The goal of financial planning and a written financial plan are to make your money goals a reality. With smart financial planning and long term investing you can save a modest amount each month, and end up with the financial assets to retire comfortably in 30 years or less. Financial planning and developing a financial plan will help an investor identify their goals and create a long term investment strategy for achieving them.

Think of a financial plan as a written planning guide to remind you of what you want, where financially you want to be in the future, and what it will take to get there. A comprehensive financial plan will include many of the following parts:

• A personal net worth statement—a snapshot of what you own and what you owe. This will help you know exactly where you stand, and also give you a benchmark against which you can measure your progress.
• Cash flow is essentially income minus expenses—exactly how much money comes in and goes out every year, and understand if it is sustainable in the long term. The foundation for a budget includes identifying fixed and what’s discretionary expenses and if necessary, devise a debt management plan.
• A budget–helps to manage your money, to consider your immediate needs and wants, and to prepare you to achieve your long-term financial goals
• An Emergency fund–ensure adequate cash on hand to cover three to six months of living expenses to handle any unplanned expenses or loss of income.
• A debt management plan—is a crucial part of becoming financially responsibilities. Debt can be used smartly to achieve one’s financial goals, or debt can be used poorly to buy things a person may not need with money he or she does not have.
• A retirement plan—specifying how much you need to save each year to achieve the lifestyle you and your family hope to maintain. This includes a recommendation on how best to maximize Social Security benefits, to incorporate any pension funds and to utilize personal savings.
• An analysis of how current investment portfolio aligns with short, intermediate and long-term goals.
• A plan for college education funding offspring.
• A review of employee benefits, including equity compensation or deferred income planning.
• A review of insurance coverage—the key is to make sure that you have the right types and amounts and that you aren’t paying for unnecessary coverage.
• Planning for special needs—for a child, parent, or other dependent.
• Recommendations for creating or updating your estate plan, including charitable giving and legacy planning.

This morning, we awoke to the financial entertainment news hysteria [trying to sell ads] that the Federal Funds interest rate yield curve briefly inverted for the first time since 2007.  Inverted yield curve does not cause a recession, but typically forewarns of a economic recession within eleven to eighteen months of the inversion.  Many of the financial entertainment network commentators and financial pundits appear to imply that the “world is dire” economically due to the inverted yield curve and talked incessantly that a ‘big-bad’ recession is on the horizon for the U.S.

Source: CNBC Squawk Alley

Inversion of the yield curve occurs when the longer term 10 year U.S. bond interest rate falls below the shorter 2 year U.S. bond interest rate.  Historically, a recession does not occur without an inverted treasure  yield curve.  However, investor should be aware that recessions are a normal part of the economic cycle.  And, no one, not even Noble Prize winning economist can predict if or when a recession will arrive on the doorstep of the U.S. economy. 

Even with an inverted treasury yield curve, the stock market can still go up as much as four present in the twelve months following an inversion since economic expansion tends to continue.  Currently, the U.S. economy continues to expand, although the rate of growth is slowing or decelerating.  

The news of the yield curve coupled with slowing economic growth in China and Europe, the turmoil in Hong Kong, and U.S. – China trade tensions have spooked traders causing equity markets, specifically the Dow and S&P 500, to tumble. 

Advice for investors is to stay invested for the long term and review your financial plan.  Eventually, there will be a recession…that is certain since it is a normal phase of the economic cycle.  Whether it is a direct result of today’s new regarding the inverted U.S. Treasury yield curve is anyone’s guess.  

Trust and believe in yourself!

The power of never giving up is a necessity for success because success isn’t supposed to be easy. Most people give up way too soon. To achieve something great, a person can’t be afraid of failing. People must learn how to keep going when it seems impossible to continue.

“There is no failure except in no longer trying.” ― Elbert Hubbard

The only way to truly fail is to quit. To be successful…never quit. The most successful people are the ones that failed the most and quickest.

https://youtu.be/u01C3DIMG-Y

Fear and quitting are the top two reasons many people never realize success or achieve their dreams. Don’t ever give up or quit on your dreams.

Fear of failure, fear of rejection, or the fear of the unknown hold people back from living their best lives. In order to overcome fear, people must be willing and even eager to take calculated risks from time to time and stop playing it safe. Otherwise, an individual will live a life or end up filled with regret.

Life is short to not live life to its fullest; not to live one’s best life. People never know when the end of your life will happen. So, don’t get so caught up day-to-day living that you let life pass by. Tell people how much they mean to you. Travel, laugh, have fun. Don’t wait until it’s too late to do everything you’ve ever wanted to do. Life is short, don’t forget to enjoy it.

Live the best life, we must overcome and free ourselves from bitterness. Focus on what you need to focus on. Take Personal responsibility, it is what you choose to do:

1. Let it go!

An individual can’t keep blaming the past for their current predicament.

• Get rid of all bitterness.
• Bitterness hinders the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.
• Bitterness is deep seated anger that comes from hurt.
• Never base forgiveness on restitution or the actions of others.
• Forgiveness must be based on one’s own choices and actions. For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
• Whatever you pray for, believe you’ll receive it. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.
• Live in the power of forgiveness.
• Jesus said…Father forgive them, they do not know what they do.

2. Live it Up!

• Stop living in the past; start living in the present.
• Seek the peace and prosperity of that city;
• Increase and don’t decrease.
• Build something. Plant something.
• Enjoy the land of abundance.
• Bitterness keeps us from abundance; Forgiveness leads us to abundance.

3. Look Ahead!

• Whatever that difficult season is will end.
• God will bring you back to peace, prosperity and abundance.
• Don’t be a victim of your past. Be a visionary of your future.
• I can do all things through Christ whom strengthens me.
• Be a Visionary of your Future.

Source: Jeremiah 29:4-11