Thursday, October 30, 2008

Financial Planning - Don't Make it More Difficult Than Necessary

By William Blake

There are many television programs on today regarding financial planning. These programs usually give good advice that can be used in your life to improve your financial situation.

Usually the advice they give can be quite helpful. It is rare that these programs will mislead you.

Because much of financial planning is just good sense of judgement and practical knowledge the advice given is rarely that difficult to understand. Sometimes the accountants and fancy financial advisors may intimidate you. It can make it seem much more difficult than it really is.

Financial advisors and credit counselors are everywhere ready to lend their services, usually free of charge. So why do we find so many Americans so deep in debt and why can't they seem to dig their way out?

Some people only submit to the advice of a credit counselor or other advisor during crisis time. When the crisis passes they slip right back into their old financial ways. There is no way to really improve your financial situation doing that. You must be determined to get with a program and stick with it for the long haul.

You could liken it to a farmer. He only has success if he is consistently working in his farm, weeding and watering and doing whatever necessary to care for his crop. If he only worked every once and a while would he have a successful crop? It is the same principle with dealing with finances. It is important to work hard on a daily basis to maintain your finances.

Take control today by determining that you will only spend what you have. No more credit purchases. Work to pay off your credit card balances. If possible, transfer for balances to a lower interest credit card.

Simplify your life by getting rid of unnecessary things. If you sell these things you can use the proceeds to pay off some of your debt. Work to pay your debt off completely and quickly. Only use credit in an emergency situation. You will be amazed how much these few things will change your life.

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