1. Get rid of high-interest debt – Any loan that doesn’t provide some tax advantage will rob you. Mortgages and student loans sometimes offer deductions that offset the interest you pay. But credit cards and unsecured loans can eat away at your healthy balance sheet and cash flow like a cancer. They inhibit your ability to live free. Yes, the plan looks a bit different depending on where you start from. Some will have only a thousand or two in debt to whittle down, while others have several cards maxed out. However, the first priority means eradicating these obligations. 2. Create an Emergency Fund – Some call this a rainy-day fund. Whatever term you use, after those high-interest debts have been wiped out, it’s time to put funds back to cover the unexpected. What will you do if you lose your job or have a medical emergency? How will you pay to repair your house if the washer floods the laundry room? If you don’t have a plan, these unforeseen expenses will end up on your credit card, adding to this most aggressive form of debt. We recommend having enough in your Emergency Fund to cover three to six months of expenses—both fixed and variable. Fixed expenses include your housing, food, and transportation costs, as well as any loans you’re still paying. Entertainment, shopping, and vacations fall in the Variable category. Look at your bank statements or the amount of cash you spend each month on these discretionary items and add a median amount to your fixed expenses. Then multiply by six to determine how much you need in a savings account in case of emergency. Hopefully, you’re reading this book before you’ve put yourself into debt because that means you can quickly build this second priority and move right into number three. 3. Savings – After you’ve built up your rainy-day fund, you can put back a bit each month in a more discretionary savings account. This gives you the flexibility to avoid unnecessary loans and credit cards because you have these funds to cover your disciplined expenses. In today’s banking environment, you can earn a very healthy interest rate on your savings, so shop around and compare rates on savings accounts at different banks. A four percent interest rate on $1,000 in your savings account can add $40 annually to your coffers. In an ideal world, numbers three and four of this list can be built together. 4. Investments – Investing is the fun part of your financial plan. It’s best done with an advisor who knows his or her way around this realm of the finance industry and is focused on providing guidance that is in their client’s best interest. And again, because your situation will not be exactly like anyone else’s, a great advisor will talk to you about your short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals. One of the easiest and most effective forms of investing is making sure you’re taking advantage of any match your employer offers for a 401k. If they will match up to three percent, then three percent needs to be your minimum payroll deduction. For most, long-term goals are easy—retirement and legacy giving. On the other hand, a short-term goal for some is a new car every three years, while others want to plan a grand vacation every summer. Medium-term goals might include a downpayment on a house or a college fund for your children. Investing allows you to reach these milestones more quickly than a basic savings account. It's important to begin building these priorities as early as possible. The crux of the plan is to spend less than you make and live beneath your means. However, just like you need a physician to personalize your health span, if you want to maximize your Wealth Span, you will need to lean on a wealth advisor who knows you and your goals to walk you through your financial decisions.