What Is Financial Planning and How Can I Make One

How would it feel to have a financial plan that will always keep you in check and hold you accountable for all of your cash flow, saving, investment, depth, and other factors of your financial life?

Your financial well-being is more important to you. It will define your financial future, which is why the phrase “if you fail to plan, you’ve planned to fail” can’t be overstated because not planning is a plan in itself. Financial planning will allow you to save money, afford what you want, and achieve long-term goals such as preparing for retirement and your children’s college.

If you’re wondering how to make a financial plan or why you should, you’ve come to the right place because in this article we shall be looking at what is financial planning, what are the advantages of having a financial plan as well as how to get one, so let get started.

What Is Financial Planning?

A financial plan is a detailed analysis of your current financial status, as well as your financial goals and any techniques you’ve devised to accomplish them.

Financial planning is the process of determining your financial goals and how to channel your funds into various plans, such as savings and investment plans, depth, emergency, spending plans, and any other part of your financial life.

Financial planning allows you to make the most of your assets while also ensuring that you achieve your long-term goals.

Having known what financial planning is, let’s look at the advantages of financial planning.

What Are The Benefits Of Financial Planning?

Below are some practical benefits of financial planning:

1. It will help you save more money

Having a financial plan allows you to keep track of your expenses and cut costs, and when all of these things are in order, you will save more money in the long term.

2. It will help you for emergencies and uncertainties

Many people have suffered losses and regrets as a result of their failure to establish an emergency fund. As a result, setting up an emergency fund is an important part of financial preparation that you should not ignore.

Personal financial planning keeps you from being caught off guard by an unexpected incident if you don’t have a plan in place to deal with it. The emergency fund might assist you in meeting a variety of obligations on time.

In this case, you must ensure that you have a fund equal to at least 6 months of your monthly wage. This way, you won’t have to worry about raising finances in the event of an unexpected situation beyond your control.

3. It gives you peace of mind

With effective financial planning, you can cover your monthly bills, invest for your future objectives, and still have money left over for yourself and your family. Personal financial planning allows you to manage your money effectively while also providing you with peace of mind.

4. Enjoy a better standard of living

Most people believe that to make their monthly bills and EMI repayments, they will have to reduce their level of living.

You won’t have to compromise your lifestyle if you make a decent financial plan and develop the discipline to stick to it. It is possible to attain your goals while living in relative comfort; all it takes is a few years of sacrifice, and you will begin to reap the fruits of your labor.

5. It ensures proper management of your cash flow

Financial planning aids in the efficient management and balance of outflow and inflow of funds, guaranteeing financial stability.

Now that you’ve learned about the value of financial planning let’s also take a look at the importance of personal financial planning.

What Are The Importance Of Personal Financial Planning?

The importance of personal financial planning is not just about raising your savings and reducing your expenses. Personal Financial Planning is beyond that. It includes achieving your future goals, such as:

1. Saving tax

Every year, you are probably paying a substantial amount as tax. But you can now lower your tax outgo legally by planning your taxes in advance, you can identify the best avenues to invest your money and reduce your taxable income. Mutual funds provide a tax-efficient avenue for investing in your life goals.

2. Wealth Creation

The cost of common products is rising, if you want to preserve or improve your existing level of life in the future, you’ll need to build sufficient wealth systems that can keep up with market conditions regardless of the season.

You may also want to purchase a better car or a new house in the future. All this requires money, and it merely highlights the importance of wealth creation. It is possible to achieve these goals by carefully investing your money in the right avenues. Equity mutual funds can be a suitable option for long-term goals.

3. Child’s education

Across the world, education is becoming daily expensive. This is why it is necessary to start planning from the day of your child’s concession. Calculate how much money you want to make and begin diversifying your financial portfolio by putting your fund into long-term investment opportunities that will help you reach your goals.

4. Retirement planning

Your retirement could be 25 or 30 years away. That isn’t to say you shouldn’t prepare for it now. You must begin establishing your safety net now if you want to live a happy and comfortable retirement life. Early planning can help you guarantee your financial future in the event of a financial crisis.

Also, starting early and watching your money grow and compound, you’ll be able to develop a large enough corpus over 25-30 years. If you’re unsure how to proceed, you might seek assistance from a financial expert.

How Do I Create A Successful Financial Plan?

To create a successful financial plan you need to:

1. Understand your current financial status

The first step in creating a financial plan is to assess your existing financial situation, which includes your income, expenses, debt, savings, and assets.

This will provide you with information on your financial status as well as suggestions for how to improve it.

2. Establish financial objectives

Your financial goals guide a smart financial plan. If you approach your financial planning from the perspective of what your money can achieve for you, what results will you get? You’ll feel more intentional about saving, whether it’s for a house or to help you retire early.

3. Set realistic and inspiring financial goals

By answering some of the following questions: What are the things in life that you desire? Do you want to buy a house or a car? How do you go about doing it?

You can begin with goals since they will motivate you to take the following steps and will serve as a guiding light as you work to make those dreams a reality.

4. Make a list of your financial goals and write them down

After you’ve answered those questions and set various financial goals in your thoughts, write them down on paper because there’s always a link between your mind, pen, sight, and realities. As you imagine them, write them down and put them somewhere visible where you can look at them daily.

5. Ensure your goals are specific

Here are some examples of specific goals: ‘I want to purchase a Nissan Murano worth $32,910, in the next 18 months or ‘I want to buy an apartment worth $250,000 in the next 5 years. These are specific and achievable goals.

6. Keep track of your money and direct it toward your goals

Determine your monthly financial flow, including what is coming in and what is going out. An accurate picture is essential for developing a financial strategy and can show opportunities to allocate more money toward savings or debt repayment. Knowing where your money goes can help you make short-medium and long-term strategies.

7. Plan to create a budget

Reducing credit cards or other high-interest debt is a frequent medium-term strategy, while retirement preparation is a common long-term strategy.

The 50/30/20 budget concepts are recommended by NerdWallet: Set aside 50% of your take-home earnings for needs (utilities, housing, transportation, and other regular expenses), 30% for wants (eating out, entertainment, and clothing), and 20% for savings and debt reduction.

8. Get your employer match

When you meet with a financial advisor, he or she will ask you if you have an employer-sponsored retirement plan, such as a 401(k), and if your employer matches any portion of your contribution.

True, 401(k) contributions reduce your take-home pay now, but it’s worthwhile to contribute enough to receive the full matching amount because it’s free money.

9. Put the right plan in place

You must choose the best investment option based on characteristics such as your objectives, age, risk tolerance, and investment amount. If you are unsure about which funds to include in your portfolio, you can seek the advice of a financial counselor.

10. Tackle high-interest debt

Any “toxic” high-interest debt, such as credit card balances, payday loans, title loans, and rent-to-own payments, must be settled as part of any personal financial planning. Some of these have such exorbitant interest rates that you’ll end up repaying two or three times what you borrowed.

If you have revolving debt, a debt consolidation loan or debt management plan may be able to assist you to consolidate multiple bills into one monthly charge at a lower interest rate.

11. Invest to build your savings

Some people believe that investing is just for the wealthy or those who are well-established in their careers and families; however, this is not the case!

Investing can be as easy as placing money in a 401(k) and as simple as creating a brokerage account (many have no minimum to get started).

12. Re-evaluate your financial plan regularly

When you invest your money, the financial planning process does not finish. You must also keep track of how the funds are functioning regularly. If they don’t perform well, you may need to replace them with funds that do.

You must also stick to your strategy because your objectives and dreams change as you get older. After the birth of a kid, for example, your financial priorities may shift. You now have to account for the costs and goals of a new family member.

Frequently Asked Questions On Financial Planning

The following are the five components for effective personal financial planning:

Recognize and identify your desires and goals.
Assets and liabilities should be listed.
Keep track of your cash flow and expenses.
Have an insurance plan.
Take action now.

Financial planning is designed to assist you in properly maximizing your money and achieving long-term financial goals, such as sending your children to college, purchasing a larger home, leaving a legacy, or retiring comfortably.

You can create a financial plan on your own or seek the assistance of a professional financial planner. The first stage is to determine your net worth and spending habits. Once this is documented, you must examine longer-term goals and devise strategies to achieve them.

Financial plans do not have a specific format, but the best ones tend to concentrate on the same topics. After determining your net worth and spending habits, you’ll examine your financial goals and decide how best to achieve them.

This usually entails some type of budgeting and setting up a monthly savings plan. It’s generally preferable to design a retirement, risk management, and long-term investment strategy and reduce tax expenses to a minimum to ensure that you live comfortably for the rest of your life.

Personal financial planning can assist you in the following ways:

To establish a reserve fund
Combat inflation
To create a retirement fund
To manage your money

Conclusion

Eric Worre once said and I paraphrase “Staying broke is hard, saving is hard, and rising to wealth is also hard, pick your hard wisely.” Get a financial plan, develop the discipline to stick to it, and in a few years, you’ll be glad you made such a decision.

We hope this article has given you the necessary information needed on what is financial planning as well as how you can make one.

Cheers to a wealthy you!

References

nerdwallet.com – What Is a Financial Plan, and How Can I Make One?
clevergirlfinance.com– Ten Steps To Creating A Solid Financial Plan For Yourself
franklintempletonindia.com – Importance of Financial Planning