Comparative Study of Personal Financial Planning Essay

It is generally seen that people have a misconception that financial planning is about saving more and spending less but that is not the case, it is more about saving the right amount so that future goals can be met. The objective of financial planning is * To ensure that the right amount of money is available in right hands at right point of time in the future to achieve the desired goals and objectives. It * Provides direction and meaning to your financial decisions. * It allows you to understand how each financial decision you make affects other areas of your finances. Financial planning and investments can be undertaken by anyone with a clear assessment of one’s inflow of funds and the goals that need to be achieved from time to time. Keywords: Financial planning, wealth management, investment instruments, real estate Introduction Financial planning is achieving your financial goals in the most efficient manner. The broad areas of financial planning include Investment plan ning  -Your wealth will only grow over time if you have invested it in assets. Investment planning  deals with the kind of investments an individual should invest in to get the best out of his wealth. In this the risk and return profiling of an individual is done based on his life stage, spending requirements with respect to his income and wealth, time horizon and liquidity requirements and various individual specific constraints. Investment Planning is important because it helps you to derive the maximum benefit from your investments. | Cash flow planning  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ In simple terms, cash flow refers to the inflow and outflow of money. It is a record of your income and expenses. Though this sounds simple, very few people actually take time out to find out what comes in and what goes out of their hands each month. Cash flow planning refers to the process of identifying the major expenditures in future (both short-term and long-term) and making planned investments so that the required amount is accumulated within the required time frame. Cash flow planning is the first thing that should be done prior to starting an investment exercise, because only then will you be in a position to know how your finances look like, and what is it that you can invest without causing a strain on yourself. It will also enable you to understand if a particular investment matches with your flow requirement| | | 3. Retirement planning  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Retirement planning means making sure you will have enough money to live on after retiring from work. Retirement should be the best period of your life, when you can literally sit back and relax or enjoy your life by reaping benefits of what you earn in so many years of hard work. But it is easier said than done. To achieve a hassle-free retired life, you need to make pruden t investment decisions during your working life, thus putting your hard-earned money to work for you in future. Planning for retirement is as important as planning your career and marriage. Life takes its own course and from the poorest to the wealthiest, no one gets spared. We get older every day, without realizing. However, we assume that old age is never going to touch us. The future depends to a great extent on the choices you make today. Right decisions with the help of proper financial planning, taken at the right time will assure smile and success at the time of retirement. Retirement Planning acquires added importance because of the fact that though longevity has increased, the number of working years haven’t.Tax planning  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Tax evasion is illegal but tax minimization is legal. Thus you can reduce your tax liability by planning effectively. With proper tax planning you can increase your after tax income. |   | 5. | Children future planning- It is essential to plan for the future of your children. The purpose of Children’s Future Planning is to create a corpus for foreseeable expenditures such as those on higher education and wedding and to provide for an adequate security cover during their growing years. Savings alone is no longer enough.