Hopeton Morrison, Contributor
IF YOU seek to become financially independent for life, here are seven top financial resolutions.
1. - Pay yourself first. Many best selling books on personal wealth creation identify this single principle as the most fundamental, far-reaching, life-changing method of achieving wealth. The research is overwhelmingly supportive of the fact that those persons who invest 10 per cent of their gross income from all sources without fail, will become financially independent usually by or before their mid-fifties. The research is validated in best-selling books such as: The Richest Man in Babylon, The Wealthy Barber and The Automatic Millionaire.
2. - Live below your means. This is a sure way to achieve financial independence. It is also called lifestyle financial planning. The key is to strike a healthy balance between a reasonable enjoyment of your income now while ensuring that you, at the very least, retain your present standard of living throughout a long life.
3. - Track your financial affairs weekly. In the outstanding study of thousands of first-generation millionaires by Thomas Stanley and William Danko documented in their best-seller, The Millionaire Next Door, the authors identified 20 hours as the average time spent weekly, by this group of self-made millionaires. Many persons happily spend an average of 23 years educating and training themselves for their vocations. They spend another 33-42 years working towards retirement at age 65. The million-dollar question is how much of that time does the average person spend managing his or her finances?
4. - Budget, budget, budget. This habit allows you to save for.
Good financial planning involves tracking your expenses.
