Financial planning is a comprehensive process that helps individuals manage their finances to achieve personal economic satisfaction. It involves setting financial goals, creating a plan to achieve them, and regularly reviewing and adjusting the plan as necessary. In simple terms, financial planning is about understanding where you are financially today, where you want to be in the future, and building a plan to get there.
What Does a Strong Financial Plan Include?
Now that you know what financial planning is, let’s get started with what it includes.
Financial planning often starts with creating a savings plan to cover emergencies, followed by building an investment plan for wealth creation. Based on your goals (such as higher education for children, retirement, and a world tour), you can choose to allocate your money to the right options and ensure sufficient funds within a specific timeframe. Tools like an investment calculator can help estimate how much you need to save or invest regularly to achieve these targets.
A good plan also includes a protection strategy, especially in the form of insurance. When you buy life insurance or term insurance, you ensure that your family’s financial needs are secured even in your absence. Alongside, diversifying into mutual funds, fixed-income options, or retirement products, can strengthen your overall financial plan.
Fundamentals of Financial Planning
To ensure thorough financial planning, it is important to be aware of its fundamentals. As discussed earlier, the process begins with knowing what financial planning is and identifying what it should include.
Beyond that foundation, here are the key pillars that guide a strong plan:
Setting Financial Goals
The first step in financial planning is to identify your goals. They can be short-term, medium-term, or long-term. Clearly defined goals can provide direction and purpose for your financial planning efforts.
Understanding the Current Situation
Before moving ahead, it is essential to assess your current financial situation. This includes evaluating your income, expenses, debts, and existing savings. Knowing where you stand financially creates a realistic baseline to build your plan.
Budgeting
Creating a budget is crucial for financial planning. It can help you track your income and expenses, ensuring you live within your means and can allocate funds towards your financial goals. Start by calculating your total income and total expenses for the week, month, and year. You can then set aside some spending money and earmark what you want to save and invest.
Saving and Investing
As mentioned earlier, these are essential components of financial planning. Saving ensures you have funds for emergencies and short-term goals, while investing helps grow your wealth over time. Investments can take various forms. Besides traditional investments, such as gold or real estate, it is important to consider options such as mutual funds and investment schemes.
Use an investment calculator to estimate how much you should invest. It is advisable to diversify across asset classes to balance risks. Lastly, remember to align your investments with both risk tolerance and goals.
Protection and Risk Management
One often-overlooked aspect is risk coverage. A well-designed portfolio includes life insurance plans to protect dependents, health insurance to cover medical costs, and optional riders for critical illness or disability. This ensures your savings are not eroded by unexpected financial shocks.
Tax Planning
Effective tax planning can help you save money and reduce your tax liability. Understand the various tax-saving instruments available in India under both the tax regimes and see how they can be integrated into your financial planning.
Retirement Planning
It is about ensuring you have enough funds to maintain your lifestyle after retirement. Explore various retirement plans in India and start planning early to benefit from the power of compounding.
Debt Management
Managing existing loans is just as important. A healthy financial plan has room for paying down high-interest debt like credit cards before focusing on long-term investments. This reduces financial stress and improves cash flow.
Consulting a Certified Financial Planner
If you are unsure about managing your financial plan, seeking professional guidance can be highly beneficial. A certified financial planner can provide expert advice as per your income, risk profile, and future aspirations.
Importance of the Right Tools in Financial Planning
If you are starting with your financial planning journey, it could get overwhelming. To make this easier, you could use online calculators. For example, you can use a life insurance calculator to understand how much you can contribute to a plan to get the returns you expect. To get an idea of how your investments can help you earn tax exemptions, you can use an income tax calculator.
These tools allow you to make informed decisions and adjust strategies as life circumstances change.
Finally, financial planning is not a one-time activity. Regularly review your financial plan to ensure it remains aligned with your goals and modify it as necessary.
Disclaimers:
IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Limited, IRDAI Regn No.:143, CIN: U66010MH2008PLC183679, Address: 12th & 13th floor, North [C] Wing, Tower 4, Nesco IT Park, Nesco Center, Western Express Highway, Goregaon (East), Mumbai – 400 063. Toll-free No – 18002098700. Email Id:customer.first@indiafirstlife.com, Website: www.indiafirstlife.com, Fax No. +91226570600. For more details on risk factors and terms and conditions, please read the sales brochure carefully before concluding the sale. Trade logo displayed above belongs to our promoter M/s Bank of Baroda and is used by IndiaFirst Life Insurance Co. Ltd. under license. Advt. Ref. No
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