A Life Change For Babyboomers By Sharon Iremonger At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Many people fore go the planning required to prepare for retirement. You have to stop losing and make money from your investments to build a solid foundation to ensure you provide a very sustainable income in retirement. You probably think I will give you the "holy grail" of investing the one thing that will make you millions. Instead I will ask you a simple question - "Do you have a budget?" If you are like most people, you probably think a budget will restrict your spending, hamper your lifestyle and generally make you miserable. None of this is true - a budget is simply a financial plan to succeed.

A budget lists your income and expenses, lays the foundation as to how you either invest or spend your money. It allows you to have more freedom, more security and more wealth. It provides you with the flexibility to plan for the future. Most people do not have a budget. However, without a budget how do you know how much you are actually spending, or more importantly how much you can save? I started a few years ago when I realized my situation was not good. A divorce still working and nothing to show for it. Yes, a babyboomer still living the good life. I started by writing down everything I spent and kept a list. I don't expect you to go to this extreme - this is how I started.

Next thing I did was to go to my favorite ebook superstore cb deluxe for research and assistance - most all started with budgeting! I knew I was on the right track. I didn't get a wake up call until I received my group certificate at the end of the financial year and thought "wow I got paid that much?" What did I do with it? Only when spending habits are quantified do you know how much you can save. I do not know anyone (including me) that could not save at least 10% of their income after completing a budget. Most can in fact save 20% to 30% of their income and still maintain a good lifestyle.

When you begin to budget you realize how much money is wasted through uncontrolled spending. Silly things - like do you need 10 magazines a week, another black jacket, expensive face creams and so on! All silly really so I'm not talking living on the smell of an oil rag just cutting back and thinking before spending.

Budgeting is like your road map to financial independence - it provides you with a plan of attack that allows you to create your preferred reality. The bottom line is a budget which will allow you to allocate your income appropriately so that you stop losing and start making money. My advise to you is to set some time aside to create a budget to quantify your spending so that you can begin to invest your income wisely. I am now in the process, after having set myself a budget, of looking at ways to making more money in my spare time but that's another story! More can be found on my blog http://gr8riches.com/gr8blog

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