Write it Down
In an age where it is not uncommon to go out to a restaurant or bar and see everyone taking pictures of their food, texting, tweeting, and generally ignoring the physical humans around them, you would think getting a plan “on paper” would be easy. Despite the advances in technology, and our collective embracing of them, the fact remains that making a definitive plan and actually documenting that plan is easier said than done. Saving and budgeting, as mentioned before, can be a difficult task that is not always enjoyable or fun, but it is absolutely necessary in order to get you to the financial place that you want to be. Laying out a comprehensive plan all at once, or even attempting to, however, is a recipe for disaster. Most people simply cannot accurately forecast financial and life events that will occur down the road.
My best piece of advice, outside from establishing a plan in the first place, would be to break that plan up into more manageable chunks and period of time. Whether it is saving for a new car, a nice vacation, or even an Apple Watch, the fact that you have a plan in place means that you have an idea of where you want to end—all that you have to do is get there. This brings us to another important crossroads, and point of emphasis, and that has to do with the fact that depending on your perspective or ultimate goal you might approach financial planning differently. Let’s take a look at some areas that are routinely cited as areas for people to focus on when building or developing a financial strategy and financial wellness plan.
Because after all, you need to embrace both physical and financial wellness in order to have a pleasant and successful lifestyle.
Earnings—there is always a way to increase your earnings from where they currently are, and while it will require work to get there and actually accomplish this goal, it is well worth it in the long run. Again, while the specifics do not matter as much as your motivation, one of the best ways to increase your earnings either outside of your current job, or within your current profession/employer is to increase the skill-set that you bring to the table. Particularly in the current environment, coding, analytics, and web design/implementation are areas growing in importance. In addition to growing in the current marketplace it does not appear that these are short-lived blips in the greater economic conversation, but fundamental changes to how business and individuals react. Whether you obtain a certificate, and subsequently use it to develop your own personal brand or persona, or leverage it for promotion in the workforce the benefits flow to you.
Speaking of…
Build a brand—brands are incredibly powerful things, just think of the assumptions and connotations associated with companies such as Coca-Cola, Nike, and Apple. People are willing to pay top dollar for products that are, by and large, the equivalent of lesser-known generic competitors. The power of a brand is that it provides you with a market presence, pricing power, and the ability to dictate at least a portion of the dialogue surrounding your product or service. You can do the same thing for yourself, and this will help your financial planning and professional development process. While brand building and personal financial planning might seem like widely different topics with different applications the core concepts are the same. Establishing a goal, developing checkpoints along the way to monitor your progress, and checking in to see if you are falling behind or on track are all tactics and ideas that you can use for both brand building and personal financial planning. Also, the stronger your brand is the more pricing power you will have, that is, the higher salary you can command in the marketplace.
Take it one day at a time—I cannot stress this point enough, and it might be the most important point of all when it comes to managing your personal finance—it is not a sprint it’s a marathon. Treating your personal finances like a marathon helps you build and maintain a long-term view that is essential for sticking to your budgetary plan and goals during ups and downs. Realizing that, over time, it is easier to be flexible and adaptable to change than insisting on marching forward with a plan even if the realities of the situation have changed makes achieving your goals more realistic. Life happens, mistakes happen, and things happen to you that are outside of your control; it’s important to realize that these things will happen, and that you must be ready for things to not always happen according to plan.
That’s all well and good, but how exactly do we get from wherever we are starting, which might be in a relatively strong positions or a less than perfect situation, and get to where we want to be?
Let’s take a look at one of the most important pieces of your personal financial plan and savings strategy: an emergency fund.
Emergency Fund
Remember when we were just talking about the fact that plans do not always go according to plan, and that events happen that are outside of your control? If you do not have the financial cushion to withstand those events, a simple inconvenient event can turn into a financial disaster. It is not a lot of imagination or creativity to imagine a scenario where you might need some cash or financial flexibility to deal with an unexpected financial event. Whether it is your cars transmission deciding to quit, your washing machine breaking, or your water heater giving out during the winter, there is always something that can go wrong at the worst time. In addition to the stress, pressure, and inconvenience that any one of these events can and will have on you psychologically and physically, there is also the matter of the financial ramifications that go hand-in-hand with such events. Setting up an emergency fund does not mean you are, all of a sudden, a doomsday prepper like you see on TV. Rather, it simply means that you are prudently planning to give yourself either cash reserves, financial flexibility on your credit cards, or both so that you are able to deal with unexpected expenses as they arise.
Of course, setting up an emergency fund is something that is easier said than done (which is almost the case with anything worth doing), but there are steps that you can take, right now (like today) that can help get you started on the path to setting up an emergency fund that will allow you to have a little more peace of mind and financial security. Let’s take a look at three straight forward things you can do, starting today, to start saving some money and building up an emergency fund. It is also important to remember that this fund should be the cornerstone of your financial savings plan. The tactics and ideas that you use to start saving and building up this fund can and should be used to help you save, plan, and financially deal with other obstacles in your life.
1. Brown bag your lunch—especially in the NY Metro area that sheer number of options available at lunch time are nearly ridiculous. Shake Shack, food carts, to traditional staples like Subway and KFC are all alluring during the daily grind as nice and tasty break from work. I like to eat as much as the next person, but let’s take a look at the following example and see just how much money you can save with one small tweak to your routine. That small tweak is brown-bagging your lunch to work, which might be the hippest thing you ever do, but hold off on judgment for just another minute.
Example: Let’s say it costs $10 a day for a nice sandwich, bag of chips, and soda, so that’s $50 a week, and assuming you are off 3 weeks during the year (vacation and holidays mixed together) that totals $2,350 a year in lunch expense. Using myself as an example, I like my Turkey and Swiss cheese sandwiches with some chips on the side it costs me $15 for turkey, $5 for Swiss, $2 for a large bag of chips, and $4 for bread which lasts me a week. That means, comparatively I am saving $24 a week, or $1,128 a year assuming prices stay consistent and I work the same number of days. Over a grand in your pocket just because you decided to make a sandwich in the morning—pretty cool, huh? I have no doubt you can find some good use for that money throughout the year, but why not stash it in your vacation jar?
2. Set your savings on auto-pilot—of course you cannot expect to have all of your savings plans on auto-pilot, but there is absolutely no reason why you cannot leverage this capability in order to help you save more money in a relatively painless manner. Whether you set up a 401k contribution with your employer-sponsored plan, or you redirect a certain percentage or dollar amount to a separate savings account is less important than the fact that you are doing it. Obviously, the 401k money is for the long-term, but the important thing to keep in mind is that the consistency with which you save is more important than the dollar amount. For example, if you saved $20 a week, every week, for the entire year you will have saved over $1,000 during the year. Assuming interest rates start to normalize, let’s say to 2 percent on savings and certificates of deposit, that’s an additional $20 in interest income for the year. I know that might not sound like bags of cash, but it’s a solid start, gets you in the habit of saving, and establishes a path for you to use going forward. It is important to note, however, that a 401k plan should not be associated with savings that are immediately accessible due to early withdrawal penalties associated with these funds. Included with these penalties are tax implications—be sure to consult with your CPA or certified financial professional before making decisions linked to your 401k investments.
3. Be consistent—building on point #2, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of being consistent with your savings and financial planning. Just like you would not work out sporadically, or eat healthy sporadically (ok, maybe I do go on a healthy eating craze once in a while, who doesn’t?), you cannot save or plan for your financial future in a sporadic or chaotic manner. Consistently accumulating information and dollars over time is the best way to successfully set up and maintain a personal financial plan. Regardless of where you are starting from, or how much you can put away each week or month the fact that you are being consistent about your saving and planning process will set you up for future success. Think of it like this, when you are job-hunting, dating someone, or writing a book you need to put time in toward that goal and objective every single day. There are no off days, and it is imperative to keep that in mind as you are planning out your financial strategy.
Where Do I Get My Information?
Again, depending on the specific savings goals you have in mind you might be more likely to get your information from certain sources opposed to other, but regardless of what your personal goals happen to be, there are several concepts and traits that you should look out for. The key, in my experience, to successfully building and maintaining a personal financial plan is to make sure that you are taking everything into account. For example, the struggles that Chipotle was having toward the end of 2015 with food sanitation and supply chain sourcing might not have seemed to be of grave importance to you and your personal finances. Digging deeper, however, a connection quickly becomes clear; in a press release that accompanied earnings for the last quarter of year the restaurant chain indicated that prices would be raised in order to offset the increased costs of several measures taken to improve over food sourcing practices. In essence, after sickening customers across the country the chain responded to mounting criticism and health issues by increasing prices; the more you know.
While not every corporate headline will impact your personal finances in such a direct way it is always important to know what is happening in the broader economy and business landscape. Like stone tossed into a pond, the ripples of an event can have ramifications far from where the event itself took place, and move in unexpected directions. Nobody ever likes being caught unprepared for news or events, and this is doubly important for financial matters; these news and stories matter and can have a direct impact on your financial security and information. There are many resources available online that provide information, and this list is by no means meant to be exhaustive, but merely a short listing of some sights I have found to be useful for day-to-day news tracking. Also, do not forget that while the setting might be defaulted to U.S. news, that you can (and should) check news and stories from across the globe, as there are issues happening overseas that impact not only economy but also your personal finances.
One Thing to Always Keep in Mind
The reality of the situation, for virtually everybody, is that at one point or another you are going to hit a bumpy patch in the road, and will need to reassess where you are with regards to your spending, earnings, and income. The critical, yet unspoken assumption that every financial planning book, or expert, uses to base assumptions and advice on is that you are spending less than you are earning, and that you could start saving. Reality, however, can often be quite different for many people and it is critical to keep that in mind as you develop and maintain your own personal financial plan. At certain junctures, you might very well have to sacrifice some of the things you might want to spend money on, or things you might want to do, in order to situate yourself better for long-term financial success.
Let’s explain that a little more, and really dig into what I mean when I say that. Money, at the end of the day, cannot buy happiness by itself but it can certainly purchase a lot of experiences and items that can help you feel better on a given day. Money is not the end in and of itself, it is a tool that can allow you to do and experience things that give you and your loved ones happiness—so it should be treated as such. Much like a chainsaw helps you do more work faster, it can also be very dangerous if used by someone who does not know what they are doing, money (capital) can certainly also get you into trouble. Discussed previously, I am sure we all know someone who is habitually late on credit card payments, or can only afford to make the minimum payments every month. This is clearly not a viable way to building wealth and will keep you running on the hamster wheel.
One of the most important ways to get to where you want to be is to always remember that capital is a tool, and you should really think of your earnings and capital as tools to help you achieve the kind of life you want to have. Increasing your earnings potential in the short-term, whether by changing jobs, starting a side business, or by developing online content, is a great step toward improving your financial situation. Equally important, however, is that you make sure that you maximize the long-term impact of that extra money. In other words, if you blow all of your money on trips to Atlantic City, Vegas, and $12 lattes then you really have not put yourself in a better situation. Thinking of capital, and your earnings as a tool, and looking at these items objectively is something that all great investors and businesspeople have in common. Money, of course, is important and it is important to treat yourself (as we have discussed), but it is also important to remember that your money is the result of your hard work, and should be put to work for you.
Information: Navigating Fake News and Finding the Real Deal
As this book was taking shape the terms fake news and alternative facts entered the mainstream conversation, with individuals of almost every affiliation accusing opponents of using such tactics. In such an environment, where partisanship and discord exist at such pronounced levels, getting objective information is more important than ever. Regardless of where you sit on issues, and even if you do not care at all, your finances and financial decisions should be governed by objective information and data. Opinions are great, and emotions are what make us interesting (not to mention human), but when it comes to your finances, use your head. If it seems too good to be true, guess what? It probably is.
CNBC.com—one the most well-known financial media stations, both on TV and online, provides daily coverage of both domestic and international news. The one downside that is their evening and weekend coverage (on TV) is virtually nonexistent for anyone interested in overseas markets, but the website is always live.
Bloomberg.com—probably the most well-known financial media company, the website and TV coverage are very comparable to CNBC, with an edge to Bloomberg on the weekends and evenings due to the fact that they stream coverage of Asian and European markets even in the United States. The biggest downside for our purposes is that there is not as much coverage of personal finance stories.
Wall Street Journal—the original standard, and an excellent source of information for people seeking news on financial markets, or news in general.
Investopedia—this is a personal favorite of mine from my undergraduate days, as this website, while not as focused on broader economic or stock market moves, nor equipped with a TV or media component, drills down almost exclusively into terminology and concepts integral for understanding finance and economics. From short videos demonstrating what terms to look out for, to easily understandable definitions, this is a great resource for anyone looking to get started.
Business Insider—an amalgamation of stories, headlines, and interesting articles about business, business dealings, and topics linked to personal finance, this website is easy to read, updated constantly, and covers a large breadth of topics.
Regardless of what particular source of information you utilize, I cannot reiterate enough the importance of taking into account the bias of the source. When I refer to bias I do not mean anything nefarious or evil, rather, I am merely acknowledging the following reality. If your resources and information have a specific point of view you have to be able to realize that and take what you hear with a grain of salt. A good way to avoid being swayed too much by one specific source of information is to obtain your information from various sources and places. One strategy I try to use to great effect is to obtain some of my information from domestic sources and some from international sources such as the BBC. Even just watching coverage of economic news and business stories from different parts of the globe, such as offered on Bloomberg during evenings and Sunday nights, might give you a different perspective or angle on a story or topic.
Going Mobile
Before drilling down into which apps to use, and which platform is the best, Android vs. Apple, we need to have a conversation about cyber security, identity theft, and how to best protect your information while you are online. These are not merely academic issues that can remain the domain of technology specialists or information technology specialists; this is real threat and potential disaster for you and financial information moving forward. If major corporations, with entire departments dedicated to technology and cyber security can fall victim to hacking and data breaches, you can bet your data can be hacked as well. As we continue to see occur, organizations ranging from Ashley Madison to Target, to J.P. Morgan can be hacked and suffer data integrity issues. You can be certain that data is an issue you should be paying attention to as well. Now, before we start panicking and setting up passwords that are 36 characters long, let’s take a step back and look at a few straight forward ways to help you improve your data security. I promise, you are not going to need a PhD in computer science for this next part.
First and foremost, let us remember that technology is comprised of two equally important components: hardware and software. (Remember that even the cloud is simply servers that are elsewhere and out of sight.) People bring their laptops, tablets, and smartphones with them virtually everywhere they go, so it is important to remember to either “lock” the device when you are not using it and/or password protect it when you are not physically with your device. Look around any major transit terminal, conference, college campus, or event and you are virtually guaranteed to see unattended devices. How can your information be secure and safe if you are not protecting it? An often-unexamined aspect of data security and cyber security, you absolutely must be sure to safeguard (and backup) your information continuously. It might not sound as cool as building an algorithm to firewall your data, but keeping an eye on, and locking your hardware, can save you a lot of aggravation.
Moving on to the software angle of personal financial security, which is where most people focus their time and energy, there are a few straight forward things you can do to make sure that your data is secure as it can be. Before we dive in, however, I do have a basic sounding security suggestion that is, unfortunately, all too often overlooked. Make sure to lock your phones, tablets, and laptops at all times, and to make sure that your passwords are strong—in my travels through airports and train stations I routinely see this fundamental security tactic left undone. Our electronics have tremendous amounts of individual and business information, and losing such items can really have a negative impact on your financial and personal plans.
1. Set up alerts—most credit cards will allow you to set up alerts that will tell you if an unusual transaction, transaction over a certain dollar amount, or a transaction that occurred without the card being present have happened. Use these features! It may take a few extra minutes to set up, but now you will know if your card is stolen or your information is comprised, before the unpleasant surprise of a large and unexpected bill.
2. Use strong passwords—I know that this might seem like too basic, but some of the most common passwords used by people are “password,” “password1,” or the famous “123456.” Such simple passwords simply are not going to be good enough in an era where cyber crime has become a business with an international scale, and so much commerce and information is conducted virtually. Again, you do not have to make your passwords ridiculously long or complicated, but they should be something that only you know, and please change them. Passwords, ideally, should be changed every 90 days, but depending on the sensitivity of the information you are handling, it might be prudent to change yours even more often; only you know.
3. Be suspicious of free Wi-Fi. There is a saying in business that if you are being given something for free, whether it is access, information, or products, then the items you are receiving are not the product; you are. Think of Facebook, Twitter, or any of the other social media organizations that have arisen over the last decade; you provide them with information, customer data, and large quantities of information to distribute to marketers or for their own targeted ads. The same principle can, and should be, applied to free Wi-Fi provided whether it be at a local bagel shop or Starbucks. This is not to say anything nefarious is being done on purpose, but the primary business of that business is not Internet access, that is, the network you are on is probably not secure. If you are thinking about conducting a financial transaction or access personal data on a freely provided Wi-Fi network, you might want to wait until you can access your carriers network, or your own Wi-Fi. The password you have on your own network is hopefully stronger (see point #2), and the only person on the network should be you!
4. Photocopy everything in your wallet—while this might seem like an old-school and low-tech solution it’s an “oldie but a goodie.” Making a photocopy, or even just taking pictures (in either case make sure to do both front and back) of what’s in your wallet is a time-tested way of keeping track of what you are actually carrying around on a day-to-day basis. Additionally, and more importantly for our purposes, is that if you ever do indeed lose your wallet you will know exactly what you have lost track of, what cards you need to cancel, and what forms of ID you might need to replace.
A Few Things to Look Out for
As with any new endeavor it is important to keep in mind that not everyone you meet along the way will be motivated to help you, and it is not always because these people or organizations are inherently evil. Rather, you just are not their top priority—you might be a customer, a potential client, or someone they interact with on a continuous basis but their primary concern is maximizing their own results. This is business after all, and personal financial planning is all about the numbers and you have to be on top of your game at all times. Now, with all of the niceties out of the way it is important to acknowledge the fact that there are some red flags and potential pitfalls that you should always keep your eyes peeled for when you are considering investment or other personal finance opportunities. Regardless of what area you are looking into, and whether you are looking into it yourself, with your budget team, or with your family these red flags and potential areas of concern hold constant.
1. Returns that are too good to be true—CNBC has a program titled American Greed, which documents time and again the tales of individuals and organizations that are swindled and conned out of their hard earned money. How do so many people continue to fall for scams, con-artists, and out-right lies? The simple fact of the matter is that most people hear what they want to hear, and that if a lie is told in a convincing enough manner most people will go with it. Now, let us take a step back and look at the big picture again for just a minute. According to endless statistics and documentation, some of the most successful, wealthy, and well-known hedge fund managers and financiers in the world are able to correctly judge and trade the markets moves about half of the time; that’s barely better than flipping a coin! The returns and profits they make, however, are generally due to the fact that the wins they score overshadowed by several times any losses they also incur.
a. If someone is guaranteeing smooth, consistent, and high returns year over year due to a proprietary trading strategy or technology, or refuses to discuss the specifics of their trading platform/ideas this is usually a good sign something fishy is going on. While the stock market averages approximately 8 percent a year in returns, that is an average, not a year over year rate of earnings without hiccups.
b. If there is an inordinate amount of pressure to invest today, or to hand over your cash to this person or organization this should give you pause. Why would there be such pressure or rush to invest in a particular asset or investment at this particular time? Market returns, and economics in general, tend to move in cycles gradually over time; there is no logical reason why you would not be able to think about or consider an opportunity.
The Truth Is Out There
No, I’m not talking about the X-Files (cue the music), but the fact that there are a multitude of resources out there that are provided by nonprofit organizations and vetted by experts. One of best resources, in my opinion, is the resources provided by the AICPA National Commission on Financial Literacy—I do have to disclose that I am a member of the commission. That said, and looking at the information provided from an unbiased and objective point of view, it is readily apparent that the information provided on both feedthepig.org and 306degreesoffinancialliterary.org are high-quality materials. Perhaps most importantly for personal financial planning and budgeting is the fact that the information provided by the Financial Literacy Commission is maintained and continuously updated by CPAs from across the country employed in a variety of fields. Such a broad perspective certainly helps make sure that the information is current, relevant, and user friendly.
In addition to the AICPA and other resources we have discussed throughout this book it is important to remember that there are, most likely, local resources and information that are readily available to you and that are at your disposal. Virtually every major city or population center has programs and initiatives to help educate and inform residents about the importance of financial literacy. In addition to initiatives and programs launched by local governments and associations there are certainly sure to be educational seminars, speeches, and programs hosted by local colleges and universities. Usually free of charge, these are a great opportunity to get advice and guidance from experts in the field for little or no cost. Put simply, there is no excuse to not get the information you need in order to make the best decisions for yourself and your finances. With virtually unlimited data and information available to you for little or no charge it is up to you to go seek out the information you need. Again, and the importance of this cannot be stated often enough, one of my top pieces of advice to help you maintain and stick to a budget plan is to get either a budget buddy or form a budget team. This includes discussing resources and potential resources to obtain information. Keeping each other honest, on track, and pushing each other to improve and do better are all time tested methods to stick with a program for the long-haul. Remember, financial planning and your personal finances are a marathon not a sprint.
Probably the Most Important Thing
Personal finance and money management are simultaneously very complicated endeavors but are driven by a handful of key concepts and ideas that can be applied almost universally. The concepts and ideas of saving, investing in a manner that matches your appetite for risk (possibility of losses), and making sure that you can monitor and track your investments can, and should be, applicable to everyone and anyone reading this book. That said, there is perhaps one piece of advice or information that is more important than the rest put together, and that is this; things change and you must remain flexible. The New England Patriots of the NFL have put together a string of dominance that has rarely been seen before in the sport, and should not exist in the face of all the rules put in place to encourage parity and competition. So how has this team managed to defy the probabilities year after year? Some key ingredients are flexibility and adaptability.
Flexibility and adaptability do not, as it is sometimes interpreted, that you must change direction and your ideas every time there is a bump in the road; that is unproductive and will lead you off the track you had selected for yourself. In essence, and particularly as it applies to your financial and professional development, flexibility is a much more nuanced idea. Not every idea you have is going to work out, sometimes you are going to fail, and things are going to go sideways on you at the worst possible moment. Whether it is a job that is not working out, or an investment opportunity that is going from a dream to a nightmare, the two most important things you can do are to (1) keep a level head about you and (2) remember what the ultimate objective it. Improving your financial life and setting yourself up for future financial success is not a straight-line from start to finish with no interruptions. It is a bumpy road that can be filled with potholes and accidents waiting to trip you up. This is why being flexible in how you approach things is so important; you can still get to where you want to be but you just might have to take a slightly different route to get there.
Adapting to changing conditions is a pre-requisite that all successful individuals and organizations have; you must evolve and move with the marketplace or risk being left behind. That said, and while you are tracking the changes in both your career area and the financial landscape it is imperative to stick to your principles. Whether you are focusing specifically on your career or on your investment portfolio/financial path forward the meaning is the same. Being able to evolve, adapt, and remain relevant in the face of a changing market is not a simple task; which is why it pays to have a team and/or group to help you through the rough patches. We are all in this together, we can all do better, and we can help each other along the way—it’s not rocket science it’s common sense.
Let’s Recap
We have been talking about personal financial planning, finances, economics, and how to best plan out our financial future for a while now. Hopefully I’ve been able to review topics such as interest rates, 401k savings plans, 529 savings plans, and data security in such a way that is understandable, relatable, and useful. More important than that, however, is the purpose with which I started writing this book and why I am so passionate about personal finance, financial literacy, and financial education. People work hard for their money, and do so in the effort to provide a stable environment for themselves and their loved ones to live in. Shocks, whether from overseas, national economic headlines, or local relocations of companies/industries, can have devastating consequences for those impacted by these events. Just because something is stable today, or everything seems fine at the present certainly does not mean that it will be fine moving forward. The harsh lessons and realities of the 2008 financial crisis truly hammered home these messages, and reinforced the following truth. Your personal finances and financial affairs are your responsibility and yours alone, and you must be able to manage and understand what is necessary for you to succeed in this rapidly changing economic landscape.
At the end of the day your personal finances should not scare or intimidate you. Even if you have not always had the best spending and budgetary discipline it is imperative that you at least take a look at your finances and see where you are. Just like the house will not clean itself, and the laundry will not wash itself, your personal finances will not miraculously get themselves into shape without your help. You are not in this alone—there are virtually unlimited resources and information out there for your disposal, and there is no one saying you need to do everything at once. Set a monthly goal to accomplish one thing, or focus on one area of your finances, and go from there. For example, in one month you can dedicate your efforts to setting up your 401k, talking to your plan sponsor, research investment options, and deciding how much to contribute. Or maybe your first goal would be to get a better handle on your credit cards, that is, how much do you owe on the cards, are you behind on any payments, and what are the interest rates you are paying? The place where you start is less important than the fact that you are starting.
To put it simply, I am firm believer in the power of the individual and the ability we all have to be in charge of our own lives. While you cannot always control what happens to you, you can plan, be prepared, and educate yourself about the options that are out there. Now all that is left for you to do is to hit the ground running—get your squad on board, get a budget buddy, and get to work. The tools are ready, all you have to do is pick them up.