Financial planning is similar to long distance running

Set your goals, prepare for the worst and off you go.

13:06 19 November 2014

Just as an athlete prepares and commences on a 5km race, so does any person who is starting a personal finance management program. These two people have lots of common things right from the way they prepare, how they start, how they proceed and how they hit the finishing line. 

 

Let us look at some of the lessons a person looking forward to planning should learn from an athlete.

 

• You need to prepare to your best. Preparations and exercises are a very important contributing factor to the success or failure of an athlete. If he practices poorly, definitely he will not make it to the finishing line a winner. Similarly, a person who is starting financial planning requires thorough preparation. He needs to pool all his funds together, have prior knowledge of his resources, have knowledge of the market, and know the potential risks and most of all be prepared mentally to do this. You will have to set realistic goals, make a clear budget, have a well-planned savings plan and concentrate on beating your own personal achievement. Most importantly, you do not have to compete with others.

 

• Discipline is the key. An undisciplined athlete will no doubt be kicked out of the race; meaning he will have lost the race even before he gets to the finishing line. Anytime you are planning to manage your finances, you will have to instill lots of personal discipline. When it comes to saving, do it without failure, when it comes to budgeting, follow your budget to the letter. Focus on your achievements and have a time frame and program to accomplish what you have not achieved.

 

As you have seen, both financial planning and running have very simple rules. Wealth building takes years of practice and determination and so does running. Endurance is the name of the game. Set your goals, form a strategy and execute it persistently.