Financial-Planning Process

Goal setting, Risk Management, Tax Planning, Retirement Planning, Investment Planning and Estate Planning.

There are six areas of financial planning that we will review together. These areas are all interrelated. What affects one area impacts the others as well. If nothing else, you should be aware of these areas and how they impact your financial strategies:

1. Goal setting. You've got to have a starting point. Start wit set a goals for yourself and make them realistic so they'll be achievable. You have to find out some important documents as a first step. Oftentimes, important papers are put somewhere safe, and we forget just where that someplace safe is.

2. Risk management. Risk management is a fancy term for using insurance to protect your assets from a loss you couldn't afford on your own. When you purchase an insurance policy, you are purchasing a financial product that provides you with peace of mind as well as the assurance that, if you suffer a loss, the insurance company will try to make you whole.

3. Tax planning. Uncle Sam has his hand in your wallet because he wants his fair share; at least he thinks it's a fair share. You'll learn how to shelter your income from taxes while saving for retirement.

4. Retirement planning. If you're 35, retirement seems so far away. At 35, you also think that 58 is old, but if you're 58, you think that 85 is old. retirement planning should begin with your first job. So you need to figure out how much to save to reach your goals.

5. Investment planning. There is a lot more to financial planning than just investing. Investing is a tool you use to achieve the goals you set for yourself. You also need to understand how much risk you should be taking with your investments to achieve your goals.

6. Estate planning. Although death, especially our won, is not a popular subject, no one gets out of this world alive so you might as well plan for it. There is a need to protect your assets from Uncle Sam's long reach, but more important, you need to have things in order for the ones you leave behind.