If you’ve been putting off writing your financial plan, you’re not alone. Writing a financial plan can seem like a daunting task, and lots of very smart people avoid it for this reason.
But it doesn’t have to be, and it can be as easy as starting with just one page.
The One-Page Financial Plan is designed to capture your thoughts and ideas. It is a powerful tool for building and managing your personal finances in the 21st century. Short and concise, it delivers your plan quickly and effectively and there can be no question as to where you are going and how you are going to get there.
In reality, there really is no difference between a financial plan and a business plan.
Although you don’t have to run your own business to be successful, it helps to think like one. After all, business like-behaviour delivers business-like results.
Ask yourself this important question, if you were a business would you be worth investing in? Or are you operating as a not-for-profit or, worse still, a bad investment?
We have developed a one-page financial plan that helps you quickly put together all the critical information that you need to define the financial strategies required for you, and your family.
The One-Page Financial Plan
Your One-Page Financial Plan should contain the following:
Tax Structures
Start by listing your income, assets and liabilities under the appropriate tax structures.
Get a helicopter view of your current financial situation and consider whether this is ideal given your goals and objectives.
Quick Tip: Understanding the pros and cons of each of the tax structures available to you can have a significant impact on how you manage your finances.
In addition to understanding the basic tax rate, you also need to consider the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) impact, contribution limits, when you can access your money, the investment options, estate planning implications and, just as importantly, the potential for legislative risk (this is the likelihood of future governments changing the rules which may adversely affect your plans).
Strategies
List the current strategies in place across each of the seven financial areas of your life.
What strategies have you implemented regarding your cash flow, or minimizing tax, or debt reduction, etc.
Do you have any strategies? If so, are there any gaps and why?
Quick Tip: Each of these seven areas form the foundation of any financial plan and they each play an important role in providing financial security.
Whilst some areas may be more important than others, depending on your stage of life, no section should be ignored.
Organisation
List how often you intend to review your plans and track your progress and put it in your diary.
Tracking progress not only helps you identify what’s working and what’s not, it also helps you stay focused.
Quick Tip: You should track your progress on, at least, a quarterly basis, with a thorough review of your plans on an annual basis.
Investment Philosophy
Investing can be an emotional endeavor. For most people, they are investing their hard-earned money with their futures at stake.
Therefore, having a well-conceived investment philosophy is the counterweight to help fight back against your body’s natural response to the perceived dangers in the economy, filter out the noise, eliminate second guessing, and keep you focused to avoid making a decision that could cause irreversible financial loss.
Quick Tip: As you develop your own investment philosophy, make sure you have a clear understanding of your own personal objectives and your attitude toward money and risk. And remember, your investment philosophy doesn’t have to be overly complex.
Your one-page plan will be an extremely useful tool to help you refine your personal financial strategy(is) quickly and easily. It might even be all the planning that you need.
Bill Savellis
Senior Financial Adviser
Having navigated the Aged Care landscape for both of his parents, Bill understands how challenging it can be to make the right decisions for your future care needs. That's why he believes that everyone should have access to financial advice during this time. Bill has been a Financial Adviser for over 22 years, and is passionate about helping others access the financial advice they need. Drawing from his own experience in the financial sector, Bill develops strategic, personalised plans to support transitions to Aged Care or Home Care.
Disclaimer: Prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information in this article, Olive Grove Financial Advice recommends that you consider whether it is appropriate for your circumstances. Information in this article was correct and current as of 22 February 2022. Olive Grove Financial Advice is operated by Bill Savellis through The Financial Advisor (Australia) Pty Ltd ABN 72 619 546 431, who is a Corporate Authorised Representative (No. 1278394) of Havana Financial Services Pty Ltd.
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