Word of the Day...

is Balance. From the DLM Blog:

13 Things You Must Balance in Your Life!

Posted: 21 Feb 2009 04:35 PM PST

It’s not easy to stay balanced. In fact, we live in a very cluttered and unbalanced world and I'd contend that many of us can't even identify the areas of our life that need attention (let alone balance them!).

Admittedly, it's very easy to get into this state. A typical person goes through a very similar routine every day: wake up, eat, work, eat, sleep...do over. If you don't work in a little time to at least think about the varying aspects of your life, it's incredibly simple to lose balance.

Give these 13 points a little consideration. When was the last time you made a conscious effort to improve in these areas?

• Your Spending
  Spending too much? Most Americans do. Take a good look at your monthly outflow of cash and trim where you can. But, don’t be so cheap that you're cutting out birthday gifts or being rude at occasions. Remember, we are not taking our money with us!


• Your Time
  This is not always easy and even the best of us work too much and don’t stop and smell the roses. Unfortunately your time is a limited resource. Seek balance!
  


• Your Diet
  No breakfast and a big dinner - that’s the way a lot of people eat and the opposite is usually a lot better for you! Big Breakfast and small dinner is a better balance for most of us.
  


• Your Checkbook
  Little deliberate actions really add up (pardon the pun) when it comes to mastering your personal finances. Does your checkbook match what the bank says?
  


• Your Children
  Making certain that your children are balanced people and that they give and take, study and enjoy, watch TV and read.
  


• Your Meals
  Too many carbs and not enough healthy fats, or too much fat and not enough carbs. There is really nothing wrong with a little junk food once in a while, but there is definitely something wrong with junk food all the time.
  


• Your Net Worth
  This is a balance sheet: Your assets – Liabilities = Net Worth
  The formula always balances out, but it should be calculated from time to time. Ideally, you'd see an increase in your net worth each year.
  


• Your Relationships
  Do your friends drain you? Do you drain them? Good friendships are balanced, thought provoking, informative, enjoyable and a little challenging.
  


• The Tires on your Car!
  Too many people miss this one! It can save you thousands in gasoline over the course of your life and make you a little safer too.
  


• Your Goals
  They shouldn’t be too hard and impossible, but yet challenging enough to excite and stretch you.
  


• Education and Action
  Too much action without education can lead to major mistakes and pitfalls. Not enough action on things we learn can be lost education. You either use it, or lose it, when it comes to education.
  


• Positives and Negatives
  Too much positive feedback can kill us, we need some negative feedback too (constructive analysis/criticism). If you are not getting negative feedback, ask more people to critique your work.
  


• Your Portfolio
  A balance between stocks and bonds, and then rebalancing as you age is a must to meeting your life long financial goals.

As a veteran financial planner, reader and someone who cares about people very deeply. I have noticed the real value of balance over and over again, especially when it comes to your finances and investing. In the world of investing, there are complicated formulas that prove being balanced is the way to go, and yet you go through this list and you realize that it is really just common sense.

Written on 2/21/2009 by Bob O'Brien. Bob has been a financial advisor for 14 years and is a Sr. Instructor at Mywealth.com.

Photo Credit: NCinDC