Tired of stressing over your finances? It might be time to get serious. A personal financial plan is a strategy for outlining and achieving your financial goals and can often be the first step towards taking a firm grip over your income and expenditure. Follow these simple steps and you could be well on your way to securing your future prosperity.
1. Assess the current situation. Tally up all your assets, such as the money in your bank accounts and any property you might own, and subtract your liabilities, such as debts or outstanding loans. The resulting figure is your net worth. Keep an organised and consistent record of all of your financial dealings and paperwork and track your cash flow. There are some great apps available that can help you monitor your income and expenditure.
2. Decide what your goals are. Set realistic yet worthwhile short, medium and long-term financial goals. This will give you something to aim for and also provide a sense of accomplishment when you finally reach your targets. Not all of your goals in life will be financial so be sure to make a note of everything you want to attain or do; you will probably need some money to achieve these goals too.
3. Consider your options. So how are you going to make your dreams a reality? Will your current job suffice or will you need something better? Can you continue to spend the same amount of money or will you need to cut back? What about alternative sources of income? It’s not easy to make changes but some may be necessary if you really want to make headway.
4. Make some tough decisions. Carefully and scientifically choose the correct course of action for your particular set of circumstances, always keeping your goals to the forefront of your thinking. It’s also important to remember that there will always be variables and it’s impossible for everything to go exactly to plan. With the right attitude, even the biggest surprises can be appropriately managed along the way.
5. Create your plan. Take all of the above factors into consideration and set out your plan. In general, the more specific your plan is, the better. Try to find a good balance between being ambitious and being realistic and work hard at achieving your objectives.
6. Review and don’t be afraid to ask for help. You should never think of your plan as being the finished article. Many things in life are unpredictable and something might come up and force you to make adjustments. Try to see these unforeseeable circumstances as opportunities rather than challenges. Making and sticking to a financial plan is far from straightforward and many people choose to enlist the help of a qualified professional to guide them through the process.
At Gallivan Financial, our team of experts are always on hand to help you with your finances. Get in touch today and get the ball rolling. We’ll be delighted to hear from you.
All the best,
The Team at Gallivan Financial