. a home
. a car
. an education
. a comfortable retirement
. your children
. medical or other emergencies
. periods of unemployment
. caring for parents
Make your own list and then think about which goals are the
most important to you. List your most important goals first.
Decide how many years you have to meet each specific
goal, because when you save or invest you'll need to find a
savings or investment option that fits your time frame for
meeting each goal.
Many tools exist to help you put your financial plan together.
You'll find a wealth of information, including calculators and
links to non-commercial resources, on the SEC's website at
www·sec·gov/investor·shtml.
Sit down and take an honest look at your
entire financial situation. You can never take
a journey without knowing where you're
starting from, and a journey to financial
security is no different.
You'll need to figure out on paper your current situation
what you own and what you owe. You'll be creating a "net
worth statement". On one side of the page, list what you
own. These are your "assets." And on the other side list
what you owe other people, your "liabilities" or debts.
Subtract your liabilities from your assets. If your assets are
larger than your liabilities, you have a "positive" net worth.
If your liabilities are greater than your assets, you have a
"negative" net worth.
You'll want to update your "net worth statement" every year
to keep track of how you are doing. Don't be discouraged
if you have a negative net worth. If you follow a plan to get
into a positive position, you're doing the right thing.