There are several retirement plans that are ensued by the government to discourage the proliferation of fraudulent retirement agencies and to ensure retirement benefits later on. Choosing the best retirement plan for your needs is key in optimizing your earnings and channeling it towards a productive retirement.

Types of Retirement Plans

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act covers a defined benefit plans that assures the individual of a specified monthly benefit upon retirement. How much you will be getting a month may be pre-set at an exact amount or may be calculated through a plan formula based on the individual's salary and years of service in the workforce. The defined contribution plan, another plan offered by the ERISA, on the other hand although does not promise a specific pension allowance later on, contribute a certain percentage of the individual's earnings annually. Aside from the employees, employers may also contribute a particular amount of their employee's earnings, which the employers may also invest on the employee's behalf. The employee will then receive the total sum based on the contributions, investment gains and losses upon retirement.

Simple Employee Pension Plans is actually an uncomplicated arrangement between employees and employers wherein an Individual Retirement Account is established based on compromised and accepted conditions by both parties that utilize salary reduction on a pre-set basis, either monthly or annually that go directly to the employee's IRA.

Owing to the premise of security of tenure and happier workers, more and more companies also offer Profit Sharing plans in which employers determine a set amount from the company's gains which will then be allocated accordingly to their employees. There are also instances when employers decide on matching the employees' non-tax contribution to their retirement plans.

There is no doubt that money facilitates and motivates all economic activity relating to consumption, production, exchange and distribution. Money enables a consumer to maximize his satisfaction. Money measures the intensity of desire and the utility of a commodity to a consumer. Money facilitates production by stimulating saving and investment. It gives mobility to capital and helps in capital formation. It enables the harnessing of various factors of production, so that the entrepreneur is able to maximize his profit.

The introduction of money facilitates exchange and helps in the development of trade and commerce, both national and international. Money functions as a common denominator for the distribution of social products. It is in terms of money that wages, rent, interest and profits are determined. Money helps the price mechanism to operate, and serves as an instrument for the allocation of resources among competing uses.

Money is an extremely valuable social instrument, which has largely contributed to the growth of national wealth and social welfare. It has ensured the smooth functioning of the economic system. It has accelerated the process of industrialization. In a money economy, there is a continuous flow of money payments. This circular flow is essential for promoting economic welfare.

To plan means charting your future course of action in advance and organizing activities and individual and group efforts to work towards the achievement of goals. Financial planning involves the managing of financial affairs of a business or an individual.

Financial planning means creating and employing plans to meet defined financial objectives. The firm must decide in advance how it will arrange funds for its working capital requirements and for investment in long term assets. This process of estimating the fund requirements of a business and determining the sources of funds are an important part of financial planning. Financial planning takes into consideration the growth, performance, investments, and requirements of funds for the business for a given period of time. It provides a detailed plan of action for reducing uncertainty and for the proper direction of individual and group efforts.

For an individual, financial planning means deciding in advance how much to spend, and what to spend on, based on the funds at his/her disposal. This includes tax planning, investment planning, insurance planning, mortgage planning, retirement planning, and savings planning .There are a wide range of investment opportunities available to the public. People are often confused as to which is the best choice to suit their budget. The funds available must be prudently invested. One has to consider the profitability, liquidity, and safety of the various investment opportunities before investing in them. Investment of funds in fixed assets has long term implications as the funds would be blocked for a long duration and their benefits could not be realized in near future. The planning of an individual?s finance involves a careful study of the current economic conditions. This enables them to plan their financial matters efficiently and achieve their financial goals successfully.

Why let your bank checks get lost in the crowd when you can personalize them? You can choose from literally thousands of designs or select several designs for every season, mood, or occasion. Read on for some personal bank check ideas.

There are a lot of fresh personal bank check prints for all kinds of personalities. Sports fans, for example, can get checks that carry the logos of their favorite teams. Pet lovers can get personal bank checks printed with their favorite dogs, cats, or even wild animals. Do you prefer something more somber and artistic? Why not order checks featuring works of both classic and contemporary artists? Imagine a Picasso on every check you send out! Your recipients will not only be amused - they would be educated, too.

There are also special-edition checks available, usually through cause-oriented groups such as animal rights groups, cancer awareness groups, and other such organizations. These checks carry the advocacy messages, and some portions of what you pay to buy these checks are used to fund these organizations' activities. By using these checks, you help them spread their messages.

There are also Christian checks that you can use to help share inspiring thoughts. These checks either have inspirational messages or images and are available not only through religious organizations, but in almost every print shop as well.

If you can't find any pre-made check design that matches your style, why not create your own? Some print shops allow you to send them a photo that you like (either of yourself, your family, your pet), and then they scan it and integrate it into your check. Talk about issuing very unique checks! It cannot get more personal than this.

There comes a time in everyone’s life where they no longer have to get up in the mornings and trudge into work, this time in life is called retirement. The moment you start working, you start to plan your retirement. Some people cannot wait to pursue their hobbies fulltime. While others, do not want to retire because they do not know what they are going to do with their spare time.

Retirement can be a difficult time in ones life, it’s a time that you have to face the fact that you are getting older and you have to adjust to a new timetable. However, there is good news, everyone does adjust and gets used to this new way of life. Retirement should be a joyous occasion celebrated with friends, family, and coworkers. It should be a time of joy, not sorrow.

Retirement Gift Tips

* Should reflect the personality of the retiring person - A retirement gift should be more than a plain old retirement card; a retirement gift should be full of thought, a gift that reflects the personality of the retiring person. When selecting a gift a few things should be kept in mind, for example, their hobbies and interests.

* A travel voucher for lovers of traveling - If the retiree likes to travel, a travel voucher with a retirement card will make a wonderful gift or if you know they like to travel to certain places, maybe you can plan a retirement cruise.

* A membership to a gym for the health conscious - After retirement that person may want to take better care of their health, so a membership to a gym or a gift certificate in a retirement card to a health spa may be given as a gift.

* Huge discount coupons for the shoppers - For retirees who like shopping during their active lives, discount coupons to their favorite shopping store can be given.

* For avid golfers, some clubs may be given - If they like to golf there are many items that can be purchased. The point is to keep in mind what they like to do in their spare time.

* Library life membership for the book enthusiast - For the book enthusiast a trip to the bookstore or a life time membership to the library is a lot better than just a plain old retirement card.

* For the music lover - A portable CD player and a few CD’s of their favorite music may be added with a retirement card.

* How to do books - If the person does not really have any hobbies, do not worry, you can get them a book on things they can do at home.

* Album of their achievements - Make an album of their achievements not only at work but what they have done during their time in life.

* Flowers or chocolates or homemade cookies - If you just can’t think of anything other than a retirement card, either because you don’t know what they like or you just don’t know the retiree that well, then you can compliment the retirement card with a bouquet of flowers or perhaps a box of chocolates or even a plate of homemade cookies.

Starting around the year 2000 interest rates began to fall, and house prices began to increase. This allowed many homeowners to re-finance their home to generate cash to repay high interest rate debt, like credit cards and finance company loans.

For example, if you bought your house for $150,000 and had a $100,000 mortgage, your house had $50,000 in equity. If your house increased in value to $200,000, you now have $100,000 in equity. Since the bank or mortgage company originally only required you to have $50,000 in equity, it was very common for the bank to lend you another $50,000 when your house increased in value. Why?

The bank advanced more funds for two reasons. First, because the home had increased in value, the bank still had the same amount of security as originally, so they have not taken on any new risk. Second, banks lend money to make money, so the more they lend, the more they can make.

But beware: the era of ever increasing real estate prices and constantly lowered interest rates is over, at least for the next few years. That means that if you are considering a debt consolidation loan secured by your house, you should probably act quickly.

The biggest advantage of a debt consolidation loan is that you can combine a number of loan payments into one monthly payment, making your monthly budgeting much simpler. And, if the debt consolidation loan is secured (or guaranteed) by the value of your home, you will get the best interest rate possible, so your monthly payments will be significantly reduced.

It therefore makes sense to take your high interest credit card debts and pay them off with a debt consolidation loan secured by your house. The interest you pay will be dramatically reduced, allowing you to repay your debt months or years faster than if you had not taken out a debt consolidation loan.

But remember, as house prices stabilize or decrease, and as interest rates continue to increase, your ability to get this type of debt consolidation loan may disappear, so if you think this is the solution for you, don’t wait. Act now, before you no longer have this opportunity.

It was a very exciting time of life, we just returned from our honeymoon and we were ready to start our life together. At the time we were living in a 2 bedroom apartment in Long Island and because we wanted to start a family we were looking forward to buying a house.

Only problem was we didn’t have any money saved, so we sat down and made a game plan of how we were going to come up with enough money for a down payment. We were both making OK money at the time but we had no idea where all of the money was going.

Here’s What We Did

Everyday for about 7-10 days we wrote down on log every penny we spent, didn’t matter if it was $0.50 we wrote it down and were able to track where all of our future down payment was going. We were sick to our stomachs to find out that we were easily spending a couple hundred dollars between us every week, on nonsense: pack of gum here, buy lunch there, coffee here. Complete and total waste of money, now we had to decide how bad we wanted to buy a house and how soon we could save for it.

The next day we went to the grocery store (coupons in hand) and to the wholesale club to buy in bulk. We started brown bagging it for lunch, spent money during the week only on the necessities as opposed to luxuries and made a conscious effort to ask ourselves before making any purchase do we want this product or do we want to buy a house. Simple question but powerful because it brings up your goal (house) to the fore front of your mind so you can actually envisions buying your house.

Some Tips to Help Make Your

Budgeting Goal More Powerful

Using my first house as an example for budgeting, we would drive around on weekends looking at the types of house, location and obviously the price. We then determined what we would need for the down payment, broke it down into monthly amounts that we would need to save and made it our goal every month to deposit that amount in a separate account.

What will keep you fired up and excited to stick to your goal, is knowing specifically everything you can about what you want your house to be like, to the point where you feel like you already own it. The more specific and visual you can make this image of your house, the more disciplined you will be in making that monthly deposit to your house account.

I suggest cutting out some pictures from the newspaper of the houses you have your eye on, remember you’re not looking to buy now, just looking to stay motivated so don’t get stressed out if the house that you have a picture of sells.

The whole key is to be committed to buying your house and making it a joint effort from the family, if you have kids let them in on it, they can deposit a couple dollars a month from their allowance that in itself is powerful, teaching your children how to save for an important goal.

In my ebook Budgeting for Life, I have the specific worksheet mentioned in this article and questions to help you budget your money to help you reach some of your financial goals.

Ever wonder what is happening to your money? You work hard, but have no money to spend on the things you want.

Millions of Americans are drowing in debt, but they don't understand what went wrong. If you are in debt trouble, you need to look at what you are doing wrong. This will give you a good idea of what you need to change about your money management and spending habits.

Many people think that balance transfers are a wise thing to do in credit card management. Yes, they can help you with a lower interest-rate. However, they do not reduce your debt or eliminate your payment. There are many pitfalls to the balance transfer situation.

Many people fall into the "oh, we have x months of zero interest, I'll pay more next month" and they simply make the minimum payment. This isn't taking advantage of the transfer, it is simply delaying the problem. When the six or nine or twelve months are up, you will have a larger payment (due to interest) to pay and be no further ahead than you were.

Another trap is to continue to use the old card. You actually end up with more debt, not less. When you transfer to a new card, cancel the old cards and cut them up. Better yet, cut up both cards so that you add no new debt at all. Then pay of the new as quickly as possible.

I have a hard time believing it, but people tell me all of the time that they've never checked their credit report. You must do this at least once a year. Millions of people have errors pop up on their reports. The rest have someone using their credit information fraudulently. You may not catch on until too late, unless you check your credt. Even small errors can affect your credit score, resulting in higher interest rates and insurance premiums.

There are even lenders out there who count on you not knowing what your credit score is. They can say, due to your credit history, you will be charged a slightly higher rate. We had a national lender try this with us once, not knowing we knew fully well what was on our credit and our scores.

If you are in credit trouble, you need to call your lenders before you miss a payment. Once you have missed a payment, your lender won't be as friendly. Call and negotiate a better interest rate or an extended payment deadline as soon as you know you are in trouble.

As for missed payments, don't make them. You can face a late fee of up to $39 for a late payment. If you are even one day late on your credit card payment, you could be facing an interest rate of up to 31%.

You need to create a budget and stick to it. It isn't fun, but it works. It is the only thing that will work. It is the most important part of your financial management. Believe me -- the more you control your money, the less it will control you.

It is a lot easier to manage your money if you leave your cards and checkbook at home and deal with cash. It's a mind thing. We tend not to spend as freely when there are limits and there is cash to be spent. When you leave the cards behind, you won't be tempted to use them.

Make sure that you pay as much as you can towards your debt. Paying the minimum is better than nothing, but it won't get you out of debt. If you can't pay the balance in full each month, you have to stop charging and start paying off as much as you can.

Like most people, you’ve accumulated substantial retirement savings in your IRA or company retirement plan. But what happens when you retire, and you find yourself with sufficient sources of income to support your lifestyle without taking more than the minimum amount out of your IRA? Under current rules your beneficiaries can inherit your IRA and take out distributions over their lives while the principal continues to grow untaxed. This is the so called “Stretch IRA”. To illustrate the power of this concept assume we have a husband and wife both aged 65 with a $150,000 IRA and a 35 year old daughter. Assuming an 8% return the value of that IRA over the life of the family is over $1.6 million dollars! As good as this sounds most people make mistakes that cost their families hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars. The sad part is that these mistakes can usually be avoided using simple steps. This article will tell you the five most common IRA mistakes and how to avoid them.

• Mistake 1: Leaving Your Retirement Plan at your Company

Many people just leave their retirement plan at their company when they retire. Unless the plan offers you investment options you cannot get on your own this might not be a good idea. While the IRA rules are quite clear on the ability of your heirs to take your money out over their lifetime many company plans don’t follow this logic. To avoid the added complexity they force your heirs to take the money out immediately, or within a short time period. This causes an immediate tax bill and the loss of years of tax deferred growth. If you are determined to leave your plan at your company please call your benefits department and find out what happens to your plan balance when you pass away.

• Mistake 2: Assuming Your IRA Custodian Knows What You Want

Many IRA custodians will unknowing mess up your IRA distribution plans. An example will illustrate the point. Let’s say you have a son, Harry, and a daughter, Jane. They are the primary beneficiaries of your IRA. If Harry predeceases you, you would probably want his share to go to his family. However, many IRA custodians would give his entire share to Jane, freezing Harry’s family out completely. How can you avoid this? Call your IRA custodian and find out how they handle this issue. If you don’t like the answer your attorney can prepare a document called a retirement asset will which will set forth exactly what you want to happen with your IRA.

• Mistake 3: Taking More Than the Required Minimum Distribution

Once you turn 70 ½ you are required to start taking money out of your IRA. However, after age 59 ½ you are allowed to take money from your IRA without penalty (income taxes still apply). This leaves many people with a dilemma, just because you are allowed to take money out does that mean that you should? In most cases the answer is no. The longer you can leave this money to grow without tax the better. If you need to supplement your income and have other assets it is usually best to use those first.

I’ve never been a financial expert and I have serious doubts that I’ll ever have time to become one (with all the things that interest me). But this morning I all of a sudden realized how the foundation of healthy personal finances starts with setting the healthy priorities.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a person entering the second half of your life, younger or older, the quality of life and priorities are something we should all be thinking about. Quality doesn’t necessarily mean luxury or expensive things. Little things that make us happy every time we see them or use them and things that make us feel better add to the quality of our life so much more than the shiniest car, a fur coat, or a piece of jewelry. Wait, I’m not saying that we should give up the material possessions to become happy... No, we deserve all the best! But we should cover the basics first.

Maybe you’re upset about how much it costs you to take your kid to school (and back home) every week. Maybe you’re complaining how expensive the schools are. For our own good we should not classify the cost of the education under the expense category. Because learning is always an investment into everybody’s better future: your kid’s, yours and better future of this whole planet.

Maybe you’re fine with the school cost but you’re paying a lot (to rent or own) a big screen TV when at the same time you’re short on money when you need an herb remedy from the health food store which would really make you feel better. In my personal opinion, TV is something that we all have but we could leave just as happily without it and small screen is big enough to see the shows we really enjoy.

Fannie Mae will not face criminal prosecution for $10.8 billion in accounting errors.

The US Attorney for the District of Columbia told Fannie Mae that it won't file charges after a two-year federal investigation, said spokesman Channing Phillips.

"We advised them that we completed the investigation with respect to the company," said Phillips.

The end of the inquiry into the accounting errors reduces the threat of fines and lawsuits related to the manipulated earnings, first investigated in 2004.

The investigation led to the elimination of several top executives, including Chairman and Chief Executive Franklin Raines, and led to allegations of fraud.

Fannie Mae's regulator, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, and the Securities and Exchange Commission fined Fannie Mae $400 million in May and restricted the growth of its mortgage portfolio.

Former executives could stil face criminal charges. The SEC is considering civil charges against individuals. Chief Executive Daniel Mudd said that the accounting mistakes made by former executives have been found.

Fannie Mae intends to complete a restatement of earnings from 2001 until mid-2004 this year.

"We will continue to work closely and cooperatively with our regulators," Mudd said in a statement.

Fannie Mae guarantees about 20% of the $8.5 trillion residential mortgage market.

Freddie Mac, Fannie's cousin, disclosed $5 billion in accounting mistakes in 2003. Both Fannie and Freddie were created to increase money flow for home loans by buying mortgages and reselling them as securities. The firms make money on fees charged to lenders for guaranteeing loans. They also hold mortgage securities in their investment portfolios.

Congress has been meeting to address a growing crisis in this country, the fact that Americans don’t save much money. According to the AARP only one in five baby boomers has more than $25,000 in assets. Only 40% of the people eligible to contribute to a 401k plan do so. With the recent headlines about the shakiness of Social Security this issue becomes even more important. Congress is considering a number of different measures: Increasing contributions to retirement plans, tax incentives, etc. All of this is great but there is one change that could be made right away that I think would make a huge difference.

Financial Literacy in Schools
Our schools do a great job of preparing us to get a job. Nobody teaches us what to do with our paycheck. Financial literacy is the biggest gap in our education system. College students are bombarded by offers for credit cards but nobody teaches them how to use credit wisely. I believe that a lack of financial literacy is the main reason why Americans don’t save. Nobody told them that they should save money and nobody ever told them how to save money. I think we all agree that the average 21 year old could save at least $5 day. If they where able to do that over their working lives they could retire with $1.2 million dollars. I wish someone had told me this when I was 21.

Financial Literacy in the Workplace
Once we get a job our employer expects us to decide whether or not to enroll in a 401k and tells us to pick from a menu of mutual funds. Many people don’t even know what a mutual fund is, or how to pick one. Less than half of large employers offer financial education to their employees, and none require participation. I was watching the Suze Orman show the other day and a woman stood up to ask a question. She had left her job and wanted to roll her 401k over to her new employer. She had her old employer send her the check directly and she had held it for 90 days. Suze had to tell her that it was too late to put it into the 401k and that she would have to pay taxes and penalties. Two things about this struck me. First, someone should have told her how to roll over a 401k plan. Second, this woman was probably in her 30’s and she had only saved $900 in her 401k. Somebody should have taught her the importance of saving money in a 401k plan.

Parents Can Teach Financial Literacy
Parents can help too. Lets assume you child is 15 and is able to get a summer job earning $3,000/year until they are 19. That qualifies him or her to contribute to a Roth IRA. Now, they don’t have to contribute what they earned, you or a grandparent can make the contribution for them. $3,000/year contributed for just four years to a Roth IRA for your child could equal $1.1 million dollars by the time they retire. I wish someone had told me this when I was 15. Amassing a seven figure net worth is not difficult, it just takes time, something your children have in abundance.

It’s never too early to think about retirement. We all want to make sure that we will be taken care of when we are no longer able to work. Your retirement is the most important investment you will ever make. A 401K retirement plan is a good option for saving for retirement.

401K plans are offered by companies and other employers for their employees. They allow you to save straight from your pay, without paying taxes first. The plan is a trust, and there are many kinds available. Some employers will match what their employees save, thus doubling your savings. The 401K is part of the company’s overall benefits package.

401K plans make it easy to save for retirement. Your company does it for you, and it comes straight out of your check. You will save money quickly with a 401K because the company invests the money. It is also tax-free.

The 401K is a retirement plan, so the money will not be available to you until you reach a certain age. With some plans, there are options for early withdrawal, but you will end up with less money than you had originally planned.

Your employer will help you calculate your final earnings. You can figure out how much you pay each month and how much it is expected to grow. In this way, you can obtain an exact dollar amount telling you how much you will have when the time comes.

If you quit or change companies, you have several options for what to do with your 401K. Some companies will allow you to keep it there until retirement age. Otherwise, you have the option of rolling it over into an IRA, or taking a lump sum. If you choose to take the lump sum, you will have to pay taxes on it and that may reduce it significantly.

Moving the money into an IRA is called a “rollover.” You can hang onto this IRA, or you may be able to put it into your new company’s 401K plan. Most companies will let you do this. If you keep your IRA, you will continue to not pay taxes on it.

It has been said by a wise man “Don’t lay any certain plans for the future it is like planting toads and expecting to raise toadstools “

However it has become a common image now and everyone’s dream of retirement: crotchety and loveable Henry Fonda grumbling at Katherine Hepburn, who is bravely carrying wood, in their summer home full the past, with enough money to keep their memories untarnished and their lifestyle as comfortable as ever. Their problems are their health, their relationship with each other, their daughter’s happiness.

However in reality we may not all this lucky,

That is what we all want, from life as from retirement: to go on as we are, coping and enjoying, but with maybe a little more time for enjoying.

In other scenarios, retired couples take cruises; tour North America in mobile homes. And even take trips to such far away places as Eastern Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

However North America - the United States and Canada are aging societies. Both the numbers and the percentages of the population that is elderly are increasing. The last Big Generation in our society is the “Baby Boomers, so called as they were born in the period following World War 2 period. The servicemen had returned home from the war theatres of Europe and Asia, the women returned from the factories to the kitchen and bedroom, resulting in a period of prosperity and a family life with many children.

Uncle Sam wants you and he really wants your IRA -also known as Internal Revenue Account if you have not taken steps to protect it upon your death. You have saved your whole life for your retirement account. Why? For retirement. Okay, so you are now retired. You either need your IRA for income or you don't. If you are one of the growing number of retirees that will never need to live off income from the IRA or other qualified accounts you may have, consider these potential strategies.

IRA's enjoy tax deferred status. This means no taxes are due until withdrawel. You may have gotten a tax deduction to encourage you to place funds in it to begin with. IRA's can be rolled over, disclaimed, or cashed in depending on the rules in force at the time of an individuals death. If your non-spouse heirs cash in that IRA, they will pay taxes at their own tax rate on the amount inherited. So on an IRA worth $100,000, your heirs may lose as much as $35,000 to Uncle Sam. If your estate is large enough, they may lose additional amounts as high as 45% to estate taxes. WOW-that could be 70%-80% of the account! Yes it could! So how do you pass on an IRA? Here are a few options.

There are many things that can put you in financial trouble. Most people run into money troubles as a result of an emergency. Illness, job loss, break downs and disasters can easily eat up your money, leaving you with few options. If you take the time to plan ahead, you can avoid a financial crisis and the stress that comes along with it.

Start by understanding what you own and what you owe. You need to sit down and take a look at your total financial picture. Take the time to prepare a net worth statement. This will let you know what your assets and liabilities are.

Start with listing your assets. These are things of value that you own. Include your savings, checking and other bank accounts, your stocks, bonds, mutual funds, retirement accounts and the cash value of any insurance policies. You can also include the fair market value of your home and other real personal property, such as automobiles and boats. But keep in mind that when you have to sell property quickly, you often have to give a little on the value.

Next list all of your debts. Include your mortgage, credit cards, automobiles and student loans. Include everything you owe on.

Now simply subtract your total liabilities from you total assets. This amount is your net worth. This could help you identify what assets you can use to meet your debt obligations if necessary.

You should have an emergency fund that will pay for anywhere between three to six months of expenses. Some advisors even recommend that you have up to nine months of expenses in savings. The amount depends on your finances and circumstances.

It does take time to build up your emergency fund, but it is worth it. When something breaks down or an emergency occurs, you can take care of it without worrying about the money.

Too many people dream of becoming a millionaire but have no real plan for how to achieve it. Well, you can’t become a millionaire just by dreaming, wanting, or wishing for wealth. As you develop the framework for your millionaire’s budget, think about planning for the future and reaching some of your bigger goals. So many times we get caught up in daily tasks and activities that we forget about setting substantive goals for the future. But in order to accrue substantial wealth, it’s essential that you write out your short-, medium-, and long-range goals. Some of you may not have thought about your own goals much lately. Perhaps your life has been consumed by your children’s world; their needs and wants always come first, and you constantly put your desires on the back burner. It’s a mistake to do that. Financially speaking, you can get yourself so wrapped up in another person—whether that individual is your child, partner, or parent—that you neglect yourself and fail to engage in smart, practical financial planning. You don’t want to look up 20 years from now and think that you should have managed your money better when you were younger.

To immediately improve how you handle your finances and make a giant leap toward becoming a millionaire, one of the most important things you can do is to write out your personal goals. This one act alone will help you build a foundation for a lifetime of wealth. If you are married or in a committed relationship, I suggest you do this exercise with your partner. Write your individual goals first, and then share your goals with the other person. Ultimately, we are all individuals with our own unique dreams and ambitions. Yet, for those of us involved with significant others, it’s crucial that you make a habit of setting— and reaching—your goals together.