Never Too Early To Plan

Nowadays, no matter in which part of the world you happen to live, the cost of living is so high and increases so quickly that you could literally be struggling to keep afloat financially. It would be worse if you happen to be a young parent with school-going kids to support.

Time goes by so quickly that before you realize it, your kids are on the brink of finishing school and ready to go to college ... ready, that is, if you have been setting aside an education fund to finance their tertiary education. Like they say, money doesn't grow on trees. In order to have the necessary funds for any purpose, one should have a financial plan mapped out and should execute the plan religiously (with variations adapted to meet changing circumstances, if need be). Typically, a prudent person will have activated his/her financial plan for ten to fifteen years by the time his/her children are ready to embark on their university education.

On a slightly longer term basis, all of us should also have a financial plan to cater for the day we retire from our fulltime employment or from our business. Management writers usually prefer to use the phrase "exit strategy" to describe this event. Again, no matter how you wish to describe your retirement, the event itself does have a very significant financial impact for a lot of us. To be comfortably off, in terms of enjoying the same life-style that we are accustomed to and to be able to pursue our life-long interests, is an option that we have to plan for. Speaking from experience, I can categorically say that it is never too early to plan.

Your thoughts on the above subject are most welcome.