The road ahead

[The 1998 version of this section is also available as a downloadable PDF.

There's also a new interactive spreadsheet updated in 2003.]

I love my friend Cathy's suggestion to use a Road Map theme for this site, because it's the perfect analogy. That carries over into every aspect of transition, including financial planning.

Think of transition as a trip. If you're going on a trip, you decide on a destination, the time you will spend traveling, and the money you'll spend. That's all you have to do for transition, too-- just on a larger scale.

A fantastic financial planner named Barbara O'Neill writes, "If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there."

Now, let's find out where you're going.

A note on excuses

I hate excuses. They are merely a way to justify failure. However, when it comes to saving for transition costs, there is one lame excuse that tops them all...

I hear this again and again from TSs. Look at this statement, though. What does it indicate? This woman is saying that saving for major transition costs is the absolute last thing on her list of priorities. Well, there's only one way to fix that...

More on this in a second, but this is a good example of why excuses do no good. You will have to change some of your attitudes about money if you really want to succeed.

So, no excuses from here out-- just plans and action!