It's hard to believe that anyone these days is too busy to face their financial fears, especially when news headlines cite mortgage woes, foreclosures, and massive credit card debit.

Our public motto used to be "word hard, play harder", but these days its harder and harder to avoid the obvious - we have to face our worst financial fears because they could become reality.

Earlier this month we asked you to do a little free association and set goals for your future which is important in the fulfillment of a happy, satisfied life.  However, you need a contingency bail out if the bottom falls out.  Your parents can't help you any more and you can't count on that guaranteed bonus at the end of the year.  Stop being too busy living the latte life and take an inventory of your financial who, what, where, and when.  Sometimes facing our fears is the first step to financial freedom.

The first step in setting up a financial plan is making a budget and sticking to it.  That means writing down everything you spend, and formulating a budget which will eventually allow you to do the things you dream about.

The second step in setting up a financial plan is formulating long-term financial goals.  If that presents a bigger challenge than you are ready to tackle right now; break them down into a number of short term goals.  What can you achieve in the next six months or within two years?

The third step in setting up a financial plan is to educate yourself by reading books, taking classes, or meeting with a financial planner.

The fourth step in setting up a financial plan is to review your progress on a regular basis.  For instance, at the end of the month, did you stick to your budget and did you have extra money to put into savings?  Did you start a 401K plan?

By setting up smaller goals, you will eventually realize bigger dreams!

Mapping out a sound financial future is easier than you think!

First, set out some goals but allow yourself to do some free association.  Imagine that anything is possible.

Your goals can include:  "I want to send my children to college" or "I want to save money for a vacation" or "I need to plan my retirement".

You can expand these goals to be more specific:  "I want to send my son to Georgetown" or "I want to save money for my vacation in Provence" or "I need to plan my retirement which I envision as living in a house on Lake Geneva".  Notice the words "need and want" ... and notice how just being more specific really opens you up to possibility that you can create your own destiny.

Sometimes just getting past an "I need" goal which could be "I need to pay off my credit cards so I can begin to take regular vacations" can lead you to an "I want" goal.

In our next blog, we'll talk about actually setting the goals.