A solid financial infrastructure – or rather, a coherent collection of systems, management, tools, and practices that an organization integrates to serve the economy of their business – is crucial to the success of any company. But what about your own personal financial infrastructure? It can be easy to get so focused on serving the business economy that it falls by the wayside; an oversight that can have huge repercussions on your future. To keep your personal financial infrastructure in check, you must first assess the systems, management, tools, and practices that make it up.

Starting with Google is a good way to ease yourself into learning how to best handle your personal finances. You can find tons of resources, online classes, and even communities of finance geeks to give you useful tips and tricks. Also consider talking to a finance professional. Do the research before soliciting their services to ensure their philosophy aligns with your goals.

The next step is to look at what money management tools you use. Consider the following questions:

• How do you maximize your company benefits?
• Should you maximize your 401k?
• What are the tax consequences of doing so, both now and in the future? For instance, if you max out your 401k now and take advantage of the tax deduction today, then you might pay more taxes later. Should you have some sort of balance?
• Should you protect your income exclusively through company benefits, like life insurance and disability insurance?
• Do you have a plan in place for if you leave your job or get laid off?
• Should you have a personal umbrella policy to protect you from lawsuits?

Finally, reflect on and analyze your personal finance practices. Use these questions as a jumping off point:

• Common practice says to have at least three months of income in an emergency fund. Is this amount right for you?
• How much of your money should be in the market?
• How much of a risk are you taking with your spending?
• How’s your debt-to-income ratio?

There are a lot of questions here, but if you take the time to address them now your future self will thank you. Don’t get so caught up on the economic growth of your business that you forget to evaluate your personal financial infrastructure and make sure it’s operating at peak. You work your tail off growing your business to ensure profits, so you deserve to capitalize on the benefits you’re provided. Go through the steps outlined above and begin to create a personal, integrated, and transparent approach to a financially successful future today.

Registered Representative and Financial Advisor of Park Avenue Securities LLC (PAS). OSJ: 7 Hanover Square, New York, NY 10004, 888-600-4667. Securities products and advisory services offered through PAS, member FINRA, SIPC. Financial Representative of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America® (Guardian), New York, NY. PAS is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Guardian. Quantified Wealth Advisors is not an affiliate or subsidiary of PAS or Guardian. 2016-28920 Exp. 10/18