All over the world people are turning into little squirrels. They are gathering up their nuts and seeds and stuffing them away for "spring." They are passing up opportunities to conserve what little they have left because they do not want to be left with nothing at all when this economy turns around. This is absolutely the wrong thing to be doing right now. While of course people should be shoring up their financial situation, they should not be ducking their heads in the sand and hiding money in the mattress.



The first thing you should do is form a clear and concise plan of what your goals and objectives are for the next three years. Your plan should include a very precise snapshot of where you are financially right NOW! If you have not been keeping careful track on your monthly expenses and income you have some work to do. You cannot change anything until you first know where you are. Once you have that baseline you can decide where you would like to be in three years. Start off with thinking of the amount of income you would like to have and the different things you would like to have in your life: a new car, home, toys, charitable giving, money for your child's school etc. Once you have thought about these things then figure out how much each of these things will cost you. With your current financial snapshot and your "dream" list completed you then are in a position to figure out how much you need to earn to accomplish those goals in three years. The more income you want, the higher level of service or "effort" will be required on your part.

You will want to build into your plan both a way to reduce your debt and a way to build up your wealth. Take your current income and apportion it in a way you feel comfortable to accomplish these goals. Make sure to include a reoccurring monthly amount for starting a business or investment account. If you solely focus on eliminating debt you will freeze yourself into not being able to act on business opportunities until you have all your debt paid off. This cycle gets you no where. You will have no savings and never be able to act on your goals and dreams. We all know the debt cycle. Somehow just when you are almost finished paying everything off... boom the car breaks down or someone needs braces. By having a monthly wealth building account you have money set aside to invest and grow a business.

While your wealth building account grows you want to keep an eye out for bargains and potential ways to either grow your business or start a new business. An example right now would be consultants for people looking for jobs. As the job market shrinks more and more people need help to differentiate themselves from other job seekers. There are countless ways an entrepreneur could help people get and find jobs. You should also be on the lookout for innovative ways to improve things you use all the time. New and improved products always have a place in the market. Also start to pay careful attention to the way millionaires and more importantly billionaires are behaving in the market place. If you watch closely, they will give very big clues on stable companies and markets that it is wise to think about investing in. Many people make massive fortunes in troubled economic times. Its all a function of the way you think and how well you prepare yourself to meet challenges head on.

One of the most important things you can do to improve your earning capacity is to increase your knowledge and more importantly your self-confidence. Simply reading a book a week or watching a motivational video can help give you the confidence to take action on your goals and dreams. Nothing happens while you are sitting around complaining about the economy. The prizes in this new era will go to the people who are not afraid to invest in themselves and take action even when others are hiding from the world.