Every trip needs to be planned

Yes, it's that time of year again. Summer vacations are being planned. Before you go, you will have to think about a few very important details. I'll bet you figure things out in something like this order:

1. When you want to go.

2. Where you want to go.

3. Where you are starting from.

4. What your budget will be.

5. How you will get there.

Then, and only then, can you make your decisions, choices made from an educated knowledge about your options and alternatives. Some might even call it a plan.

Now let's take a moment and take a look at what would happen if people took care of their vacations the way they take care of their money.

First, you would decide to go on vacation after talking to your brother-in-law or watching “Good Morning America.” You would then just get in your car and pull out of the driveway.

You would have no idea where you are going, but that doesn't matter. You drive on anyway. Eventually, you hear or see something that catches your attention on the radio or maybe in a billboard and start off in that direction. But, a little later, you hear another commercial on the radio, and immediately decide to scrap the idea you just had, and head off to a new destination.

Somehow, you end up at the airport. You take your family and walk through the terminal, and everything looks good. Every city sounds intriguing and you just can't make up your mind. Then your cell phone rings and it's your brother-in-law. He tells you he just got back from somewhere, and you decide to go there. You're not exactly sure why, but after all if your brother-in-law went there, it must be cool, right?

You buy plane tickets, and then realize you forgot to bring things with you. Essential things such as clothing and your son's asthma medication. Oh well, you'll just have to figure out how to get that stuff when you land. Once you arrive, you have no idea where to stay. You have no money and no knowledge about the place.

Finally, you think to yourself, after you see how messed up you are, “maybe I should have planned this out a little better.”

I know I have exaggerated this point. But, in my financial planning practice, I've seen many good people who plan their money with this haphazard, random approach.

Most folks don't plan for their finances. Period. They don't plan their financial future in a way that makes sense. What makes the most sense? Doing the exact same things you do when planning you vacation. You have to determine:

1. When you want to go. (Retire, move, start a business, or whatever your desire is.)

2. Where you want to go. (What will you be doing once you get to your goal.)

3. Where you're starting from. (What your financial situation is.)

4. What your budget is. (What you can afford, or are willing to afford.)

5. How you will get there. (What financial strategies and choices you have.)

Then, and only then, will you be able to make educated, knowledgeable decisions before taking any action.

It's truly impossible to predict what the financial future holds for us. So, are you going to go through life like the insanity of an unplanned vacation? Or are you going to sit down and plan out your future? Careful planning now is critical.

Troy A. Neff is the managing director of Advanced Retirement Solutions in Perrysburg. He also is the host of “The Troy Neff Show,” heard on WCWA 1230 AM weekday mornings from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. Send e-mails to Troy@TroyNeff.com.