As it is with every journey, you must minimize the risk before you set sail.  If there is a crisis occurring in your life, we encourage you to deal with the crisis before you develop a plan to do anything else.  Your concentration should be on finding a way to eliminate the crisis so you can begin or continue your journey on a healthy financial foot.  Our first WayPoint is called “Mayday Clear”.  It’s imperative that you are free of crisis before you begin your journey.  It is also important to focus your attention on making sure your “Four Pillars” have a firm foundation and are stable.  The Four Pillars include: Housing, Food, Transportation, and Utilities.  If you are behind or unable to pay for any of these basic necessities, the domino effect could cause disruption or crisis in other areas of your life.  For example, if you continue to not pay your auto loan, your car could be repossessed leaving you without transportation to your job.  Or, if your utilities are not paid, you risk the chance of the power company turning off your electricity, leaving you and your family in the cold.  All your attention needs to focus on maintaining the basic necessities before any other expense or bill is paid.  If there is no cash-flow remaining to pay your credit cards, then your creditors will just have to wait.  All discretionary spending (Non-essential spending) needs to stop. Your cable, coffees/lattes, eating out, vending, sodas, car washes, entertainment, trips, etc., need to be put on hold until the crisis passes.