(Note, there is no such thing as a sure thing. Giants, such as Lehman Brothers and Merril Lynch went bankrupt in 2008. Others, such as Goldman Sachs and AIG only continue to exist because of collusion with corrupt government officials. There are tons of companies out there, but I am only the putting the ones that I trust (due to experience and research). Caveat emptor.) Euro Pacific Capital USAA Vanguard
When we speak of financial planning, what we usually mean is saving and investing money for the future. What this means is that you have not consumed everything that you have produced (the opposite of credit, which is consuming more than you have produced). There is only one reason not to consume everything you produce today (i.e. spend all your money). That something is uncertainty.
When you save, it is because you are not certain what the future will hold in terms of your needs, the economic climate, and your ability to produce and meet those needs.
So let’s review the basic needs that you have:
Shelter
Food
Protection
Comforts
Your financial planning should include planning for these on a regular basis as well as strictly monetary considerations. For example, have you ever been to the grocery store when a hurricane is coming? The aisles are stripped within a few hours of the news, because the stores only carry about 72 hours of groceries at any given time. Although it wasn’t as photogenic as the Superdome after Katrina, the ice storms in the Midwest in 2009 caused more destruction and left many people stranded and without power for 3-4 weeks. You need to store enough food to get you through likely disasters in your chosen area.
I don’t agree with everything he says, and he can be a little obnoxious, but Jack Spirko’ The Survival Podcast is an excellent resource for every day preparedness and securing your immediate financial situation as well as your future.
Goal setting
It’s important to know where you want to go, because otherwise, how do you expect to get there? You need to set financial goals. One way of doing this is to have a savings/investment goal by age. So for example, you may want a million dollars saved up by the time you are fifty. This allows you to operationalize your goal.
For our example, let’s say you are 22, and your goal is to have a million dollars by the the time you are 50. That gives you 28 years to meet your goal. Google “investment calculator” and choose one (I like Dave Ramsey’s.) Start playing with the numbers and see what you get. For example, if your goal is a million dollars in 28 years, you would need to contribute $550/mo at 10% interest to reach a million dollars.
But how do I get there?
You may find that you need to adjust your spending habits or increase your income to meet your financial goals. Your other option is to seek higher rates of return through investing. We will cover investing options in the next page.
The first step in getting your finances in order is a budget. It is absolutely impossible to have sound finances and investments if you are spending more than you earn. For this page, we will assume that you have already done that. Once the only debt you owe is your house (and maybe school loans), should you begin investing.
Step 1: Identify your expenses
This is easier said than done. If you use financial software such as Quicken or Microsoft Money, it is substantially easier. Make a list of everything you spend in a month and then put the expenditures into categories. Common categories might be:
Tithe
Rent
Utilities
Cell phone
Groceries
Gas
School loans
Car payment
Car insurance
Entertainment
Other
Then think of expenses that you did not have this month that are regularly occurring, such as your nursing license renewal, car registration, etc. Add those together and divide by the number of months before they recur (to get a monthly average). Add all of your monthly expenses together. This number represents how much money you must make each month after taxes just to break even.
Identify your revenue sources and estimate your taxes
You need to be able to calculate approximately how much money you will make on a yearly basis (for your taxes) and monthly basis (for your budget). Generally speaking, if you take your hourly pay, multiply it by 2 and put a thousand at the end, you will get a rough estimate of your yearly pay. For example, a graduate who expects to make $20/hour (40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year) would make 20x40x50 = 40,000.
Once you know your yearly salary, you can estimate your taxes. The most important thing to understand in estimating your taxes is the difference between gross income and taxable income. Taxable income is your gross income minus any 401(k) and IRA contributions minus your eligible deductions. There are two ways to figure out your deductions (standard deduction and itemized); for the purpose of budgeting, just use the standard deduction.
Go to the IRS website and look up last year’s tax table (in one of the 1040 instruction booklets). For example, the 2009 tax tables start on page 77 of the form 1040. Subtract the standard and personal deductions from your gross income to estimate your taxable income. Now look up your estimated tax in the tables. Take that number and divide it by 12 to come up with how much tax you will be paying per month.
But wait! There’s more! You also have to pay Medicare and Social Security tax. These taxes are paid on your gross income. Social security is a flat 6.2% on all income up to $106,000. And Medicare is 1.45% on all income for a total of 7.65%. (The tax is actually 15.3%, but by law, your employer can’t show their “matching contribution” on your pay stub because you might revolt at seeing how much of your paycheck is stolen taxed.) Oh and the income cap of $106,000 automatically goes up with inflation, so last year, the cap was $94,000, and in 2000 it was $76,000. (See, even the government knows inflation is stealing wealth.)
Calculate your cash flow and make adjustments
Now that you know your estimated taxes, add the monthly tax to your expenses. Now subtract all your expenses from your income to come up with your estimated cash flow. At this point, if you are like most Americans, you’ll find that you do not make enough money to cover your expenses. You now have two choices: 1) Seek more income, or 2) reduce your expenses— or a diabolically clever combination of the two.
It’s all about control
The purpose of this exercise is to put you in control of your finances. You wouldn’t drive your car with eyes shut, and you shouldn’t spend money without a budget.
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