WHAT?

Financial planning is the practice of putting together a plan for your future as yo how you will manage your finances and prepare for all of the potential costs and issues that may arise. The process involves evaluating your current financial situation, identifying your goals and then developing and implementing relevant recommendations. 

Financial planning involves looking at the entire financial picture from saving for education and planning for retirement to effectively managing taxes and insurance. Financial planning is the process of taking a comprehensive look at your financial situation and building a specific financial plan to reach your goals. 

As a result, financial planning often delves into multiple areas of finance, including investing, taxes, savings, retirement, your estate, insurance and more. 

What are the types of Financial Planning?

There are 8 common services that are generally offered as part of financial planning

1. Tax planning: To address certain tax issues, maximise tax refunds and minimise your tax liability. 
2. Estate planning: Estate planning seeks to make things a bit easier for the loved ones after a person dies.  
3. Retirement planning: You would want to stop working some day and relax. Retirement planning services help you prepare for that day. They ensure that you’ve saved enough money to live the lifestyle you want in retirement. 
4. Philanthropic planning: It’s always nice to give something to people who need it or help a cause close to your heart. Financial planning can help you ensure you’re doing it efficiently and getting all the tax benefits you’re eligible for. 
5. Education funding planning: If you have children or other dependents who wish to pursue a college degree, you may want to help them to pay for it. Financial planning can help make sure you are able to do so. 
6. Investment planning: It helps with your investment portfolio by mapping out how much you should be investing and in which types of investments. 
7. Insurance planning: A financial planner can help you evaluate your insurance needs. Some financial planners are also licensed insurance agents and can sell you insurance themselves. However, they’ll likely earn a commission, which would create a conflict of interest. 
8. Budgeting: This is perhaps the cornerstone of financial planning. A planner can make sure you are spending the right amount given your income and can also make sure that you aren’t going into debt.