Reviewing your financial plan every year ensures that you keep focused on your financial goals and that you stay on track to achieving them. You can keep track of your progress with a financial planning checklist which will allow you to see what you have achieved so far and what areas of your finances you may still need to target. If you are reviewing your financial plan, here are some items that you might include in your checklist:
- Review of your Budget: Have any unnecessary costs or spending crept back in to your monthly outgoings. Are you keeping to any spending and saving targets that you have set yourself? Are there areas where you could be saving more which would allow you to save more for the future.
- Update the details of any assets that you hold and any outstanding debts including outstanding credit card or over-draft balances. This will give you an idea of what assets you currently have that can be used to fund your future goals.
- Review your financial goals. Consider the goals you set at your last financial review and see what progress you have made in the past year. Those goals might have included some short term measures such as establishing an emergency fund or some medium to longer term goals such as saving for a deposit on a house.
- Ensure your loved ones will be taken care of, particularly if something happens to you. This might involve establishing an educational fees fund or through arranging life insurance for you and your spouse/partner.
- Review your Retirement Plans. Have you already set up a retirement savings plan? If you haven’t then this is something you might prioritise for this coming year.
- Review your investment choices: It’s a good idea complete a risk assessment questionnaire with your financial advisor and select funds to invest in that suited to your tolerance and capacity to take risk.
Financial Planning is an ongoing process and if you are thinking of putting a financial plan in place or reviewing your existing financial plan, get in contact with Con Friel & Company on 074 9121301, by email confriel@eircom.net or by contact form..
