Your Financial Check-up: How a Personal Financial Analysis Will Move You Forward
Imagine having a better understanding of your financial health. Knowing where your strengths and weaknesses are and being able to identify critical areas that you can improve upon. Imagine the clarity of your financial picture - knowing all your expenses, income, assets and liabilities. Having this understanding could help you budget better, and allow for more awareness of your spending habits. Imagine being able to reduce your debt, and avoid creating new debt in order to get more balance and stability as you work toward your financial and/or retirement goals.
Procrastination, lack of immediate results, lack of knowledge and perceived complexity seem to be common reasons why many people don’t invest the time to analyze their financial situation. Still after 10 years of helping families like yours define and meet their financial goals, I am dedicated to making this process as painless as possible.
There are three core elements of analyzing your finances that will help give you the clarity on where you are, where you want to go and how to get there:
What is the end in mind? Where do you want to be financially in the next 5 years?
What is your current financial state? Consider all things financials - income, expenses, debt and assets.
How are you going to get to your “end in mind”? What progressive steps can you take to get as close as possible to your ideal financial future? *Hint: I highly recommend working with a financial professional, like myself :), who can help you with options that you probably have never considered.
Let’s break it down:
What is the end in mind? In Stephen Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, he suggests taking a moment to imagine what the end in mind looks like - no limits and bounds to what your vision is, and then work toward that to give you direction. In the context of financials, you’ll want to consider the following: What are your goals and dreams? Do you want to make a major purchase? Do you want to pay off your credit card debt? Start a business? Pay for education? What might your income need to be? What do you want your bank accounts to look like? What kind of debt will you have? What assets will you have? Where will you live? What kind of expenses will you have? Would you maintain the same lifestyle as you have today in retirement? What age would you want to start retirement?
What is your current financial situation? What is your current income - including salary, bonuses, commissions, interests & dividends, alimony, child support, rental income, annuity and pension income, etc. Are there any anticipated future incomes to consider? What are your monthly expenses? What are your discretionary expenses? How much do you need monthly in case of an emergency? How much do you already have?
How will you get as close as possible to “the end in mind”. How do you plan to preserve wealth? Do you have a Will and Trust, or expect to receive a lump sum or inheritance in the near future. What has been your experience with finance and investments? What is the largest financial headache that you would want taken away? What is the urgency?
Achieving financial clarity and stability does not have to be complex, hard or impossible. It is completely within your reach. Get a good grasp around your current financial situation, set clear goals for the future, and take practical steps towards those goals. You can transform your financial health. Imagine the peace of mind that comes from knowing exactly where you stand financially, and having a clear plan to reduce debt, manage expenses, and build towards your retirement goals.
Be aware that procrastination, perceived complexity, or lack of knowledge can hold you back. Again, with over 10 years of experience helping families make financial progress, I am here to make this process as easy and confusion-free as possible!
Start today and work with me to help you imagine your financial future, assess your current situation, and outline the steps to get there. Doing a Financial Analysis with a professional, like myself, will provide valuable insights and options you may not have considered or known about. Take full control of your financial “end game” and move towards a balanced and secure future with power and confidence.
Financial Analysis and Retirement Planning Consultations are FREE! For more information visit www.kwesichildress.com. Call me directly at (310) 256-7377 or send an email to kchildress@cigbh.com to book an appointment today!
I’m Kwesi Childress,
CEO & Founder of Kwesi Childress Financial Consulting!
I write about strategies to enhance your retirement savings and options for financial growth potential. I’m passionate about helping families of all ages, backgrounds and walks of life, plan for retirement and create generational wealth with power and confidence.