Without a doubt the #1 biggest mistake most people make on their road to financial freedom is that they don’t have a clear, well thought out, workable financial plan designed to get them there. In fact they usually do not have any plan at all. And as the wise and humorous American statesman, inventor and philosopher Benjamin Franklin once quite bluntly quipped, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!” Which means, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to appreciate just how vital planning is when it comes to realising your financial goals and dreams.

However, what I have found over the years is that no amount of information, suggestion, or even insistence a financial advisor, wealth coach or mortgage broker drums into the minds of their clients, they simply can’t force someone to plan. Because, ultimately the understanding and awareness of the need for planning has to come from within the individual themselves, otherwise it just won’t happen.  And unfortunately, even if they could push a client into creating a plan, they certainly couldn’t make them stick to it.

So, in the end it comes back to you and your resolve to either choose to be on what I call the Learning Team in life or the Winning Team. The choice is up to you. Furthermore, in regards to reaching financial freedom, history shows it is usually those who plan and prepare for their future whilst they are living their lives today, who end up on the Winning Team. And if you have any doubt as to which team you’re on right now, check out the 6 key differences between members of the Learning and Winning Teams…

• They don’t know where they are going or often why they are even working.
• They don’t know who they work for.
• They don’t know where to look for advice.
• They want instant gratification and will live above their means to get it.
• They confuse good current income with long-term financial independence.
• They don’t have a lifetime plan.

• They know where they want to go.
• They are prepared to temporarily forgo some things they like to do for the one thing they must do.
• They realise there are three controlling factors which are going to largely determine how far they go in life financially. These are: personal effort and ingenuity; the amount of capital invested; and time.
• They are willing to learn and they actively seek advice.
• They realise that their financial position is far more a function of planning than a function of income.
• They have a personal plan to utilise capital, personal efforts and time.

Therefore, if you don’t have a plan and would like some advice on how to create one to move you forward with your home ownership and real estate dreams, feel free to give us a call. And if you do have a plan, I love this quote from General George S. Patton.

“A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.”

To your planning success,

Regards,

Harry