Blonde on a Budget did another post for her financial boot camp, and I really enjoyed it and thought it was a great idea, so here's mine! She did a SWOT (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats) analysis on herself and her financial situation. Also take a look at Cash Money Life's SWOT and the full article.
Determine Financial Strengths
Determine what your financial strengths are and reflect on how you are strong.
“Helpful questions: What are the strong areas of your finances? Do you have a positive monthly cash flow? Are you paying extra on your debts? Are you debt free? Did your income recently increase?”
My strengths would be that I have two Bachelor degrees, and I'm working on my MBA, so I have a lot of opportunities to increase my income, and my degrees also helped me get to the financial situation where I am. Without my degrees, I would be a little nervous. I have a positive monthly cash flow and I am paying extra on my debts. Also, my both my house and car are worth more than I paid for. I bought my house at the end of 2009, so I got it at a pretty low price. And my car has only depreciated around $2,000 since the day I bought it (which was over 3 years ago).
Determine Financial Weaknesses
What are your financial weaknesses? Try to determine what's holding you back.
“Ask yourself these, and similar questions: Have you maxed out your income potential in your current job? Are you in debt? Are you upside down on a car or house loan? Are you living paycheck to paycheck?”
My weaknesses are that I have debt, and a lot of it. I have around $30,000 in school loans, a car loan, and a mortgage.
Determine Financial Opportunities
Determine what opportunities are available to you but you have not taken yet.
“Financial opportunities: Freelance work, tax preparation, consulting, writing, crafts, overtime, investing, earning a promotion, selling items on Ebay or Craigslist, debt consolidation, eliminating exposure to poor investments, reducing investment fees, downsizing your house, buying a more fuel efficient car, etc.”
Yes I know, most of you are probably extremely annoyed by me saying this, but I really want a part-time job or some sort of freelancing gig.
Determine Financial Threats
Determine what your threats to your financial situation are.
“External factors to consider: Are you in danger of losing your job? Is your mortgage rate about to reset to a higher APR? What are the current economic factors that may affect your job/investments/income streams?”
I'm not in danger of losing my job. A threat would be if something bad happened with the house, like if we needed a new furnace or something else expensive.