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plan for your future money is more likely a means to a variety of ends for you—goals going beyond day-to-day survival. And, as with your business, the key to successful financial management of your personal life is to clearly define your goals. Be specific. Your goals should be clearly defined so it's easy to measure your progress and to make adjustments as necessary. Set both short-term and longterm goals. A one-year goal might be to save enough money for a down payment on a new car or to take a vacation. A five-year goal might be to save a down payment for a house. A 10-year goal might be to save for your children's education. A 20-year goal might be to retire. Each of those goals come with specific price tags, and financial planning is about assigning specific dollar figures to your hopes and dreams, then delineating concrete steps you will take to reach these targets. Write your goals down, and keep them where you will refer to them on a regular basis. At a minimum, set aside time once a year to assess whether your goals have changed and how well you are doing at achieving them. Your Current Situation Understanding your current financial situation is the first step to any financial plan. Whether or not you seek the advice of a financial planner, you will need solid information about your current financial situation. Just as you can map out the financial condition of your business by creating income and cash flow statements, you can map out your personal finances by charting your income and expenses and by evaluating your current net worth—assets minus debts. Make A Road Map To Your Destination(s) Once you have a clear picture of your current finances, your task is to find the money you will need to set aside in order to reach your financial goals. This may sound impossible. More than half of Americans spend all (or a little more than all) of the money they make each month. Financial planners recommend you take the "pay yourself first" approach to financial planning, budgeting a specific amount of your net income for savings (say, 10 percent) before paying anything else. Start Saving And Investing Right Away Financial planning experts agree that the sooner you begin, the greater your chances of reaching your goals. Every dollar you save or invest now is worth many times more than a dollar saved or invested 10 years from now. The sooner you start, the more time your money has to grow. Even if you're older, this principle remains true. Get Help Good financial planning is a complex mixture of debt reduction, budgeting, investing, saving, and spending money wisely. Take advantage of the resources available in books and on the Internet to learn more about good personal Tax Sheltered Retirement Accounts For self-employed people, there are multiple choices for tax sheltered retirement accounts: the traditional IRA, the Roth IRA, the Simplified Employee Pension Individual Retirement Account (SEP-IRA), the Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE), or the Qualified Retirement Plan, also called a Keogh Plan. All four provide a tax shelter for retirement savings. All four also have penalties for early withdrawals. A good resource for information about how to choose among these alternatives is IRS publication 560, Retirement Plans for Small Business. The retirement savings vehicle chosen by most has been individual retirement accounts (IRAs), first authorized in 1974. IRAs are easy to set up. Almost any bank or brokerage firm will be pleased to establish your IRA and will have simple forms ready for you to fill out. financial management. If you can afford it, an initial consultation with a financial planner can help get you started on the right foot. But be aware that requirements for certification and training for people billing themselves as "financial planners" vary from state to state, and be sure to check the references and credentials of anyone before you pay for the consulting. SPH