Success leaves a trail. One of the easiest ways to have your own success is to follow where others have gone before. We all have different goals and come from different circumstances, but there are five basic steps that will ensure the best possible results for everyone, no matter where you are now.
These five STEPS are:
S Starting point.T Team.E Evaluation strategy.P Plan and path.S Starting point (reevaluation).
S Is for Starting Point
First, you need to know where you are. It’s like having to get on the scales before you start a new diet—you might not want to really know what the numbers say, but you do need to know your starting point.
That’s just how it is for your financial plan. Your best results will remember: The members of your team will help you or harm you as you follow your own financial dream.
Come when you can take a realistic look at where you are financially— without excuses, blame, or justifications. Find out where you are, so you can plot an accurate course to where you want to be!
T Is for Team
After you have a good idea of where you are, you will need to start to think about the members you need for your financial team. Most likely, the main members of your team initially will be advisors, educators, and mentors. But your team can also include customers, clients, vendors, business alliances, and friends, among others. You can make conscious choices about the members of your team. You can learn how to evaluate what you need and how these people will fit into your plan. Finally, you can recognize the hidden influences they have on decisions you have made and will make in the future.
E Is for Evaluation/Strategy
After you know where you are and begin to assemble your team, it is time to call on your advisors to help you evaluate your situation and design a personalized strategy for you to achieve your goals. No one team member—your tax strategist, bookkeeper, legal counsel, or financial planner—will make all of the decisions. It is through the cooperative work of your whole team that you will receive the best advice and plan creation.
P Is for Plan and Path
After S, T, and E, you now need to move forward on the path and implement the strategy designed. This can be the hardest part as you move into previously unknown financial waters. You will want to make sure that the team you have in place has experience in the necessary areas
S is for starting point—Understand your financial story.
T is for team—Build a team that supports your goals.
E is for evaluation—With your team, construct a tax loopholes strategy.
P is for path—Create an action plan to implement your tax loop-holes strategy.
S is for starting point— Look at your new financial statements. What worked? What didn’t work? And can give you good advice based on their personal education, experience, and special skills.
S Is for Starting Point (Reevaluation)
You’ve taken the first four steps and now you need to again evaluate where you are. Just like a rocket going to the moon needs continual calculations to keep it on its path, you must constantly evaluate where you are and where you are going to ensure that you reach your goals.
By taking the time to thoughtfully consider where you are and where you’ve come from, you put yourself in a position to achieve the optimum results.
These five STEPS to financial freedom can start you and your family on the path to financial freedom today.
