Wealth Building: Planning the End-Game

Are you frugal? Are you a super-saver?

Or are you the opposite? Are the luxuries of life too good to pass up because tomorrow that thing could be gone?

Whoever you are, you fall somewhere in the financial spectrum of have’s or have not’s. Have not’s are individuals or couples who have no financial plan, goals, and spend their incomes with no clear foresight of how their spending is impacting their future.

The Have’s are individuals or couples who have worked a simple plan over and over again, working towards their financial goals for the future and have achieved their goal. They are what I would consider, financial masters. You don’t have to be rich or wealthy to be a financial master. You could simply be well-off. It really depends on the person(s) plan and what they want. A financial master is someone who has taken control of their financial future by mastering their emotions, delaying gratification, and understanding that building wealth and achieving dreams isn’t typically done is huge giant leaps, rather they are accomplished in small, tiny steps, moving forward each day, with the end-game in mind.

If there’s a phrase that we can all learn to use and live out, its, “rinse and repeat”. Rinse and repeat the same, simple, effective plan over and over again to reach your goal.

My wife and I are right in the middle of this spectrum. We have a plan for our future, for our dreams, and we know where every dollar is going every month. Why do we do this? So, we don’t wake up one day and wonder where all of our money has gone and why we feel like we’ve been spinning our tires year after year.

And I can say this now because we used to be the Have Not’s. We used to spend our money frivolously, and without delaying gratification. And it got us right where you’d think it’d get you – broke. Financially and emotionally. We found ourselves in a lot of debt, a lot of confusion, and wondering how we had gotten there. We got there because we weren’t aware that we could take control of our future. Before, we weren’t aiming at anything, and as Zig Ziglar say’s “If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time”. So, we became aware, and through our awareness we starting aiming our sights at our financial future.

We’ve been aiming now for four years – taking aim at our future has been one of the best things we have ever done together. Not only are we making progress, but we’re having fun doing it because we’re doing it as a team.

I’d encourage you to do the same.  Be honest with yourself, your situation, and start aiming towards your financial goals for the future. You’ll probably never move as fast as you want, but you’ll surprise yourself with just how fast you make progress. Remember, if you never start, you never have the opportunity to finish. Enjoy your journey and stay the course – you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish!