The Six Steps To Financial Independence – Part 1 Article

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The Six Steps to Financial Independence – Part 1

Part one of a series of articles that educates the average family on strategies for getting out of debt and building wealth.

Author: John L Houck Jr

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1. Write down your goals and commit to them!

You can’t hit a target you can’t see. If you don’t know where you are going you won’t get there. You must write down your goals! Without writing them down, they are not real to you. You have to be able to look at them daily, at least every morning. By looking everyday at your goals, you will get motivated to achieve those goals. Your mind will move you towards your goals whether you know it or not. You will move in the direction your mind is pointed. If all you think about is what you don’t want, that’s exactly what you’ll get – what you don’t want! If you are always thinking and worrying about how much debt you are in or not having enough money, then you will get more debt and have less money. If you focus on your positive goals like getting out of debt, or buying a home, or taking that trip to the Caribbean, then opportunities will present themselves to you. It’s like when you buy a new Dodge Durango and you start to see them everywhere you drive. You will start to see opportunities everywhere you look.

So right now, take out a notebook and a pen and starting writing! Be imaginative! Think big! Think about where you want to be financially, emotionally, spiritually. What are your goals for your family? Do you want to have the money to send the kids to college? How much money do you need to retire? What would it take to retire early? You get the idea. Also, don’t forget, be sure to put a time frame on it as well. For instance, in one year, I want to purchase my dream home or in 5 years, I want to retire. Spend some time with this. Take at least 30 minutes or more. Really, you can miss a half hour of TV to do something that will change your life!

The following will give you a general idea and format for your goal setting. Make sure to do, at the very least, one year, 5 years, 10 years, and 20 years. I suggest setting short term (6 months) and long term (30 years) goals and a plan to achieve them. Be sure to be as descriptive and complete as possible.

In one year:
I want to buy a new 2500 square foot 3 bedroom, 2 bath home with a pool and a mountain view in Las Vegas, NV. I want to spend approximately $XXX,XXX. I will do research to find out where the best areas are for employment, schools, shopping, and entertainment. I will talk with and build relationships with local real estate professionals. I will commit to putting $XX per month in a bank account to save towards down payment, closing costs, etc.

Once you have written down your goals, your time frame, and your plan, be sure to do something EVERYDAY towards their achievement - do some research on the internet, make a phone call, or make some extra money. If you know your goals and you are focused on them, then that will be easy as long as you stay committed to achieving them – which can be the hard part.

Remember, be flexible! Just because you may have taken a little longer than you planned to achieve your goal or you had to make changes to your plan to get to your goal, doesn’t mean you failed! Be ready to make changes to your plan if you see that it has fallen off course or a better way has presented itself.

About Author

John Houck has over 16 years of financial services experience. He has devoted the past 8 years to helping people nationwide with mortgage loan and credit management. Please visit www.forgetyourdebt.net to find out how John may be able to help you.

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The Six Steps to Financial Independence – Part 1