Wayne Stevens Planning, the Secret to Financial Success.........
Have you ever gotten into a taxi and when the driver asks you "where do you want to go?" and you just say, “I don’t
know, but how about we just drive around for a while and see where we end up!” Without a plan for your financial
future, you are doing just that, jumping in for the ride and hoping you end up at the right destination!
The funny thing with planning for our financial future is we do actually know what we need to do, we just don’t do it.
To lose some weight, we know we need to eat a balanced diet and exercise regularly. Yet we all know people who
search the tabloid magazines for a quick fix, weight loss toned body while they sit on their couch watching television.
The first step in planning is an understanding of what you are spending now. Knowing how much you earn is the easy
bit, knowing how much you spend on what is a bit harder. Most people live in denial as to the how much they actually
spend. They don’t want to quantify it because they know it will scare them!
The following are some areas to save or lower expenses.
Buy cheaper, yet quality brands.
Don’t impulse shop or shop when hungry.
Start, maintain and enjoy a vegetable garden
Take away dinner once a week versus multiple times
Make lunch instead of buying will save about $2600 per year
Buy a coffee machine and bulk coffee versus individual coffee’s and save $2000 per yearBudgeting isn’t necessarily about stopping you from spending; it’s about putting you in charge and understanding the
consequences and benefits. Remember, the key is that you don’t need to give up having things; you just need to
adjust the frequency and perhaps the way in which you buy the items.
After quantifying the current expenses and determining where you could start saving, establish your short (1 to 3
years), medium (3 to 7 years) and long term (8 to 20 years) goals. Do this as an individual (and not as a couple if
married). This ensures you are both on the same page and identified personal and mutual goals. In many cases, I have
found couples goals are vastly different, which surprises them. Many people assume spouses have the same goals and
timeframes as they do!
The next step is to quantify the cost of your goals such as:
Retirement living expenses.
Changing or maintaining vehicles
Children’s weddings and / or live in elderly relative funeral(s)
Family holidays, spending money, food, tours and attractions can cost $2,000 to $50,000 each.
Education, including excursions, sport and tutoring for children can cost $2,000 to $20,000 per year.Now that you have a time frame and a cost, work it back to see how much you need to save now, for each goal, per
week. With the focus now on the end game, it is easier to start saving, with the consequence of not saving, being that
you will be further away from achieving those goals.
The secret to financial security is to know what you spend, establishing your goals and their associated costs. Then
work backwards to know how much to save per week in order to achieve them and then actually saving for them.
Don’t just go along for the ride and hope it will all work out. At the end of your journey, you want to be happy
knowing you have achieved what you wanted in life.
Wayne has been in the financial services industry for 20
years, 12 of those in his own practice, Emohruo Financial
Services Pty Ltd. He has earned Masters of Business and
Masters of Commerce graduate degrees, is a Certified
Financial Planner and Self-Managed Superannuation
Specialist. Contact Wayne in Sydney at +612 8205 1228
Website: http://bit.ly/EMOHRUO or e mail: [email protected]