Financial Planning; helpful thoughts!

The process involves making choices between now and later; looking at the constraints we put on ourselves and reaching for the highest outcomes. You begin by determining your specific goals.The challenge for many individuals and families is the first stage of the process,discovering their real goals and deepest-felt personal values. The perfect example is the decision whether to pay off your mortgage early by increasing your mortgage payment amount. A strong financial argument might be made to not pay off your mortgage early, but instead to continue taking the mortgage interest deduction while investing the money that would otherwise would have gone for early repayment. Check with your tax advisor before considering both strategies because circumstances have change since the Trump tax cuts have went into effect and the maximum interest deduction is now $10,000. But on the other hand, there's also a strong argument to reduce theterm of your mortgage, resulting in significant interest expense savings. Maybe you strongly dislike debt and would be much happier to have an early mortgage-payoff party. In your case, your personal value of minimizing debt and reducing interest costs should probably be your top priority, versus letting the financial strategy of tax-savings or personal investments drive your planning.Personally, i ask my clients a series of questions to help them to dream about different possibilities, then we identify what matters, and finally, we then help you to focus on what specific goals can help you to achieve your financial plan. Once we establish the priorities that are important for you, we can then assign specific details and quantities to the goals to be included in your financial plan. Here are a few additional tips for discovering your real goals as you begin the financial planning process. So Begin by asking yourself, what do i really want my money to do for me? What is really important in my life? Be specific and write them down , because most successful people have written goals. Discuss them with your friends, partner, loved ones, and your spouse.Concentrate on achieving your goals - once you have determined your initial goals for your plan, it is time to begin the process of reaching your goals. You can think of the financial process as a journey, you can prepare for that journey by marking the road map where you are today and where is the destinations you want to reach tomorrow. These destinations can represent ant life dreams and goals that involves your finances. Which might include buying a home, starting a family, building an emergency fund, reducing personal debt, funding your children's college education or your daughters wedding, starting your own business or taking care of your elderly parents, changing careers, taking a exotic vacation or retiring comfortably. In closing, the specific destinations are up to you! But, without marking them on your map, you will not know how to get there and will end up missing many of them. Also, keep in mind that some of the destinations may change during life trip, or you may add new ones. Good Financial Planning, just like good vacation planning is always flexible.Thank you,John C. Verducci 111