This is the third in a series of composite cases on planning for unsettling times in the Bermuda economic and workplace environment.

Recently, I talked about anticipating difficult times, thinking ahead and always trying to be prepared for any economic contingency. I also stated that the following cases are composites of many situations that we see and are not intended to resemble or be remotely related to any real person: GOT THE TRAVEL BUG There are individuals out there who just love to travel. In fact, the home page on their Internet screen is Travelocity.com. The minute they see a "real deal'' they are booking their ticket and making plans to go.

They work to travel, taking off as many as six to eight times a year. Of course, they have used up all their vacation pay, but the experiences they have had and the sights they have seen, all around the world, terrific. It's just so great tripping out, anticipating the trip, going on the trip, shopping, and sightseeing. Everyone fortunate enough to take vacations away invariably returns, renewed and refreshed.

REALITY CHECK You get home from your latest trip and several things have happened. In your absence, your landlord has raised your rent 25 percent. You were not expecting this, in fact, you were going to try and extend out your rent payment past the beginning of the month, because you are a little short of cash.

You walk into your job the next day, and your boss tells you that he understands that you have been taking unpaid vacation, but you are away so often, it is putting a real strain on the rest of the division's personnel. In the future, you will need special permission to be gone more than your two weeks allocated vacation. You get huffy, and quit, right on the spot! After all, jobs are easy to find. Four months later, you are still trying to find another job with the same pay scale and the same type of tolerant boss. Your present temp job is almost done and you do not have another lined up. You are thinking about moving back in with your parents to save some money, but they don't seem too enthusiastic this time around.

What's wrong with this picture? Why would we worry about this individual? There is nothing wrong with travelling, but he is spending every cent he makes. It could just as easily be clothes or DVD's or electronic equipment. In many ways, this person (let's say a man of about 25 years old) is not just standing still, he is going nowhere.

And in any slowing economy where there may be job tightening by employers, it could set him back years in skills lost, not to mention working harder to get back to the pay scale he previously held. Yet we can see that this fellow is disciplined in his goals, working for them, saving for them, reaching them, and enjoying them. So bright, so full of promise, he really just needs focus and a nudge in the right direction.

At this point, it is most important to note that we, as financial planning professionals, do not impinge on (or make judgments about) anyone's choice of quality of life; what is important to remember, is whether there will be the same quality of life later on. He is also at the age when using the usual warnings about "what will you do in retirement'' are so totally unrelated to his present existence as to be meaningless. Instead, stretching his mind (he admits he was pretty bored at the last job) and his choice of goals, and in some cases encouraging a slight lifestyle change, may make tremendous future financial differences. What a confidence builder it can be, being totally in control of your destiny! This positive visualization in personal financial planning is called coaching (personal motivation).

CHANGES One: We know that he cannot afford much in the way of professional financial planning, but we know he is Internet savvy. He needs to define what he wants from his life, five years, 10 years and 15 years down the road. We ask him to visualise who he would like to be by picking a couple of different role models. For example, a professional role model (including one with a university degree and professional license) or a self-starter hardworking business owner, while also using imaging to visualise the kind of future home atmosphere and surroundings he would like to live in.

Two: We realise that he is an unfocused over-achiever who, once he understands and grasps the potential around him may respond to the challenge, by channeling boredom into achievable steps. Pointing out that many millionaires started young because they possessed a good understanding of the power of investing, and were not afraid to seek opportunities whenever presented, we start him off with the concept of exponential compounding. Just a new play on the time honoured expression "a dollar saved is a dollar earned''. And what better place to experiment with all those nifty financial calculators than a website called ihatefinancialplanning.com? This week's website This is an interesting site; easy to use, easy to understand, sympathetic to how you feel about money and disciplining yourself to save, all the while dropping in little zingers such as, this under the education section: the average college or university graduate makes twice as much money compared to the individual who only finishes high school/secondary school, $45,000 annually for a high school graduate and $75,000 for a degree. Implied in that comment as well, is that professional licences and post-graduate degree-holding people earn even more.

In fact, American Masters in Business Administration (MBAs) are starting right out of graduate school at $85,000-$90,000 a year. This is real motivation to learn, knowing full well the calibre of firms here in Bermuda seeking qualified educated Bermudians. More noticeably than ever, Bermudians are discovering this education promise, reflected in a very high enrollment last fall at Bermuda College.

The site has lots of catchy titles, such as I Love Money, I Hate Planning; My Shoebox Online; I Want Out Of Debt; Single Person Money Issues, etc.

The largest section is devoted to "Financial Planning in Ten Steps; Check your pulse; Get motivated and set goals: Use pain for financial gain; Dream on, then make your dreams come true; Measure spending, figure out where it is going and limit yourself; ending finally exhorting you to "JUST DO SOMETHING, DON'T PUT IT OFF ANOTHER DAY''.

You are then directed to sign up for a do-it-yourself plan, but one wonders what the site does with all that personal information. For those too tired at that point to experiment any further, there are instructions on how to contact a professional.

If not, use the calculators, use the worksheets, visit the investment section, the education section, the insurance section, and get started on building toward your dream job and new life. Website rating: (out of a possible five) Martha Harris Myron CPA CFP, is a Bermudian, a Certified Financial Planner, holds NASD S. 7 and has a US tax background. Questions regarding this article may be sent to Email: marthamyron y northrock.bm Under no circumstances does the information in this column represent a recommendation to buy or sell stocks or any other investments. Readers needing specific assistance should seek advice from an experienced professional financial advisor.

The lure of foreign travel: Exotic places, major cities and empty beaches are strong temptations for many people. But the financial costs of constant travel will still be around when the tans and vacations snapshots have faded.