10 Essential Financial/Lifestyle Strategies You Need to Know!

"It wasn't raining when Noah build the ark." Howard Ruff

It's all too common for families to be 'winging it' through life, quite unprepared for reaching their personal and financial goals, and unable to deal with unexpected situations that life can (and will!) throw at us.

Here are 10 Financial/Lifestyle Strategies to pay attention to in order to take care of your family.

1. CLEAR CLUTTER; GET CLEAR ON PRIORITES: Sort through your stuff and keep only what you need, use, and love. Find a ‘home’ for everything. Mentally go through your home (and office) in your mind. Are there any rooms – or areas of a room – that you would prefer were more organized?

2. CREATE A BUDGET: You should know exactly how much money is coming in, and how much is going out. Identify what you spending too much money on and set a concrete plan to reach your financial goals.

3. ELIMINATE DEBT: Now is the time to turn the debt cycle around. Do you have a pragmatic action plan for getting out of debt?

4. SET UP A FOULPROOF SYSTEM FOR PAYING BILLS: Have a list of your monthly financial obligations. Does an online system like Quicken work for you, or do you prefer to keep track manually? Decide which specific system you will use and stick with it.

5. HAVE PROPER PROTECTION/INSURANCE COVERAGE:

Do you have auto Insurance?
Homeowners/Renters Insurance?
Life Insurance (if applicable to you)?
Health Insurance (and Long Term Care if desired)?
Property & Casualty Insurance?
Any other form of Insurance you may need?

6. ESTATE PLANNING:

Do you have a Will?
Do you have a Health Care Directive?
Do you have a Living Trust?
Do you have any Power of Attorney?

7. SET FINANCIAL GOALS, INCLUDING RETIREMENT PLANNING:
Determine your 1-3 year financial goals and plan for reaching them.
Determine your 3-7 years financial goals and plan for reaching them.
Determine your 7+ year financial goals and plan for reaching them.

8. SET PERSONAL/CAREER/RELATIONSHIP GOALS:
Determine your 1-3 year personal, career, relationships goals and plan for reaching them.
Determine your 3-7 years personal, career, relationships goals and plan for reaching them.
Determine your 7+ year personal, career, relationships goals and plan for reaching them.

9. EMERGENCY PREPARATION:

Do you have an emergency fund – money that could support you for 3 months to 1 year - set aside in a cash account? If not, plan out the savings schedule that you will stick to in order to amass this amount. At least 4-6 months is recommended.

Do you have water, food, and emergency gear in case of a Natural Disaster? If not, make your list, and go buy what you need now.

Do you and your loved ones have an emergency plan – a common out of state contact, a plan for the kids to follow, etc. Make sure your spouse and immediate family is clear on the plan and knows the contact phone numbers.

Do you have copies of important documents and photos in a safe place in the event of a Natural Disaster? If not, set a time to get that done this week.

10. PHYSICAL/MENTAL WELL-BEING:

What is the lifestyle diet that works best for you?
What type of exercise do you enjoy, and when do you set aside time for it?
How many hours of sleep do you need?
What do you love to do for fun and recreation?
What helps you to relieve stress? Have you ever tried meditation?
How do you ensure that you make quality time for your friends and family?
How do you incorporate your spiritual or religious practice into your life?

If you'd like help and direction with getting these areas of your life taken care of, you will find step-by-step guidance with my 'Organize Your Life' book series and 'Life Planner & Toolkit' Workbook. You can contact me via the contact page on my website - http://remarkabletransformations.com/contactus.htm - or call me directly.