As a small business owner your personal finances are closely tied to how successfully you manage your business finances. But even if business is booming and your company is incredibly well managed (of course!), this does not mean that your personal financial picture will always be so rosy. Maybe one of these statements hits close to your financial situation:

• You feel that your personal finances are in order. You are enjoying a satisfying lifestyle, and are able to pay all necessary expenses, while staying on track to meet all your financial goals, including retirement. Still, you're always on the lookout for an idea or two to make things even better.
• You seem to be doing OK on a day-to-day basis. You generally pay your bills on time, have an acceptable standard of living, and are able to meet relatively short-term goals (such as a new car or a vacation). You have been able to save some money, but you have the nagging feeling that it won't be enough to meet major long-term goals, like retirement.
• The phrase "the faster I go, the behinder I get" seems to best describe your personal financial picture. You're working hard and your business is churning out a good income, but you still have trouble making ends meet. What's more, you'd rather not think about how things will be when you retire. What is going wrong?

Whatever your situation is now, planning can help you to build your financial wealth.

• Creating your wealth-building plan shows you how to get started by taking inventory of your current assets, budget, and other arrangements; setting and quantifying goals; and developing a plan to get "from here to there."
• Building blocks of financial plans helps you to examine the elements of your plan, including compensation and benefits, investing outside the business, retirement planning, insurance, credit and borrowing, and options for legal forms of ownership.
• Passing along wealth to your heirs discusses the importance of having a will, and presents your options for ensuring the right people receive your assets. It also explains the operation of estate taxes, and discusses ways to keep your hard-earned dollars out of the tax-collector's grasp.

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