I have been reading Rich Dad’s Guide to Investing: What the Rich Invest in, That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not! when I got to thinking about when the author realized investing is a plan.

It got me thinking about My Timeline which is a chronology of where I have lived between when I was born to my present living situation.  In a strange way, by thinking about my timeline and what Robert was talking about in his book, it pulled together a crude picture of my plan.

I do not have the specific numbers because I did not bother to start tracking my net worth until last year.  I decided to use a rough ballpark figure starting with my arrival in Denver.

Upon my arrival in Denver, CO on July 4th, 2000, my net worth at the time could be summed up with these assets,

• 3K Stock
• 2K Retirement
• 2K Cash
• 15K Car (10K balance on auto loan)

As you can see, even though I had my stocks and retirement funds along with some cash, I still had a 10K balance on my car loan which was eventually paid off during the next 2 years. 

5 years later, I finally left Denver for Cape Cod.  It was a huge learning experience and a bittersweet departure.  My net worth at the time looked like this,

• 1K Stock
• 14K Retirement Funds
• No Cash
• No Car

Cape Cod was part of The Next Step which is what I am doing right now. Soon I will be relocating to York, PA where I can begin focusing on the next stage of my life. 

If I were to accept an offer from an employer in York right now, my net worth would look like this,

• 1K Stocks
• 23K Retirement Funds
• 3K Cash
• No Car

I presently have a target date to move to York by September 2008.  At my current pace, I am on track to increase my net worth by this much,

• 1K Stocks
• 28K Retirement Funds
• 10K Cash
• No Car

Yes, I still do not have a car but I am not complaining.  I am currently doing my research on used cars right now for when I arrive in York where a car will be necessary. 

It is becoming more clearer to me now how having an investment plan can help improve my ability to reach the next stage of my life.  An investment plan is really a means to achieve the goal of having my money work for me.