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Personal finance planning—combined with personal goal-setting—is key to personal success. Ron Redfield, CPA, PFS, addresses the issues of personal finance planning, with real-life sample personal finance plans.
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Question by Steve Kobrin: Ron, my father has always preached the virtue of goal-setting, namely "plan your work, and work your plan." Tell us how this relates to personal finance. How important is it to use a personal financial planning sample, as a guide to personal financial planning, in general—in terms of personal goals for saving money—such as for retirement planning, for example?
Answer by Ron Redfield:
In personal finance, "fail to plan, plan to fail" is one of my favorite sayings. I do not recall who originated that phrase. Of course in all aspects of life that theory should be adhered to. The importance of a personal finance plan is the setting of and the future achievement of personal finance goals.
A "road map" is so necessary in the designing of a personal finance plan. The map need not be formal, nor does it need to be set in stone. How often have you been following a map and a detour comes along? Detours occur all the time, while traveling, of course. Detours happen during personal finance planning as well. Hence, your "road map"—your personal finance plan—needs to have the flexibility for potential adjustment.
It is fairly simple to set up a plan for personal finance. A personal finance plan would include a budget for saving money, today—combined with future needs such as college funding, retirement planning, vacations, rates of return on investment (ROI), inflation, and "everyday needs" of living.
The need for detail—within a personal finance plan—is necessarily different for most people. For example, let's look at a young person, who is interested in saving money.
Ronald R. Redfield, CPA, PFS, is available for a free consultation and sample portfolio based on your investment risk tolerance levels. And you're warmly invited to request a complementary copy of Ron's text on investment philosophy.
Please contact Ron by visiting him at Redfield, Blonsky & Co., sending him an email, or calling him at 1 (908) 276-7226. Be sure and read Ron's latest commentary on financial investments, to keep up with market changes.