Creating a Balance In Your Financial Life
By Stanley B. Greenfield, RHU

Here is a quick question for you. Give me a nine-letter word that has vertical symmetry. This means if you wrote the word down and held a mirror above it, you could still read the word upside down. Can you think of a word?

This is a toughie! The word is “CHECKBOOK.” Interesting isn’t it? Are you wondering if this observation has any connection to financial matters? Believe it or not, it certainly does. The word symmetry (as in vertical symmetry) has an interesting definition. The definition is “balance.” Do you see the connection?

Here is another question for you. How is your checkbook? Does it have balance? Balance not only in the fact that at the end of the month all the checks and deposits are correct, but that you have a balance in your financial life so a disproportionate amount of your money isn’t going to others.

If you don’t have balance in your checkbook, then maybe it is time to start gaining some balance so you can enjoy some of the fruits of your labor.

Good Places to Start
A good place to begin to gain some balance in your checkbook would be by starting a “Cash, Emergency or Opportunity Fund.” This money should be put into a money-market account. An ideal amount to work toward would be $10,000. This is money that is “extra,” so that you will not need it next week or next month to cover bills.

The next step would be to set up a money market account to pay your quarterly estimates to the IRS. Wouldn’t it be nice to have the cash you need on-hand to pay these when they are due instead of running around trying to dig up the cash needed every time?

In order to build this account, every time you write yourself a check, also write one to a money market account for no less than 20% of the amount you wrote to yourself. This money market should be a separate one from the “Opportunity Fund” mentioned earlier. These two small steps will save you a lot of aggravation and will add some “balance” to your checkbook.

The next step is to take a look at all of your outstanding loans and see if you have them under control. Do you have a list of all your loans? Do you know what the total is and what the current interest rates are? How about the terms of the loans? Have you tried to talk to the lenders and see if they would restructure them to make them easier for you? How about getting them to lower the interest rates? You need to know all of this information so you are in control of these loans.

Okay, so you now have a money market established to cover emergencies and opportunities, and you have another one to make sure you have the money to pay your quarterly estimates when they are due. You also have a handle on your debt structure and have checked to see if it can be restructured to make it better for you. Now let’s look at some other financial issues.

Planning Ahead
How about establishing a retirement fund? One day that may come in handy! I know you have bills and you probably want to get them out of the way first. However, you will always have bills, but you won’t always have the time to put away money for your retirement. You need to start or grow that fund now, so time can make compound interest work for you. Every little bit helps.

What type of plan is the best one? That depends on your particular situation. When do you plan to retire? How much do you want at retirement? How much can you contribute to a plan now? Do you want to make contributions for employees? Do you want a tax deduction on the contributions now or a tax-free income at retirement? What current assets do you now own that can be used to partially fund your retirement? These are just a few of the questions you should be asking and answering.

If you take the few steps mentioned here, you will be well on the way to gaining some balance in your checkbook. Both you and your checkbook need vertical symmetry. The time to start this project is now.

Mr. Greenfield has worked in the fields of financial management and insurance for nearly 40 years. He is a registered financial consultant and a registered professional disability and health insurance underwriter (RHU). He is president of Greenfield’s Financial Power Program and offers financial and practice management services to the chiropractic community. He can be reached at 800-585-1555.