The Rules of Wealth, 3rd Edition

RULE 21

You’ve got to have a plan

Why are a fool and his money so easily parted? Because the fool doesn’t have a plan. If you don’t have a plan you’ll be tempted to fritter your cash away, spend it instead of investing, or forget the new business idea or career move. If you have a plan you know exactly what does and what doesn’t fit into it.

The last Rule helped you work out where you are now, and you already know where you’re going (your objective). The plan gives you the important bit – how you are going to get there. Back to the Robinson Crusoe analogy. Once he had been shipwrecked and taken stock he made a plan. ‘I’ll need a shelter to keep warm, some food, and something to do.’ And he set about building a thatched shelter on the beach, ...