Financial Planning is the process of meeting your life goals through the proper management of your finances. Life goals can include buying a home, saving for your child's education, or planning for retirement.
The financial planning process consists of six steps that help you take a "big picture" look at where you are financially. Using these six steps, you can work out where you are now, what you may need in the future and what you must do to reach your goals.
The steps are to:
- Establish and define your relationship with your financial planner;
- Gather your financial data and identify your financial goals;
- Analyse that data, and evaluate where you are today;
- Develop your plan and scrutinise alternative courses of action based upon those goals;
- Put that plan into practise by working closely with a planner and other pertinent professionals;
- Regularly monitor the plan.
