Do-It-Yourself Financial Counseling

/Creating Wealth by Robert G Allen/

Step 1: Determine what you are trying accomplish

Knowing where you're going is more important than how much you have at the start.

Step 2: Once you are know where you are going, focus all of your resources to accomplish your objective

Financial Resources:
1. Cash and "near cash"
2. Credit
3. Financial statement
4. Cash flow

Nonfinancial Resources:
1. Time
2. Knowledge
3. People
4. Courage

Step 3: List all feasible alternatives to reaching your goal using your resources
1. If you don't have it, you can get it.
2. Try to use your own cash last.
3. When you resort to borrowing, always borrow the cheapest dollars first.
4. If you do borrow against your equity - in your home, for instance 0 only borrow an amount with monthly payments equal to the amount you can afford to repay out of your present monthly income.
5. Start out slowly when using leverage.