What is a Financial Plan?

Jun 14, 2022

What is a Financial Plan

We all have things that we would like to achieve before we die.

Life goals can include saving for your kids’ college education, owning a beach house, buying a yacht, retiring comfortably, or having more time to spend with family rather than Cara and Peter in the office.

To achieve these goals, you need to be focused and financially organized.

A financial plan helps you make sensible money decisions that can help you achieve your goals in life.

So, What Exactly Is A Financial Plan?

A financial plan is a detailed overview of your current financial situation, (short, medium, and long-term) financial goals, and an in-depth strategy to achieve them.

Besides helping you realize your dreams, a financial plan will make you feel in control and give you the comfort of knowing that your financial life is in order.

To be effective, a financial plan must be:

Written down. A financial plan doesn’t exist if it’s not written down
Touching every aspect of your finances
Realistic and achievable
Agreed with your partner (if you have one, i.e.)
Regularly reviewed and updated

Depending on your goals’ time horizon, a financial plan can stretch over months, years, or decades.

Benefits of A Financial Plan:

Having a solid financial plan brings forth an assortment of benefits that include:

Better management of personal income
Clarity in retirement objectives
Improved preparation for future expenses
Reduced risk of debt
Increased likelihood of personal and financial success
Decrease in anxiety, worry, and stress levels

“Money, if it does not bring you happiness, will at least help you be miserable in comfort.” – Helen Gurley Brown

Components of a Good Financial Plan

Understanding what goes into creating a financial plan can mean the difference in your financial success.

A financial plan is a broad umbrella that covers multiple aspects of your financial life.

To lay the groundwork for a solid financial foundation, it pays to understand what each of the aspects entails.

Here’s a quick crash course on the components of a good financial plan:

Financial Goals

Making a financial plan is useless if you have no idea what you want to accomplish with your money.

So, whether you want to make the plan yourself or work with a professional, it should start with a list of your goals, both small and big.

A good strategy is organizing your goals according to how soon you want them accomplished:

Long-term goals are those a decade or more away and can include buying a home or planning for retirement
Medium-term goals are those you intend to achieve in the next 5-1- years and can include starting your own business or putting a down payment on a property
Short-term goals are those you hope to achieve in the next 5 years or less and can include buying a new car or paying down debt

For each of the goals, specify a dollar figure and a target date. Being specific helps you to measure your progress towards the goals.

Budgeting

A budget is one of the most important personal finance tools, but it can be a scary four-letter word if you’ve never had one before.

Simply put, a budget is a plan for how to spend your finances. By creating a detailed written budget, you can see exactly where your money is going and make better spending decisions.

As you approach retirement, you’re faced with so many financial decisions, and keeping track of everything can seem like an Olympic sport. This can ultimately lead to overspending and debt.

A budget lets you see how much money you have, what you spend it on, and how much is left over.

Once you get a hold of the inflows and outflows of your cash, it’ll be easier to optimize your spending to cut back on unnecessary stuff such as unused subscriptions, morning lattes, takeouts, etc.

Emergency Planning

The bedrock of any financial plan is stashing money away for surprise expenses.

An emergency or rainy-day fund is a go-to pool of cash you can dip into when unexpected expenses come knocking. It will help you avoid tapping your long-term savings whenever the need arises.

It would be best if you tried to save 3-6 months’ worth of living expenses (housing, utilities, transportation, and groceries) in a separate, highly liquid savings account.

Don’t put any of this money into an investment that will be hard to convert to cash at short notice (read immediately).

Also, only dip into the emergency fund when you have an urgent and pressing expense. Buying the latest iPhone is not an emergency expense.

Investment Plan

Your financial plan should include an investment plan/strategy.

If you have a long time before retirement, it may make sense to be more aggressive with your choice of investments.

If retirement is fast-approaching, be conservative in your choices as you build a portfolio.

It would be best if you also diversify your investment portfolio by picking stocks, bonds, and funds that suit your risk tolerance and time horizon.

Diversification means that if one of your investments dips, another will balance things out.

Beware of investment scams that promise you quick returns. The safest way to double your cash is to fold it and put it in your wallet.

Credit and Debt Strategy

Using credit and taking on debt is not necessarily a bad thing.

Generally, there are two kinds of debt: bad debt and good debt,

When you take a mortgage loan to buy a home, you may be taking on a lot of debt, but the lower interest rates and appreciating property value make it an acceptable form of debt.

On the other hand, doing impulse shopping using a credit card with a 20 percent APR without paying it off in full every month is bad debt. This is because you’re purchasing things that don’t grow in value and, in the process paying steep interest.

If you have high-interest debt that contributes to the reduction of your income, you can write it down and determine the best way to pay it off to avoid trouble. In the words of Earl Wilson, “if you think nobody cares if you are alive, try missing a couple of car payments.”

Getting out of debt can be a painstakingly difficult undertaking. You can tackle debt using approaches such as the Avalanche method, Snowball method, and Debt consolidation.

Retirement Planning

With the uncertainty of Social Security and fewer American companies offering full pension plans, it is now more important than ever to start saving and planning for retirement.

Retirement savings should become a priority instead of an afterthought.

The IRS has made saving for retirement more attractive with special tax-advantaged accounts such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs), employer-sponsored plans, and special retirement accounts for the self-employed.

Tax Strategy

Creating an income tax plan is vital for your overall financial plan.

Not planning for taxes can lead to a negative financial impact during tax season.

To minimize the impact, ensure you allocate a fixed amount of income towards tax.

Since tax laws and regulations change every year, your tax plan needs to be reviewed annually. Organize a sit-down with a tax professional to determine the deductions that you may be eligible to take.

Insurance

You have worked hard to build a solid financial foot for yourself and your loved ones. You now need to protect it.

Disasters and accidents can and do happen, and without the right insurance, they could lead to financial ruin. Some of the covers to consider include auto insurance, homeowner’s insurance, life insurance, health insurance, and disability insurance.

But be careful; there’s a fine line between having sufficient insurance and being over-insured. To avoid being over-insured, evaluate your financial situation and ask yourself where the insurance gaps are.

The following factors might affect your insurance needs:

Age
Health
Economic status
Family status
Profession
Assets

Also, review and adjust your coverage wherever necessary to ensure you’re protected against every possibility.

Estate Planning

Estate planning involves arrangements for the benefit and protection of your heirs.

Your estate plan should include plans for how your assets will be distributed upon your death, as well as who will be authorized to make key financial and medical decisions for you in case you’re incapacitated.

Many people put off estate planning either because they don’t want to talk about death or because they think they have plenty of time to do it later. It’s vital to understand that death is inevitable and can happen anytime. In fact, estate planning is essential for anyone above 18 years of age.

Without an estate plan in place, your loved ones may have trouble accessing your accounts. Aim at having at least healthcare and financial powers of attorney in place.

Why is Financial Planning an Ongoing Process?

Often, Americans set up financial plans with good intentions. However, these plans fail to meet their expectations because of the lack of an ongoing review against their original objectives.

Your financial plan shouldn’t be treated as a static document.

Financial planning is an ongoing process because things change and when they do, they can significantly impact the direction your planning may need to follow.

These could be personal changes in your:

Personal circumstances like divorce, ill-health, death in the family, change of job, etc.
Income – may increase or decrease
Expenditure – may also increase/decrease
Liabilities – may start, stop, increase or decrease
Assets – you may land a windfall or inherit property
Change of risk appetite

Or the changes could be outside your controls:

A change in the political environment
A change in government policy
Property market changes
Stock market highs and lows

As a rule of thumb, aim at reviewing your plan annually and making changes as needed.

Seek Help

While you can craft a financial plan yourself, it’s a remarkably difficult process. You can instead enlist the help of a professional financial planner.

The most important decision you will make is at the start when you select the professional with whom you’ll co-create your financial plan. Only registered financial professionals can give formal advice. These are regulated and adhere to strict planning and advice guidelines set forth by FINRA and the SEC.

At WWM Financial, we understand that everyone is different, and no two people will have the same needs.

We help you build a unique, solid financial plan by following 6 steps of the financial planning process:

Initial consultation to establish your short, medium, and long-term goals in life
Work out what assets and liabilities you have
Evaluate where you are today relative to your financial goals
Co-develop a route map for achieving your unique goals
Implement your plan
Monitor and review your plan at least yearly and adjust when needed

Our success at WWM Financial has been founded on three simple maxims – professionalism, integrity, and impartiality.

We offer a high-quality bespoke service to our clients over the long term. This ethic has helped us build excellent relationships and earn loyalty from our clients and other professionals with whom we work.

The Takeaway:

Creating a financial plan is undoubtedly one of the best things you can do with your income. Once you implement your plan, attaining personal goals and financial freedom becomes a step closer.

A goal without a plan is just a wish – Antoine de Saint-Exupery (French writer).

If you would like to get started with your own financial plan or have us review your current plan schedule a free consultation by clicking on the link below.

Schedule A FREE Consultation

WWM Financial is an SEC Registered Investment Advisor.

The opinions expressed in this program are for general informational purposes only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual or on any specific security. It is only intended to provide education about the financial industry. To determine which investments may be appropriate for you, consult your financial advisor prior to investing. Any past performance discussed during this program is no guarantee of future results. Any indices referenced for comparison are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. As always please remember investing involves risk and possible loss of principal capital; please seek advice from a licensed professional.

Stock Market Update | June 2022

Jun 6, 2022

In this market update Steve discusses market performance, inflation, gas & food prices, interest rates, home sales and insider buying and selling.

If you are concerned whether your financial plan is still on the right track, schedule a free 30-minute consultation here:

Links to source articles below:

Luke Lango’s Hypergrowth Investing:

https://investorplace.com/hypergrowthinvesting/2022/05/smart-money-is-buying-the-dip-should-you/

Weekly Retail Gasoline and diesel prices from U.S. Energy Information Administration

https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/PET_PRI_GND_A_EPM0_PTE_DPGAL_M.htm

Monthly food costs in 2020

https://www.gobankingrates.com/saving-money/food/average-cost-of-groceries/

Monthly food costs in 2022 from USDA Food and Nutrition Service

https://www.fns.usda.gov/cnpp/usda-food-plans-cost-food-reports-monthly-reports

https://fns-prod.azureedge.us/sites/default/files/media/file/CostofFoodApr2022Thrifty.pdf

Dow’s longest losing streak since Depression from Business-Standar.com

https://www.business-standard.com/article/international/wall-street-suffers-longest-losing-streak-since-great-depression-122052100881_1.html#:~:text=The%20Dow%20slid%20as%20much,to%20Dow%20Jones%20Market%20Data.

Earnings for the market from Financial Express

https://www.financialexpress.com/investing-abroad/featured-stories/sp-500-first-quarter-earnings-season-are-growth-revenue-and-profit-taking-a-hit/2513148/

Bureau of Labor Statistics

https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/consumer-expenditures/2020/home.htm

WWM Financial is an SEC Registered Investment Advisor

A Rough Market

May 10, 2022

The last 4 months or so have been really tough on growth portfolios and now we’re seeing some weakness in the value stocks too.

This is a time when you really have to look at the stocks, bonds, funds, etc. in your portfolio and decide whether they are the ones with which you want to go to war.

In the months from mid-November 2021 to about mid-March, smaller companies’ stock prices came down precipitously. The larger companies were hanging in there, so the indices (i.e. the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and even the Nasdaq) didn’t look too bad.

In the last month or so, and especially the last couple of weeks, the weakness has started to hit the big stocks. Because the bigger stocks make up such a large portion of the major indices, we are seeing large point drops in those indices.

Since bonds have also gone down in price as interest rates have gone up, there really has been almost nowhere to hide.

Of course, this is the time in a market cycle that all of us get a little worried. After all no one wants to see their portfolio drop in value. However, it is not a time to panic.

Are there reasons to be nervous? Yes. Inflation is running at a very high rate, interest rates are quickly moving up, there is a war going on between Russia and Ukraine, and China is totally locking down its cities.

Every bear market has lots of reasons to be worried. This time is not different.

A Little History of Bear Markets

First, we need to realize that down markets are a normal part of investing. It is the price we pay in the short term for (hopefully) gains in the long term. In the short term there are myriad reasons why stocks go down. In the long term, the only thing that really matters is earnings.

In general, markets grow until they get too expensive. Then they pull back until they get too cheap. In a capitalist system, that’s the way it has always been and that’s the way it will always be. It’s basic supply and demand.

On average, the markets are down about once every 3.6 years, although that number is about once in every 5.4 years since the end of World War II according to an article by The Hartford Funds entitled, “10 Things You Should Know About Bear Markets.” Here’s the link: https://www.hartfordfunds.com/practice-management/client-conversations/bear-markets.html#:~:text=Bear%20markets%20are%20normal.,significantly%20over%20the%20long%20term.

It is not at all unusual that we see drops greater than 20 percent. That is the definition of a bear market (down 20% from peak to trough).

There have been 26 bear markets since 1928 according to the Hartford Funds article. It goes on to state that on average, stocks lose around 36% in a bear market.

Here are two statements we think are very important in this article: In the last 20 years, half of the S&P 500 Index’s strongest days have come during a bear market and 34% of the market’s best days have come in the first two months of a bull market, before it was clear that a bull market had begun.

The article states “…the best way to weather a downturn could be to stay invested since it’s difficult to time the market’s recovery.” That is a sentiment with which we wholeheartedly agree.

It’s also important to know that, according to the Hartford article, bear markets tend to be fairly short lived. The average bear market lasts about 9.6 months. Some go longer. For example, in 2000-2002 the bear market lasted 2.5 years according to an article in The Balance. https://www.thebalance.com/u-s-stock-bear-markets-and-their-subsequent-recoveries-2388520#citation-4

According to the Hartford article, there have been 26 bear markets (down markets) since 1928, but there have also been 27 bull markets (up markets) since 1928. In other words, every bear market has been followed by a bull market. And eventually the bull markets usually lead to new highs. There is no guarantee that this will happen again, as past performance is not a guarantee of future results, but as I have said on many occasions, I like those odds.

What To Do

First, here’s what NOT to do. Do not panic.

Here’s a quote from The Balance article noted above, “For investors who sold at the bottom of these markets, the lower stock prices had a detrimental effect. Those who stayed in long enough to experience a subsequent recovery were better off. Remaining focused on the long-term is important in the middle of a bear market.”

Second: If you are living off of the investments, try to make sure you have enough cash on hand to get through the downturn. That amount will be different for each investor.

Third: Bear markets create opportunities.

I like to say that we are in the only business that I am aware of that when everything goes on sale, everyone walks out of the store!!

A bear market gives investors a great opportunity to buy stocks at much lower valuations. The market we are in right now has taken many growth stocks down by a significant amount. If you deem that the baby got thrown out with the bathwater, and if you have cash, then this is an excellent time to consider buying those stocks where the company is still good, but the price has been discounted.

If you don’t have extra cash, it is still a good time to look at your portfolio and determine if the securities you own still make sense in the portfolio. If not, then cut back on those or sell them off and look to upgrade your portfolio.

For most of our clients, that is what we do for you.

Fourth: If you are contributing regularly to a 401-k or some other retirement plan, make sure you keep investing when the market is down. You might even consider upping the amount you invest every pay period if you can. You want to buy more shares at lower prices.

Lastly: This is the time to really see what your tolerance for volatility is all about. When the market is going up and your account is doing great, it’s easy to say that you can handle a bear market. But when the market is actually down by 20% or 30% or more, and your accounts have been hit, then you need to honestly evaluate your psyche. If you find that you are not sleeping at night or you just can’t handle it, then it is a good time to talk to us about possibly making some changes to your asset allocation.

Bottom line is don’t let your emotions get the best of you. Try to take advantage of lower prices. Most of all, be patient. Maybe this time it will be different, but history says that eventually down markets turn into up markets and you want to be in the game when it happens.

We know many of you are concerned, so please contact us to talk about what is going on in the markets.

Click here to book a free consultation.

Steve Wolff, Managing Partner, WWM Financial

WWM Financial is an SEC Registered Investment Advisor

The opinions expressed in this article are for general informational purposes only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual or on any specific security. It is only intended to provide education about the financial industry. To determine which investments may be appropriate for you, consult your financial advisor prior to investing. Any past performance discussed during this program is no guarantee of future results. Any indices referenced for comparison are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. As always please remember investing involves risk and possible loss of principal capital; please seek advice from a licensed professional.

Stock Market Update | May 2022

May 5, 2022

Click on the image above to view this video.

In this video Steve provides a recap of the stock market in April. He discusses investor sentiment, the S&P index PE ratio, and a new economic indicator.

We’re sure you know the stock market has been getting pummeled these last few weeks. If you are concerned whether your financial plan is still on the right track and are worried about taking more risk than necessary, schedule a free 30-minute consultation by clicking on the button below.

WWM Financial is an SEC Registered Investment Advisor

Estate Planning – What to Expect in 2022

Apr 29, 2022

Click on the image above to view this video.

In this episode, Gita Nassiri, CPA, JD, MBT and Catherine Magaña, CFP® discuss Estate Planning for 2022 and some changes that have occurred.

So if you want to prepare your estate for your heirs, understand the new gifting and estate tax exclusions, and ensure your estate does not go into probate so you can have peace of mind, tune in now!

In this episode, you’ll discover: