(theage.com.au)
It’s never too early to start saving and never too late to stop frittering your cash away.

The new year invariably kicks off with a host of high-minded financial intentions: a healthy superannuation balance, a budding share portfolio and a paid-off home. But before you know it, the year has gone and there is little to show for it.

Wishes alone seldom achieve anything. To implement your goals you need a snapshot of your financial situation, a plan of action and iron determination.

Those entering the workforce for the first time can find the heady thrill of that first pay packet makes sombre financial realities, such as starting a savings plan, seem a whole lot less urgent.

But it’s not just school leavers who need to put their financial house in order, says Peter Cerexhe, the author of It’s Never Too Late to Achieve Financial Security (Allen & Unwin, $29.95).

Many people approaching midlife are only just starting to see the implications of a misspent youth and are seriously in need of some strategies to help them catch up. Some are forced to start again after divorce or business failure.

“There are many different beginnings,” Cerexhe says. “It’s a sign of our times.”.….more

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