Financial balance is often difficult to find in our society, due to the prevalence of debt and lack of personal savings. But financial balance can be easily achieved with the right strategies, and a bit of discipline. Holistic Wealth: Achieving Financial Balance As with other aspects of life, most people (professional advisors and planners included) tend to take a rather piecemeal approach to their finances, leaving them out of financial balance. For example, you might focus on debt -- being in it, getting out of debt asap, avoiding debt, etc. Aside from the new and interesting research demonstrating that it is very likely that you attract more of what you focus the most on into your life, what is wrong with this approach? The problem with only focusing on getting out of debt asap, is what about the rest of the picture? Where is your financial balance? What about wealth creation? Savings? Retirement? How does the money you owe affect your other financial goals? And, perhaps most importantly, is there life after debt?  A little financial humor there, but the point is that many people are so focused on "getting out of debt," they forget to think about what happens when it is paid off! Where does the money go then? Most people don't have a concrete plan for this, which is why, shortly after paying those credit cards off, those who become "debt-free" often end up right back where they started. An equally financially unbalanced approach is to focus solely on your investments, or what "rate of return" you are getting. For one thing, if your nest-egg is completely invested in the stock market, you are taking a huge amount of risk -- let's hope you are not counting on that money for anything within the next 10-15 years or so! If you are "investing" in the market for a shorter period of time than that, there's another word for this strategy: It's called gambling! Besides, if you are only thinking about "rate of return" on your investments, as a stand-alone piece of your financial picture, you're actually focusing on the wrong concern to begin with. Why? Remember that debt we just talked about? Here is common example shared by a personal wealth-coach and friend. His client, Joe, has about the national average in credit card debt -- about $8,000 -- and he is paying 15% interest. He also has some savings -- mostly in CDs and money market accounts -- totaling about $15,000, which is earning an interest rate of approximately 3%.  When you look at this example as a whole, it doesn't take a genius to see he is going backwards!  (Hint: If Joe took enough money out of his savings to pay off the debt entirely, he would immediately have a 15% return on his money!) The situation above is extremely prevalent in our society, and is a result of looking at each piece of your financial picture as a separate entity, with no effect on the other areas. Approaching your financial picture holistically, in a balanced way, as with the other areas of your life, will bring a greater sense of financial balance and strength. While there are various strategies which can help with this (along with discipline and commitment), at New Holistic Living, we favor a financially balanced strategy called "Bank On Yourself" (also known in some circles as "The Infinite Banking Concept"). The Bank On Yourself concept addresses each of the issues above, with regards to balancing your whole financial picture. This method offers a safe, guaranteed place (savings) to grow your wealth (investment), and meanwhile you can use it to become debt-free -- for good! When you learn this method, you will be able to in essence, "become the bank" for yourself, and keep most of the interest charges you would pay to debtors, to further grow your wealth. You can also set up this type of plan to leave money to charity, which completes the picture of financial balance, as giving money to help others is one of the best ways to bring fiscal harmony into your life. To learn more about Bank On Yourself, the best place to start is to download the free report at www.findoutmorenow.com (use Pass Code: JS35). The report is fairly lengthy and rather "sales-y," but it gives a good basic understanding of the concept. You can also visit www.bankonyourself.com for some real-life stories of people who have been using the concept, as well as other resources. For more detailed information, we also recommend Becoming Your Own Banker, by R. Nelson Nash, and The Pirates of Manhattan, by Barry J. Dyke. These books are more extensive and technical, but will further your understanding of the method once you have grasped the basic concept. (Warning: They may require multiple readings, as it is quite a paradigm shift for most people in our society!) NOTE: We do NOT recommend that anyone attempt this strategy without consulting a qualified advisor who is specifically trained in implementing the Bank On Yourself concept. Pamela Yellen (author of the report mentioned above), or R. Nelson Nash would be happy to help you find a qualified advisor if you would like more specific information or have any questions. (You can find Nash's website at: www.infinitebanking.org. To find an advisor, click "Resources" and then "Agent Finder.") On the other hand, if you are finding that what is causing your financial balance to wobble is a lack of cash flow -- that is, you need to increase your income -- there are so many resources out there, it is nearly impossible to decide which one will work for you. While we cannot say any one approach will work for everyone, we have found that the various programs offered by the American Writers Institute, and Early To Rise are quite reputable, comprehensive, and easy to follow. If you are interested in starting your own side business, these may be an excellent place to start.