Planning is essential, especially in the finance world. A financial plan refers to evaluating an individual’s financial state and long-term goals before a strategy is put together to achieve those goals. You can either do it yourself or hire a financial planner. Here are 6 areas where you may need help with financial planning.  

1. Financial goals

There are three types of financial goals.   

• short-term (to be achieved in under five years)  
• medium-term (to be achieved from five to ten years)   

• long-term goals (to be achieved in ten or more years)  

Financial planning is necessary for each goal. Set goals for data and in monetary units (dollars or euros). 

2. Testing your financial plan

The future is unpredictable, so it is essential to test your financial plans. This ensures that you have an alternative goal even if some economic conditions impact your financial planning.  

3. Tax planning

We all know taxes are inevitable. You shouldn’t try to escape it, but it does not mean you pay more than you should. There are many opportunities that you can avail yourself of to avoid significant tax bills that are unexpected. A good financial planner would see the chance sooner. 

4. Monitoring and adjustments

Make sure you keep monitoring and making adjustments midway through your goals. Though it is more complex to keep changing plans in the middle, you never know when things could go wrong, and you need to. Important documents and progressions should be monitored and assessed, and adjustments should be made as required. 

5. Cashflow management

Make sure your budget has sufficient room for saving and investing. While regular expenses should be relatively easy to deal with, understand how your irregular expenditure fits into your budget. Insurance, medical bills, petrol price hikes, or increased interest rates do not cover some expenses. Good financial planning would secure your funding even in such circumstances that are a part of life. 

6. Debt management

Some debts are used to build equity in the property and increase net worth. This type of debt is ideal because it improves your credit score quickly. But suppose there is a high-interest debt, such as a credit card or retail debt. In that case, a proper financial planning strategy is needed to settle this debt as soon as possible so that you can maintain other high-priority finances such as medical aid, emergency funds or income protection.  

How to organise your finances? 

Here are some tips to help you save time and organise your finances.  

• Consolidate your accounts to bring everything together effectively and cost-efficiently 

• Bank online for convenience and access to your accounts at your fingertips 
• Pre-authorise your bill payments to save time and make automatic bill payments when they’re due 
• Set up a pre-authorised contribution plan to help prioritise your savings, boosting them for the future  
• Keep your financial documents compiled and accessible in a secure place 

Financial plans are as unique as each individual and cater to everyone’s needs and desires. Your plan should tell your story. A good financial planner finds a strategy to help you reduce spending, pay the debt, save and invest for the future, manage your investment, and adapt your strategy to the changing economy.