paying off debt than paying themselves first. I'm not saying, not pay off your debt, but if you strategically planned out your personal financial situation, you could do both.
Then they tell you, "I heard this on the internet or TV." My response... "OK, do those people sit down and actually go through your personal situation with you?" The fact is, everyone's situation is different and I've never had any family or person with the same situation.
The internet and television can be a prescription or a poison. If I went and read an article on your career or job, do you think I could do it as well as you could? You can't believe everything you read or hear on the TV or Internet. Most of the time, it probably doesn't apply to your situation.
Or they say, "Well my friend told me... " Is your friend financially independent and out of debt? "No... " So why are you taking advice from them?
Sometimes it can feel like there is no hope to get ahead financially, but the fact is, with a few little tweaks in your budget and personal financial situation, it can make a huge difference!
There is a high cost to waiting and TIME is our WORST enemy!
When you're in your 20's (depending on the age your start), you could save (hypothetical) $200-500/month and hit $1 million in retirement 40 years later.
If you start in your 30's, to hit that same number at that same time, you will need to save $500-1,200/month. If you're in your 40's, $1,500-$5,000, when you have 10 years or less to retirement, you will need to save $5,000-$15,000 to hit that same number to retire at the same time as that person who decided to save $200/month at age 20.
The best way to put time on your side is to start saving today!
We need to stop thinking small and start thinking BIG. Create a VISION for ourselves and turn our excuses into reasons "WHY" we are going to get things done!
If your WHY is big enough, the what and how will come naturally, if you put yourself in the right place, at the right time, surrounded by the right people, your life could change dramatically.
If you thought you were doing something right your entire life, to later find out it was wrong, when would you want to know?
For more information and helpful tips on how you can eliminate your debt... create an emergency fund... and create options for your future using our 7 step process... go to: http://www.bryanregnier.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bryan_R_Regnier
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