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What is Financial Planning?

Money is very important, as materialistic as it may sound. Without it, you can’t access to even the basic necessities in life, forget about the comforts and luxuries we dream about.
Making money is still comparatively easier than maintaining it or doubling it. It is not just about getting a stable job and earning; it has got much more to do with managing your earnings well and saving it for the future. And if you have bigger aspirations, then investments are a must.
All this requires financial planning. Let’s look at what it is all about:
  • WHAT IS FINANCIAL PLANNING: 
    It is the act of managing your income; setting your financial goals and allocating your assets across investments while keeping in mind your limitations and requirements.
  • DIFFERS FOR EVERYONE: 
    Financial planning may mean different things to different people. This is because the end goal may differ. For you, it may mean planning investments to provide security during retirement. For another, it may mean planning savings and investments to provide money for child’s college education.
    For someone else, it could mean ensuring a steady secondary source of income. Financial planning may even mean making career-related decisions or choosing the right insurance products. In reality, financial planning is the process of meeting financial goals through the proper management of finances.
  • NOT JUST SAVING : 
    Again, simply saving money is not enough. It has to be invested in the right financial products to ensure their value increases with time. This is even more imperative in a country like India where inflation remains high. This price rise eats into the value of your money. So, Rs. 100 may not have the same value tomorrow.
    For this reason, investment is a must. Financial planning helps you here too. Once you have an idea about your goals, financial and investment planning can be undertaken to understand where you stand currently and how to reach your final goal. Planning can thus be done by anyone with a clear assessment of one's inflow of funds and the goals that need to be achieved from time to time.
  • FINANCIAL PLANNING PROCESS: 
    Financial planning is important because it guides and controls the financial decision making process. While making a financial plan, your objectives and constraints are included so that it represents the long-term roadmap. Planning is a dynamic process. So, if there are any changes in your circumstances, they can be incorporated into the financial plan.
    It, thus, consists of the following activities:
    • Assessing present assets and resources to understand the current situation.
    • Setting goals and objectives – both in terms of returns and risks.
    • Determining constraints and financial planning areas like taxes, legalities, time horizon, liquidity, as well as unique circumstances that may differ from person to person.
    • Determining appropriate plan and strategy to achieve financial goals.
    • Evaluating the plan regularly.
    • Adjusting and modifying the plan if there is a change in conditions.

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