Eli Busch of Kingdom Guard Financial Group spoke at the first FLEX Speaker Series event of 2024. The topic of his presentation was “What They Didn’t Teach You About Money.” The presentation was informative for everyone and was not limited to advice for young professionals.

Eli noted the first thing everyone must determine before going forward is to establish a vision. This vision is not a set goal, as it is constantly evolving as you move through life. Once the vision is established, every decision made going forward should move you toward your vision.

It’s important to treat your personal money as a business. The gross revenue is the money from your paycheck. The profit is what is left over after all expenses have been paid. Money in savings may be used for funding “projects” like life events, vacations, or large purchases. The easiest way to track your money going out is to record your spending in a spreadsheet. Every transaction going out is recorded and categorized so you can view trends in your spending and monitor where your money is going. It is important to do this regularly. Monitoring your money going out makes it easier to budget for planned events.

Something that may seem far away for many young professionals is retirement. Eli recommends you should save 15-25% of your current income for retirement. When you retire, the money you put away today becomes your income. After you retire, you should prepare to take 4% of your retirement amount every year. Your age, income, and other factors would determine the exact amount that you should be contributing towards your retirement.

When it comes to managing your money, it is important to have open communication, whether that is between you and your significant other, or between you and your financial planner. Having regularly scheduled money talks helps ensure you are working towards your vision. It is important for anyone to plan their year ahead using these discussions. A financial planner may offer a thirdparty view into your financial plans to make sure your plans are in line with the current market.

While financial planning for yourself or your family may seem intimidating, Eli notes that small actions today can have major impacts in the future. It’s not worth putting off retirement planning or setting budgets for future events, because the sooner you set your vision, the easier it is to make these decisions!

This article was published in the Future Leaders & Entrepreneurs Exchange’s (FLEX) May 2024 edition of the FLEX Your Ideas (FYI) Newsletter.