I have been a financial advisor for over twelve years and I have noticed a common theme among clients who have accumulated wealth over time. That theme is monthly savings. This savings might be in the form of employer sponsored retirement plans or just individual savings. There is something powerful about the habit of forced monthly savings.
In my own experience, I have set a goal of paying off my home mortgage early. Originally, my plan was to reduce my mortgage in larger chunks as I had the savings available to do so. After following this plan for over a year, I quickly came to the conclusion that I never had the "excess" funds.
For me, it took setting a goal to pay off a significant part of my mortgage debt within three years. And then factoring in how much extra I would need to pay monthly to reach my three year goal. It is amazing how much more effective forced monthly payments are for retiring debt and saving for short-term and long-term goals.
Keep in mind these principles:
- Give to God first
- Pay yourself second- forced monthly savings.
- Pay cash for everything that you can- homes and businesses may be an exception.
- Aggressively retire debt, save or give with excess monthly income.
Ashley Hodge
No comments:
Post a Comment