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Here is how you can plot a successful course to prosperity, meaning, by following these steps, you can gain control of your finances:

1. ASSESS:
   The first step is to assess your current financial situation. Start by calculating your net worth. List all your assets (what you own) and all your liabilities (what you owe). If your assets exceed your liabilities, you have a positive net worth. If you have more liabilities than assets, your net worth is negative. At the end of each year, recalculate your assets and liabilities to determine your progress toward building your net worth.

2. IDENTIFY:
   Once you have a clear idea of your financial picture, you should set financial goals. Whether your plans call for buying a home, taking a vacation, retiring early, or paying off debt, your financial goals help you determine what is important to you. Financial goals also serve to motivate you ... it is always easier to save money when you know what you are saving for.

   Accountants recommend that you divide your goals into short-, medium-, and long-term goals. Be sure each goal is focused, realistic, measurable, and has a specific target date. You should review your goals regularly and make adjustments when necessary.

3. BUDGET:
   Your next step is to create a budget that will help you attain your financial goals. The key is to spend less than you earn. The first step in preparing this budget is to figure out your current cash flow. Start by adding up your income from your salary, bonuses, investment income, and any money you get from other sources.

   Next, track all your expenses for a month or two. That includes regular expenses, such as your mortgage or rent, food, transportations, insurance, and credit card payments, as well as discretionary expenses, including entertainment, dining out, and gifts. Be sure to factor in expenses that do not occur every month.

   It is important that you record every dollar you spend, whether it is with cash, check, or credit card. Seeing how you are spending your money will help you determine where you can make cuts and redirect that money toward meeting your financial goals.

   When creating your budget, be sure to pay yourself first. That means deciding how much you can save each moth and treating it like any other bill. Better yet, have the money automatically deducted from your paycheck and deposited into a savings account. You won't miss what you don't see.

4. MANAGE:
   Managing debt is a critical step in gaining control of your finances. If you are carrying a high level of debt, make paying down your credit cards a priority. You can use several strategies, such as consolidating your debt on a credit card with a lower interest rate and/or paying off high interest debt first. But the best way to reduce debt is to double or triple your card's minimum monthly payments.

   Depending on your balance, higher payments could save you thousands in interest payments and shave months, or maybe even years, off your debt.

5. PROSPER:
   There is a great deal of peace of mind that comes with controlling your finances. If you need help in completing these steps, contact your accountant. He or she can work with you to create a plan for achieving your financial goals. However, here I would like to further discuss discretionary expenses and it's opposite ... what we might also call mandatory expenses (what is traditionally considered food, clothing, and shelter). Let's start with mandatory:

• MANDATORY EXPENSES:

  FOOD ... Here I am reluctant to suggest that you buy cheap food considering we are what we eat (so I've heard). However, there are ways to save on cost:

  1. Depending upon your income etc., wouldn't it be advisable to purchase your produce from the outside of the produce store instead of what is always more expensive, from the inside of the store?

  2. Wouldn't it be advisable to make your big purchases in a super market instead of the more expensive corner grocery store?

  3. Can you take some time before doing your shopping to cut some coupons from what is often included with neighborhood newspapers?

  4. And with some creative food preparation (various food saving techniques can even be found on the internet), would smart kitchen techniques be possible to cut your monthly expenses?

  CLOTHING ... Clothing is mandatory but the choice of clothing certainly is not. Here also, there are ways to save on cost:

  1. Get off the fad train; that train runs only to make more money for the clothing industry. In no way am I suggesting the funky style that we find in many of today's youth; maybe those kids are just making a statement deriding the foolishness that many adults are enslaved to, the constant changing of clothing styles to keep up with the Joneses. I know when "dating" one wants to look one's best, but even there, given some reasonable match of clothing, and with some regard to clothing quality, isn't "clean" enough?

  2. And closely related to fads are the "name brands" and the big names, the name that impress ... Allen Edmonds, Audemars, Bloomingdale's, Brioni, Bulgari, Cartier, Chanel, Chopard, Coach, De Beers, Ferrari, Geox, Gucci, Hickery Freeman, Jaguar, Jeri Cohen, Jildor, Lamborghini, Lord & Taylor, Louis Vuitton, Mercedes, Movado, Piaget, Porsche, Rolex, Talbots, Tiffany, Valentino. The list goes on and on and that includes jewelry, cars, clothing of all kinds; are they all necessary?

     Yes, people like to impress, it's almost part of our culture. But if you have to "make a statement" about who you are, might you be better off letting that statement come from within (your character and your intelligence) rather than from without (your clothes and all the accoutrements associated with it)?

     In the United States we have become a logo-obsessed society that seems not to mind being walking billboards. Today's pop icons lead consumers into believing that these signature staples are not only a sign of status but also mildly attainable for young adults. In decades past, to own a Louis Vuitton bag was to represent a certain stature: The person toting it was either someone from the upper class or famous. These people were also older when they acquired such pricey items.

     Dwaun Sellers (American University) says: "Logo mania set its sights on the world of fashion once again and our job as intelligent consumers is not to fall prey to the powers of advertisement. Today's wealth-obsessed youth no longer want to wait for fame or fortune to wear the best. Celebrities in the spotlight are younger, richer and flashier than those of days past and seem to perpetuate the ideology that logos equal status, and so society tries to mimic this trend. The media plays a large part in the attention given to these celebrities and their material possessions.

     "For the most part, it seems that logo mania is purely for show. It is a manifestation of a society that defines culture, class, and socioeconomic status, by its accoutrements. The connection between this trend and the rise of counterfeit bags goes hand in hand. For those who cannot afford the authentic bag but would feel ostracized by society without one, choose to emulate the more expensive bags by obtaining the knock-offs to appear just as stylish. However, no matter what extent you take to obtain something designer, beware: Becoming obsessed with logos may get you labeled a fashion victim."

  SHELTER ... Don't we all know people who live beyond their means and because of that often go into serious debt from which they can never escape? Many do this just to impress family and friends; they fall into what I call a competitive trap. Many do it just to impress themselves. I'd say in both cases, it stems from poor self-esteem and a misguided set of priorities. Live as comfortable as you can and as practical as is within reason, but always live within your means.

• DISCRETIONARY EXPENSES:

  These are expenses for items that you don't always need. They might (and might not) make living more comfortable. Some of these expenses were covered above under mandatory expenses but here we can add trips around the world (even short cruises that are advertised in the various media), jewelry (unless maybe bought for investment purposes), name brand clothing and I'm not saying quality is not important.

  We also include season tickets to sporting events. Here I'd include all arena events including theaters and shows of all kinds. And that's notwithstanding my own love for Puccini's operas and some of the best of Broadway shows. I say "the best" because there sure is a lot of garbage being sold to the pubic, the reasons for which would bring me into a different discussion.

  The whole discussion of "discretionary" depends upon one's ability to pay. Bottom line would be that you should live within your means, and if you need more than what you have, that need (or want) should be a motivating force to encourage you to earn more than you are earning now. This isn't always easy but what other way can you legally increase your lot.

  But let good sense and intelligent priorities dictate what your lot should be. A girl friend of someone I know laughs at the word need vs. want. She says, "I don't buy anything because I need it; I buy it because I want it" ... I suppose that's all right because she can afford it. That same response can lead to another discussion, should I have everything I want when the next person or family doesn't have everything it needs. "Nuff said on that.

  And back to Buddy's ... Navigator ... the heart of this site.