A Plan for Financial Success

This second commentary was originally posted March 9, 2009.

The nation was firmly entrenched in the recession but by no means headed for depression. I remember the little quip: a recession is when your neighbor loses his job; a depression in when you lose yours.

When asked by a Senate subcommittee, Ron Blue provided a straightforward “plan” for financial success given the current economy. Think long term, spend less than you earn, maintain emergency savings, and minimize debt.

In reality, Mr. Blue simply provided four sound, timeless financial principles. They were true going into the depression, in the midst of it, climbing out of it, into today and far into the future.

Those who followed these principles thrived. They thrive today. They will thrive tomorrow. Are you following them?

If you are in crisis, there is no better time to start then now.

 ----

What if you had a plan for financial success?

Ron Blue recently testified before a Senate subcommittee conducting hearings on “Solutions for a New Era: Jobs and Families.” Mr. Blue was appearing based on his solid reputation of financial expertise.

A Senator asked him what the average American family should do in the current economy. Ron Blue said that the American family could benefit from following a four-part financial plan:

• Think long-term with goals and investing
• Spend less than you earn
• Maintain liquidity (or emergency savings)
• Minimize the use of debt

Think Long Term: The longer term your perspective, the better financial decisions you will make.

Spend Less Than You Earn: You need to know what you are earning, what you are spending, have a plan and monitor it. Over the long term, this will contribute to financial success.

Maintain Emergency Savings: A reserve will help you ride out the surprises of life and avoid debt.

Minimize and Eliminate Debt: Debt may allow you to have more now, but it reduces your ability to have more in the future. Debt is an obligation on your future income, and because of compounding, it may represent the single most important factor influencing your future financial success.

These four principles work in concert. Together, they represent a formula for financial success.

These principles are so timely to today’s economic climate. Perhaps because they are timeless. They are by no means new; they trace back for thousands of years.

The principles have endured the test of time. They are independent of the economy - recession or boom. They are insensitive to oil prices and the real estate market. Many rich people, and likely many more poor people, can attest to them.

Those that have followed this path in recent years are comfortably surviving - some thriving - in the economic concerns of today. If you have been following them, continue. You will continue to thrive.

If you are in crisis, there is no better time to start then now. You cannot establish a strong financial foundation without them. They will lead you out of your crisis, and help you prevent them in the future.

Note - reference source “Surviving Financial Meltdown” by Ron Blue and Jeremy White.

Inspiration for the Battle

I've assembled several of my favorite quotes - those that inspire my pursuit of a self-directed education. I hope they serve as inspiration for you as well!

“What we do on some great occasion will probably depend on what we already are; and what we are will be the result of previous years of self discipline.”

- H. P. Liddon

“You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons or the wind, but you can change yourself.”

- Jim Rohn

“Everyone is looking for a quick fix, but what they really need is fitness. People who look for fixes stop doing what’s right when pressure is relieved. People who pursue fitness do what they should no matter what the circumstances are.”

- Kevin Myers

“You want to set a goal that is big enough that in the process of achieving it you become someone worth becoming.”

- Jim Rohn

“The time to prepare isn’t after you have been given the opportunity. It’s long before that opportunity arises. Once the opportunity arises, it’s too late to prepare.”

- John Wooden

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the things you did.”

- Mark Twain

“The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.”

- Michelangelo

“More often than not, the only thing between you and your dream is a rational excuse.”

- Mark Batterson, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day

History Lesson... or is that an Economy Lesson?

"All the perplexities, confusion and distress in America arise, not from defects in their Constitution or Confederation, not from want of honor or virtue, so much as from the downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit and circulation."

John Adams

Attitude is Everything

"Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude."

Thomas Jefferson

A Plan for Financial Success

What if you had a plan for financial success?

Ron Blue recently testified before a Senate subcommittee conducting hearings on “Solutions for a New Era: Jobs and Families.“ Mr. Blue was appearing based on his solid reputation of financial expertise.

A Senator asked him what the average American family should do in the current economy. Ron Blue said that the American family could benefit from following a four-part financial plan:

Think long-term with goals and investing
Spend less than you earn
Maintain liquidity (or emergency savings)
Minimize the use of debt

Think Long Term: The longer term your perspective, the better financial decisions you will make.

Spend Less Than You Earn: You need to know what you are earning, what you are spending, have a plan and monitor it. Over the long term, this will contribute to financial success.

Maintain Emergency Savings: A reserve will help you ride out the surprises of life and avoid debt.

Minimize and Eliminate Debt: Debt may allow you to have more now, but it reduces your ability to have more in the future. Debt is an obligation on your future income, and because of compounding, it may represent the single most important factor influencing your future financial success.

These four principles work in concert. Together, they represent a formula for financial success.

These principles are so timely to today’s economic climate. Perhaps because they are timeless. They are by no means new; they trace back for thousands of years.

The principles have endured the test of time. They are independent of the economy - recession or boom. They are insensitive to oil prices and the real estate market. Many rich people, and likely many more poor people, can attest to them.

Those that have followed this path in recent years are comfortably surviving - some thriving - in the economic concerns of today. If you have been following them, continue. You will continue to thrive.

If you are in crisis, there is no better time to start then now. You can not establish a strong financial foundation without them. They will lead you out of your crisis, and help you prevent them in the future.

Note - reference source “Surviving Financial Meltdown” by Ron Blue and Jeremy White.

Prosperity?

"I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle."

Winston Churchill

The Power of Belief

Are we aware of the messages and lessons we pass on to our children? Do we grasp the lasting impact of our messages, spoken and unspoken?

In honor of a new but already dear friend Ruth Adkins and the memory of her father, I am sharing a quote that she passed along today.

"You will because you believe you can"

Twenty years ago, Ruth's father shared this while speaking to her about life challenges she was facing. Little did he realize the power that one simple statement would have.

Ruth has clutched that phrase close to her heart for 20 years, and she pays honor to this incredible man now by passing it on to others. I believe she passes this along as much by example as she does in words.

Ruth has incorporated this in text, spirit and vision within the Inspiring Alliance program she leads for our "Wounded Warriors" - the veterans who have sacrificed for our great country.

Thank you, Ruth, for sharing this message.

For the rest of us, this is a great reminder of the messages and lessons we are sharing in and through our lives - those we hold dear are always watching.

Are you listening?

What and who we listen to ultimately influences what we do.

(Thanks to Andy Stanley for his message on that theme for the past three weeks.)

What does that assertion say to you?

You often hear that you are a product of your associations. Everything about you, eventually, assimilates into the patterns of the people around you. Your thinking, your habits, your attitudes, your wardrobe. Your income. Eventually, everything.

It seems obvious when you see a group of teens all dressed alike. The latest trends to grunge. Hair the same, tattooed or not, perhaps piercing. It is also plain to see in talk, interests, music, hobbies and habits. Like attracts like, or else like becomes like if it wants to remain in the fold.

We instruct our children to watch who they hang out with. We know what can happen. Are we as careful ourselves?

That’s the “who” part. It’s not so obvious with the “what”. What we listen to. What we read. What we watch. Each of these inputs eventually drives our thinking, our belief systems, and finally our actions. When we see, hear, or watch something long enough, it becomes our norm. It becomes our reality. Over time, we may even find ourselves defending it as if our life depended on it.

Perhaps that’s actually true. Perhaps our life - the quality of our life - indeed depends on it.

In my personal mission statement, you’ll read this. "I never stop learning and growing, always drawing from the best sources of information. I guard my thoughts from unwholesome information and unhealthy environments. I seek wise counsel and mentorship, knowing that The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel."

What about your personal mission? If you are intentional about your future, it is critical that you ask:

“Who am I listening to?”
“What am I listening to?”