There needs to be a balance for the attention that we give to the different parts of our life. Many people either live in the past, only for the present, or in the dreams they have of their future. They are all equally important but we cannot get stuck in just one of these categories. Learn from past actions so that your present actions won't make the same mistakes and will therefore leave you looking forward to a brighter future.

The same mentality should be applied to planning out your finances. What past actions have you taken and are you happy with the results that they've given you thus far? If not, what current actions are you taking and are they any different than what you've been doing? How do you want to live your life in the future and have you adjusted your present actions to get you to your goals?

If you want to get different results in the future, you have to realize that repeating your past actions won't get you those different results. Those past actions have gotten you to where you are and if you want to be in a different position in the future, you must change those patterns.

Proper financial planning requires that you look at several different fields of your life. Do you have any debt, and if so, does your debt outweigh your savings and your income? Is your family protected against all of your debt and liabilities if you're not there to provide? Are your prepared to pay for your kids' school tuition? Are you earning the income necessary just to take care of these issues?

Be willing to answer all of the above questions with honesty or be prepared to deal with them later on in life when they've gotten more serious. If you see that there are any areas where you need help, the next obvious step would be to seek help.

The first step is to protect yourself and your family from any debt that you might have accumulated. If anything happens to you, your family needs to be able to pay for the mortgage, the bills, the credit cards, etc. Once you've provided the protection, concentrate on actually getting rid of any bad debt that you've accumulated. Once the debt is gone, turn the payments into savings contributions... start accumulating wealth.

The next move is to prepare yourself for retiring comfortably with your wife. Use the previous debt payments as contributions towards your retirement fund. Also use them to prepare for your children's college costs, if you have any children.

It is quite obvious that getting out of debt, providing family protection, preparing for retirement and college costs is going to require a significant amount of income. Are you earning the income necessary to achieve all of these goals?

Many people can and do honestly say that they're not making enough. However, when they do want to make more, they either think about getting another degree or getting another job. Christopher Columbus said, "I didn't discover America for you to go out and get a job."

The main goal is to start a part-time business that will not only allow you to make more money, but will ultimately allow you to supplement your job income. Then you can quit your job and devote all of your efforts to growing your business and creating a substantial income for yourself.