Anyone who goes about setting up a personal financial budget usually is well aware of the importance of accounting for personal expenses. (In fact, some individuals — with varying degrees of success — create a budget without formal entries for income.)

In a pre-fight scene from one of the "Rocky" movies, Sylvester Stallone's Rocky character looks into the unblinking eyes of his opponent, Mr. T, who, after a long silence and menacing glare, sums up in one word what he will shortly bring to Rocky: "PAIN !" The prospect of creating and sticking to a personal budget may not be as frightening as stepping into the ring with Mr. T, but for most of us it certainly promises (and delivers!) PAIN.

The first step in the process of determining what assets and liabilities you now have is to create an organized list of them.

As a small business owner your personal finances are closely tied to how successfully you manage your business finances. But even if business is booming and your company is incredibly well managed (of course!), this does not mean that your personal financial picture will always be so rosy. Maybe one of these statements hits close to your financial situation:

A journey of a thousand miles may begin with one step, but chances are that you won't know what direction to walk in unless you first know where you're starting from. In much the same way, creating a wealth-building plan should start with a look at what assets you now have.

In the late 1990s, America's traditional optimism about the country's continued economic progress seemed very well placed. The economy was expanding rapidly, unemployment reached record lows, and the stock market seemed to hit the stratosphere on a regular basis.

Once you've figured out how to measure your business's productivity, you need to determine whether your productivity is where it should be. This task can be tricky, especially if you're getting this information for the first time. Factors to take into consideration are: