Finances

WHERE DO YOU WANT TO BE ___ YEARS FROM NOW?

A study was done on the graduates of a prestigious college 20 years after they graduated. Those who had written down a plan of what they wanted to achieve were over four times as likely to have been successful as those who did not develop a written plan.

What should be in a written plan? First you should determine several plans that will be parallel and will have a varying degree of detail and sophistication Not everyone should have the same plan or the same goals.

Let's start with a one year household plan: First make a list of everything you can think of. The list should include things that must be done as well as a wish list of things that you hope will get done. to establish a concrete example this is the list I made up with my wife: Replace the boards on our upper deck. Get new drapes. Replace the laundry room floor. Waterproof the lower deck. Shift the master BR with the room I now use as a office. Get a new liner for the waterbed. Take a trip to Washington DC to visit our daughter and new grandchild. Get the transmission and oil gaskets fixed on the camper. Save enough for a down payment on a new car for Sandy. Save enough to pay our part of our daughters last year of college. Get in two camping/fishing trips with my sister and her husband. Then there is the new computer for business and some digital photography when a digital cameras makes it's way into next year's budget. This is our one year plan. This is a ambitious list but we can't overlook that new items will have to fit in as they come up. With this list in place the new items can be prioritized with the items we planned for.

How about a five year plan? Our home is 20 years old and we can expect to do more repairs and replacements. Some things like carpet can be delayed for several years but we can be sure that things like appliances, the furnace or the water softener will start to die one by one. A new roof, new siding and new windows should be able to wait till the mortgage is paid off in two years but they will probably have to fit into the next five years.

How about planning for personal development? I now read about 4-6 good books per year and I would like to increase that by at least one or two books. I also hope to learn at least two new computer programs. Both Sandy and I need to develop a plan to get more exercise and eat more healthy foods.

With the random list we created the next step is to assign a priority and a dollar amount to each item. Will everything get done? Probably not but when we make a list a lot more gets done than when we don't have a plan.

Job and career planning is the hardest step of all and the most important. First let me suggest a book that is the best I have read on the subject: "What Color is Your Parachute?" It is published annually and should cost less than $15. Basically this book suggests several lists and guides you through the development of each list. You need to list your desires and accomplishments. Then you list your goals or dreams. What resources do you have or need to develop? Then what are the big and little steps you need to take to get where you want to be. When you take bite sized steps and affirm yourself along the way for each step you will be amazed what you can accomplish.

You are a special creation and your goals and plans are special. The goal is to be the best you can and want to be. Some can't and shouldn't settle for less then being a Wall Street stockbroker or a Surgeon while for others like my father being the best warehouseman in his field was a source of pride and accomplishment. Our God gave us each special and precious talents and those determine the range of choices we have to work with. Whether you have one talent or ten what is important is how you use the gifts you have been given. Our God is no respector of persons. There is no such thing as lowly persons or work in His sight. I have heard it said, "Be careful what you wish for. You may get it." Be proud of what you are, not what you think you should be.

Bob Berens, Copyright Pending

Support Love Lines
now with your
credit card

Friends...