You probably understand the importance of saving and investing money for future goals – like buying a home, paying for college or the ‘big one’ – investing to create income in retirement. But, it can be confusing. Where do you start.

Whether you work with a financial professional like a Certified Financial Planner practitioner, or you’re dipping your toes into an online account or your company 401(k) – you can probably be more successful if you follow some tried-and-true action steps.

The first thing is to define the goals that you hold. Are you investing for the downpayment on a home in two years? Maybe you’re just trying to build emergency and slush funds… either way, decide exactly what you hope to achieve. Only then can you come up with a strategy.

The investment strategy is the next step. Will you act as a ‘manager of managers’ and hire managers through mutual funds and/or Exchange Traded Funds? Or will you choose your own mix of stocks, bonds and alternative investments to get there? And how aggressive do you want or -in some cases- do you need to be to grow your money?

Once you’ve determined what type of investments you’ll utilize… you need to find a platform that can accommodate your choices. You will find basic choices through an employer sponsored retirement plan – and a broader number of choices through an online brokerage service. Once you’ve determined that – set up the accounts.

Keep in mind that if you’re working with an advisor – she should have the platform available, and should be able to give guidance on how to invest for growth, income, protection and to be as tax efficient as possible.

Once you’re up and running – you’ll need to regularly monitor progress and check for asset drift. That means you’ll rebalance periodically.