Finding out what financial planning means to you requires an analysis of your financial situation. “How much money do I need to retire?” “How much insurance do I need to assure my family is taken care of in the event I’m no longer there to take care of them?” You must prioritize all the things that you want to accomplish, whether it’s saving for your first home or paying off your mortgage, planning for your children’s education, or going on your dream vacation. Establishing goals like these or the seemingly faraway dream of retirement and having enough money to maintain your lifestyle is the first step towards good financial planning.
 
The financial planning process itself can be imposing, as you must open yourself up to, in many cases, a virtual stranger about your dreams and your financial circumstances. That initial interview is one in which the planner gets to know YOU, not just the basics of your financial circumstances. Deeper knowledge of your financial situation will come later as you start to build a relationship of trust. You and your planner will identify your financial and personal goals and objectives. Then comes the needs analysis: “What is required to get started?” or “What gaps are in your current plan?” The planner works with you to determine how to overcome these deficiencies; how to take advantage of potential opportunities by making recommendations which you mutually agree on; and then takes action to implement them. Your planner will review and revise this plan with you on a regular basis to keep it relevant as your life evolves.
 
These first steps can be as simple as starting a monthly automatic savings plan, as many us have never learned to save, yet can include far more complicated scenarios which may require consultation with your accountant and lawyer to assure the wealth you have accumulated in your lifetime passes to your heirs. The key is to start the process early in life when you have the time frame and flexibility to make changes as circumstances permit, and to overcome those bumps in the road life throws at us.
 
There are no magic solutions in financial planning. Mostly it takes discipline, and many of us need someone savvy and consistent that we can work with as we don’t have the time in our own busy lives working, raising a family, to do it all ourselves. PlanWright builds on the philosophy that once we start with the financial planning process we can make that connection and work towards achieving your dreams.
 
October 31, 2007