A Quick Guide to Financial Planning

Financial planning basics are not rocket science, though it may take the discipline and dedication a rocket scientist put into his or her training to accomplish. 

The main thing is not to be put off by the term financial planning and simply think of it as a way to make your money work for you.

This puts financial planning in a positive position that makes it much easier to start developing the basics of financial planning.  And the first part of any successful financial plan is to sit down and make a budget.

Most people waste a great deal of money that they are not even aware they are wasting until they take the time to make a budget. 

Once you have a budget, you want to look at your disposable income (money you have left after paying off essential bills) and set some financial goals. 

 Some typical financial goals are to buy a home, save for college education, vacations and retirement.  You may have the financial goal of becoming truly wealthy.  Unless you know what your goals are, you cannot meet them. 

The next step in financial planning is after you have decided on your financial goals and have an idea of how much money you have to invest, you want to start looking for the right investments to help you meet those objectives. 

Some common investments in the financial plans of beginning investors are government bonds and shares, mutual funds, Certificates of Deposit, college savings funds, and IRAs.  The cornerstone of your financial plan, though, should be your company’s 401(k). 

When you are just starting out with financial planning and investing, you must be wise to do a lot of research into the many types of investments possible. 

Getting expert financial planning advice from a financial planner or investment advisor is also a good idea.  The more you know about financial planning and investments, the better you will be able to develop a successful financial plan.

Top Ten Ways to Get Unstuck and Reach Your Goals

1. Write down two or three ways you can immediately start moving toward your goal. Select one and GET STARTED!

2. Imagine what life will be like in five years if you don’t begin moving toward your goal.

3. Make sure your goals are measurable. Having a definite target to shoot at gives you a much better chance of hitting it and encourages you to begin movement toward the goal.

4. Break your goals into manageable steps. Seeing a defined path to your goals encourages you to begin your journey.

5. Publicly announce your goals. Knowing that others are expecting you to hit your goals puts more pressure on you to begin.

6. Enlist a friend to be your goal buddy. Help and encourage each other to move when either of you becomes stuck.

7. Visualize where you are headed with vivid detail. How exactly would it feel to achieve an important goal? How would it sound? How would it look? How would it taste?

8. Post a picture of an important goal in a visible place along with a date for achievement. Maybe a picture of a dreamed-about vacation destination, or a picture of that first new home, or a picture of a loved one (perhaps one that you have decided to spend more time with.)

9. Set your goals higher than normal for maximum motivation. Does becoming the number one salesperson in your company motivate you more than becoming number three?

10. Focus only on the next step on your climb up Success Mountain. After you break your mountain expedition into little pieces, as you climb, focus only on the next piece of your journey. The sheer size of the mountain may be enough to intimidate and freeze many people in their tracks, but individual climbing pitches up the mountain don’t seem as intimidating or impossible. If you feel stuck on your climb, instead of thinking of the peak rising high above you, focus, for now, just on reaching a close intermediate goal point on your trek.

You can reach me at www.mksagson.com or email:iyowun@yahoo.com, info@mksagson.com, mksagsonsconsult@hotmail.com Tel: 08025869823, 017263109

The Best Foods for Men

With these products and a bit of kitchen know-how, you can eat well for the rest of your life.

That's because a balance of whole foods, reliable staples, and basic cooking skills are all you need to create an abundance of intensely flavored, nutrient-rich meals.

The supermarket and kitchen are united by one very digestible principle: The healthiest way to eat is really the simplest and also the most delicious. With the help of more than 50 chefs, nutritionists and researchers, and the appetites of a dozen discerning editors, we cooked and ate our way through the aisles of the grocery store. The end result: a no-fail food strategy that fuses the best fresh and packaged ingredients with the top culinary expertise.

The Best of the Best: Our Top Picks

Best Premium Beef: Niman Ranch Steaks

Best Chocolate Bar: Collectively 70% Cacao

Best Grain: Bob's Red Mill Quinoa

Best Coffee: Intelligentsia's Berkley's Blend

Best Cheese: Cypress Grove Purple Haze Goat Cheese

Best All-Purpose Condiment: Roland's Pesto

Best Canned Vegetable: Muir Glen Fire-Roasted Tomatoes

Best Plain Yogurt: Fage 2%

Fruits and Vegetables: Our favorite fruit and vegetable products

Best Frozen Vegetables: Bird's Eye Broccoli, Cauliflower, and Carrots

Best Bottled Vegetables: Reese Marinated Artichoke Hearts

Best Frozen Fruit: Dole Mixed Berries

Best Dried Fruit: Woodstock Farms Tropical Fruit Mix

Best Salad and Sandwich Topping: Roland Fire-Roasted Red Peppers

Best Fruit Spread: Dickinson's 100% Fruit, Strawberry

Best Flavor Enhancer: Huy Fong Sriracha

Best Hot Sauce: Frank's Red Hot

Best Creamy Salad Dressing: Drew's All-Natural Smoked Tomato

Best Vinaigrette: Annie's Natural Shiitake and Sesame

Best Olive: Reese Almond-Stuffed

Best Olive Oil: Colavita

Best Fruit Juice: POM Pomegranate Juice

Best O.J.: Tropicana, Calcium & Vitamin D

Best Marinade Ingredient: La Costena Chipotle Peppers

Best Soy Sauce: Kikkoman Lite

Dairy

Milk, cheese, eggs and yogurt are among nature's most nutritious foods.Our guide to the dairy section can help you make the most of this calcium-packed bounty.

Best Milk: Organic Valley

Best Sliced Cheese: Sargento Deli-Style Swiss

Best Snacking Cheese: Laughing Cow

Best Cottage Cheese: Breakstone's 2%

Best Sour Cream: Land O'Lakes

Best Eggs: Eggland's Best Omega-3 Enriched

Best Flavored Yogurt: Fage with Honey

Best Non-Milk Dairy Drink: Lifeway Kefir Strawberry

Best Cream Cheese: Kraft Philadelphia Neufchatel

Best Butter: Land O'Lakes Unsalted

Best Yogurt Smoothie: Stonyfield Farms Peach

Meat and Fish

The best choices from the meat cooler to the freezer section.

Best Packaged Cold Cuts: Hormel Natural Choice Pre-Sliced Deli Meats

Best Deli Beef, Ham and Poultry Cold Cuts: Dietz and Watson

Best Bacon: Niman Ranch Applewood-Smoked Bacon

Best Hot Dog: Dietz and Watson Beef Franks

Best Breakfast and Dinner Sausage: Al Fresco Chicken Sausage

Best Frozen Fish Burger: Omega Foods Ahi Tuna

Best Canned Tuna: Wild Planet Wild Albacore Tuna

Best Chili: Hormel Chili with Turkey and Beans

Best Frozen Beef Dinner: Healthy Choice Beef Merlot

Best Frozen Chicken Dinner: Lean Cuisine Glazed Chicken

Best Broth: Pacific Organic Low-Sodium Chicken

Best Online Fish Purveyor: Wildedibles.com

Best Steak Sauce: Peter Luger

Best Barbecue Sauce: KC Masterpiece Original

Best Ketchup: Heinz Organic

Best Mustard: Gulden's Spicy

Best Bottled Marinade: Walkerswood Jerk

Grains

Thankfully, consumer demand for healthy, 100 percent whole-grain foods has risen dramatically, creating a more competitive marketplace and far tastier products. Here are this year's premier picks, with more available at MensHealth.com.

Best Bread: Berlin Natural Bakery Spelt Bread

Best Pasta: Bionaturae Organic Whole Wheat Penne Rigate

Best Rice: Uncle Ben's Fast & Natural Whole-Grain Instant Brown Rice

Best Bagel: Thomas' NY Style 100% Whole-Wheat Pizza Crust

Best English Muffin: Thomas' 100% Whole Wheat

Drinks and Snacks

To most guys, the phrase "drinks and snacks" conjures images of sugary sodas, cheese doodles, and candy bars. But by carefully selecting our favorite products in this broad category, we've managed to find 20 items worthy of your tastebuds and our seal of approval.

The Best Beverages

Best Unsweetened Bottled Tea: Republic of Tea Darjeeling

Best Sweetened Bottled Tea: Snapple Green Tea Asian Pear

Best Beer: Stella Artois

Best Light Beer: Amstel Light

The Munchie Aisle

Best Salsa: Muir Glen Black Bean and Corn

Best Soup: Campbell's Healthy Request Minestrone

Best Peanut Butter: Crazy Richard's All-Natural

Best Hummus: Athenos Roasted Garlic

Best Pickle: Claussen New York Deli Half Sours

Best Nuts: Blue Diamond Jalapeno Smokehouse Almonds

Best Chip: Garden of Eatin' Black Bean Tortilla Chips

Best Cracker: Triscuit Cracked Pepper and Olive Oil

Best Beef Jerky: American Grass Fed Beef Gourmet Beef Jerky

Best Trail Mix: Woodstock Farm Cape Cod Cranberry Mix

Best Vegetable Dip: Guiltless Gourmet Mild Black Bean

Best Protein Shake: Biotest Metabolic Drive Super Protein Shake

Best Popcorn: Bearitos Lightly Salted

Essential Skill: How to Cook Any Fish

Pan-searing is an easy, fast, and reliable way to prepare just about any fish in the sea.

Pan-sear like a pro. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Dry fresh fish fillets with paper towels, then season each fillet with a pinch of salt. Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat and coat with a bit of olive oil. When the oil shimmers, add the fish, skin side down, to the pan. Cook for 4 minutes. Flip the fish over and place the pan in the oven. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes. It's done when the fillet flakes with gentle pressure from your finger.

Stir up a 60-second sauce. Remove the cooked fish, and place the same pan back over medium-high heat and add half a cup of low-sodium chicken stock and a splash of white wine. Allow it to reduce over the heat for 45 seconds. Then turn off the heat, toss in a tablespoon of capers and any fresh herbs you might have parsley, thyme, basil and stir in a pat of butter. Pour over the fish, garnish with a lemon wedge, and eat immediately.

Essential Skill: How to Prepare Any Vegetable

Master these methods and you'll be able to cook your way through the entire produce section, says Gypsy Gifford, executive chef at Rain in New York City.

Blanching

The best way to produce bright, crunchy, nutrient-dense vegetables every time.

Great for: asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, corn, green beans, spinach

Scald it: Set a large pot of salted water over high heat, then fill a large bowl with ice water. When the water in the pot is boiling, drop in the vegetables and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Drain the vegetables in a colander, then submerge in the ice water until cool. Dry the vegetables, then toss with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper.

Roasting

This technique makes your vegetables sweet on the inside, crisp on the outside.

Great for: artichokes, beets, carrots, cauliflower, eggplant, mushrooms, onions, potatoes

Cook it: Preheat your oven to 400°F. Toss the vegetables with enough olive oil to coat, and season with salt and pepper. Then arrange in a baking dish (don't overcrowd), and place in the oven. The vegetables are done when they have browned lightly and can be easily pierced with the tip of a knife.

Stir-Frying

Quicker than a microwave, stir-frying is the original fast cooking method.

Great for: asparagus, broccoli, eggplant, mushrooms, onions, peppers, spinach, zucchini

Fry it: Cut your vegetables into 1-inch pieces. Set a skillet over high heat, and coat with olive oil. When the oil smokes lightly, add the vegetables. Use a metal spatula to keep them moving. After 1 minute, add any seasoning you like; cook for 1 more minute. They should be tender outside, crunchy on the inside.

Essential Skill: How to Make Perfect Omelets

Learn the subtle art of omelet making and you'll have a 3-minute meal in your repertoire.

Crack three eggs into a bowl and beat lightly with a fork. Stir in 1 Tbsp of milk and a pinch of salt. Heat an 8-inch nonstick omelet pan over medium heat. Add a pat of butter to the pan and when it melts and begins to foam lightly, add the eggs. As the eggs settle and solidify, use a wooden spoon or spatula to move the cooked egg up from the pan, allowing the raw liquid to slide beneath (just like when you scramble eggs). When nearly all the egg has cooked and a uniform layer has settled on the bottom, add your ingredients, beginning with the cheese. Shake the pan to loosen the omelet, then use a spatula to carefully fold it in half. Slide the omelet onto a warm plate.

Our favorite omelet combinations:

1. Chicken sausage, marinated artichoke hearts, crumbled goat cheese
2. Sliced apple, sharp Cheddar, and crispy bacon. (Sound weird? Just try it.)
3. Sautéed mushrooms and spinach, roasted red peppers, and Parmesan