Be your own financial planner

I started this blog because I believe that, armed with desire and a small amount of information, anyone can do a great job as their own personal financial planner.  I want to help you manage your money and plan your financial life better.

When I was a professional financial advisor, I worked with clients that had millions to invest and clients that had only a few hundred dollars.  I devised a unique plan for each client, but the concepts behind each plan were (and still are) universal.  These general concepts are:

• Be prepared for financial emergencies
• Know where your money comes from and where it goes
• Debt can ruin your financial well-being
• Plan for your retirement
• Map out your financial goals
• Be flexible - situations and goals will change over time

Over the next several days I will discuss each of these concepts and how it relates to your own personal financial plan.  It is my goal that at the end of this series, you will have the knowledge needed to create your own basic financial plan that will take into account your needs for emergency cash reserves, life insurance, debt elimination, retirement savings, education savings, and other long term financial goals.