Life Stage Planning: A guide for your journey

Achieving financial goals is like running a marathon. It starts with small steps and gradually builds as you learn how to discipline yourself. Each step along the way brings a sense of achievement. Each financial accomplishment builds understanding and self-confidence, which prepares you for another success and the one after that. For a beginner, the prospect of a 26-mile race is daunting. Those who pull it off start by doing some serious research, getting the right gear, eating proper diet, training, and finding a coach or mentor who can improve their chances of being successful. They set reasonable goals and have patience. It is not always easy, but a disciplined approach allows them to reach a point where they enjoy running. The attitudes that make a novice into a successful marathon runner are similar to the ways successful investors approach finances. Preparation and planning makes it possible to reach their goals.

Understanding strategies for each stage of your life will help build sound financial plans that make your goals achievable. While events like remarrying or changing careers can happen at any time, most investors need to understand three main life stages.