To Reach an End, There Must Be a Beginning.

Before Ever Investing:

The first step is to begin with establishing something called an EMERGENCY FUND (3-6 months of living expenses). There are many reasons to do so. The main one is so if/when a dramatic event in your life takes place, you can cover those expenses. I would recommend personally a 6 month emergency fund depending on your job security. Another benefit is that doing so can help aleviate the emotions tied to your invested assets. There is only one thing that we can guarantee in this business: THE MARKETS WILL FLUCTUATE, and they tend to be tied to emotion in the extremes of the cycle (Closer to the top or bottoming process). The long term picture is bright, but no one has a crystal ball to tell you what will happen in 6 months so having the emergency fund allows you to focus on the LT future instead of what happens today. Success in the investing world is done not by trading, but waiting. Patience is a virtue and the emergency fund allows you to stay patient.

Discover Your Goal:

This is no different than in life, having goals for your future self is extremely important and should be unique to what you want. Someone might want to have a vacation home in Hawaii, the person next to them might want to move somewhere quiet to relax. Others could want to help their loved ones receive an education. The specific goal matters less than simply having goals. Our job is to help clients plan for these goals in the way they are comfortable with obtaining them. We help clients develop a path to be proactive in reaching those goals, making sure they are still on their way to financial freedom.

Take Action:

Taking action involves discipline and execution. You need discipline because to have a successful financial future you cannot work for money, you must make money work for you.

You accomplish this by saving before you spend then finding a way to invest those savings (the savings beyond the emergency fund).

Lastly, diversification is key. Never put all your eggs in one basket (great example can be only investing in your personal home). Note that diversification and asset allocation do not ensure a profit or protect against a loss.