Your Financial Check Up  Financial Planning You Can Do Yourself

With the right discipline, knowledge and tools, you can do some of the work yourself. 

Control what you can: how much you save & spend.

Prepare for what you can’t: manage your exposure to, and the impact of, risks.

Keep More of What You Make

1. • Get a grip on your cash flow.  Many people have no control over how much of, and how fast, their income flows down stream, never to be seen again.  The first step in good planning is understanding where the money goes and eliminating inefficient costs so you keep more of what you make. 
   

2. • Know that the future is uncertain.  The “unknown unknowns”, both good & bad, can have a huge impact on poorly built plans. 
   

3. • Build up an emergency fund and keep it in an FDIC insured account.  Get sufficient insurance.
   

4. • Put your plan in writing -- know what you can spend money on, and what you can’t.
   
   

Save Well

1. • Know what you’re saving for, and when you’ll need the money
   

2. • Be honest and objective: how much volatility can you handle?  Set a risk level and stick to it.
   

3. • Develop realistic expectations on how much return you should get on your savings.
   

Invest Wisely

1. • Understand the major asset classes (stocks, bonds, large, small, domestic & international, etc)
   

2. • Learn what’s a good mix of asset classes for you
   

3. • Focus on the big picture -- don’t let just one factor drive your decisions (costs, short term return, etc)
   

4. • Create a written investment plan describing what your objectives are and how you’ll measure progress.  Then, use your plan to prevent short term events from driving snap decisions. 
   Emotional decision making is your worst enemy.
   

5. • Monitor your progress against your plan at least once per year.