Getting Started with Financial Planning

No matter what stage of life you’re in, “What do we do next?” seems to be a common theme during initial consultations with new clients. While there is a lot of great financial information out there (Check out my YouTube channel and don’t forget to subscribe), don’t allow yourself to get bogged down in the details of what everyone else thinks you should do.

The most important thing to do to get started is really spend some time getting a good idea of where you are today. Spend some time writing down your assets and liabilities, and then your income and expenses. If you’d like, visit the Planning Tools page to access our free financial planning software. All you do is link your accounts and it will populate this data for you. This is your starting point.

Next, what does your ideal situation look like? Write down your bucket list. When are you trying to do these things? If they are financial in nature, how much do you think they’ll cost? What is the most important thing on your list? Which one is happening the soonest?

Guess what? Over 60% of investors have never actually done this step.

Finally, give yourself some slack. Life is going to happen. Things are going to change. Some great things, some not so great things. Some things you directly control and some things you can’t. As things change, so will your plan.

If you have questions along the way, please touch base with us here.