If someone were to ask you to predict the future, you wouldn’t be able to do it – no one can. True, you’ll be able to tell them the things you hope will happen, and the things you’re planning to happen, but there are no guarantees about any of it, and anything can happen to upset even the best-laid plans.
That’s why it’s wise to be as organized as possible for the future so that, no matter what happens, your planned outcomes can, as far as possible, still be a reality. It might not be easy, and it might not be fun (although some of the planning will be, so don’t worry too much!), but it’s absolutely crucial, especially if you have children to think about. So with that in mind, here are some useful tips suggested by a contributing writer to make sure you’re organized for the future; read on to find out more. 
Set Clear Goals
One of the best ways to get started when it comes to making sure you’re organized for the future is to set clear goals – after all, if you don’t know what you want to happen, how can you put measures in place to make sure it does? Firstly, take a look at your current situation when it comes to your finances, your legal affairs, what you own, your investments, and anything else that might be useful to include in your plans. Then take a look at your insurance policies, pensions, retirement accounts (if you have any), and so on. What you want is a complete picture of where you are now, as that’s the best way to start any kind of plan.
Once you have a clear picture of your current situation, you can work out your goals for the future – think about what you want to achieve for your retirement, your estate and estate planning, your children’s education, and any other long-term goals you might have. If you can set specific, measurable goals, you’ll have a direction to work in and motivation to keep going and get things organized.
Create A Financial Plan
A good, solid, sensible financial plan is absolutely essential if you want to achieve the goals you’ve set out for your future (and your family’s future, come to that), and to ensure you’re financially as stable as possible throughout your whole life. It can be wise to work with a financial advisor at this point, although that is optional, and you might feel you’d prefer to do it all yourself.
No matter what, your financial plan needs to include how you plan to save money, what you want to invest in, how you’re going to manage any debt you might have, and how you’re going to protect your assets and property, just in case something goes wrong. Ideally it won’t, but as we’ve said, you just don’t know, and it’s far better to have a plan and not use it than to need one and not have one in place.
Start An Emergency Fund
We’ve mentioned a number of times now how the future is full of the unexpected, and those unexpected things can be both good and bad – you’re not going to know until they happen, and although you can put measures in place to minimize the risk and damage or to help a positive thing happen, the outcomes are never promised.
That’s why it’s a good idea to start an emergency savings fund as soon as you can. Having an emergency fund in place can give you a financial safety net and it can mean you don’t have to make any changes to your financial situation or plans if something happens, such as losing a job, your mortgage rate changing, or a car breaking down completely so you have to buy a new one. These, of course, are just a few examples – there are plenty of other things that can happen that would be expensive and potentially financially ruinous if you didn’t have an emergency fund in place.
Try to set aside enough money to cover three to six months of expenses and in that way, you’ll know you’re okay while you put things back on track after a problem happens.
Review And Update Your Estate Plan
Estate planning is something a lot of people put off because it’s quite morbid (it’s all about what happens to your estate after you die, after all), but the sooner you do it, the better – it ensures everyone is provided for, and it’s one of the most organized things you can do for the future.
The thing to remember, however, is that estate planning isn’t just something you can do and then forget about – your plan will often need updating because of various changes in your own situation as well as the laws and regulations surrounding probate, for example. It’s a good idea to have a probate attorney on hand who you can trust to check things over for you and help you on a regular basis when it comes to updating your estate plan (which should include a legal will). They’ll also be able to help your loved ones after you pass away since they’ll know your estate well; that saves a lot of time and worry, so it’s a good idea to include the attorney’s contact details in your will.
Your estate plan should include some important documents and information including your will, trusts, powers of attorney, and any advance directives you might want to have in place for your healthcare – in that way, you can be sure your wishes for the future are known and carried out.
Tell Others What You Want
Even the best planning for the future and even being the most organized person doesn’t necessarily mean everything you’ve put in place will come to pass – if other people are involved (which they generally will be), you’ll often find they have their own ideas about how things should be done, and in the end, your planning might come to nothing.
Well, that’s likely to be the case if you don’t tell anyone what your plans are, but if you do tell others what you want and what your goals are (not just in terms of your will, although that can be important as well – we mean for everything you want to do in the future), it’s easier for them to understand your wishes and respect them, whether you’re there or not. So why not talk to your loved ones about your goals? It might even be the case that they can help you with your planning, taking some of the burden away from you.