Financial Planning | Budgeting | Household Spending | Saving | Investing | Retirement | Estate Planning | Senior Living Costs | Long Term Care Insurance | Real Estate | Interest Rates | Charts
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See also Investing and Retirement

The primary goal of financial planning is to avoid a financial crisis and save for retirement.

Saving for retirement:
At "Stop Freaking Out About Retirement" - Consumer Reports, Oct. 2014 they say,
"Our survey found that retirement satisfaction was significantly higher among households reporting between $400,000 and $1 million in savings than among those with less.

Pensions are going away. Social Security will run out in 2033 if something isn't done. See (see Social Security funding on the savings page)

The take away here is to understand the value of compounding and starting early.
See the saving page.

S&P 25 yr Av. Gain
Average = 7.3%
Annual Inflation chart


Avoiding a Financial Crisis - Living Frugally

Create a budget:
How your budget is allocated depends on your age, family situation and income.
See Budgeting

Household Spending


Create an emergency fund
Most people It should be 3-6 months of your expenses (More or less depending on your employment stability). e.g. if your expenses are $5,000/mo you should have $15-$30,000 in your emergency fund.
Emergencies are things like loosing a job, medical or dental expenses, break downs (car, Air Conditioning, appliances, computer, ...), travel for a family funeral, a tree falls on your house, ....
Some typical costs (very rough gestimate):
Item                    When      

Cost
Auto timing belt/chain 100,000 mi  $300-$1,000
Auto CV boot            50-60,000  $150-$600
Household appliances    10-15 yrs  $250-$700  Refrig. $350-$2,000
Air Conditioner         12-15 yrs    $5,000
Furnace                 15-20 yrs    $4,000
Asphalt Shingles        20-25 yrs   $12,000
Dental crown                         $800 - $1,400
Dental Implant                     $2,000 - $6,000
Root Canal                         $1,000+
Average Life Span of Homes, Appliances, and Mechanicals
It is important to keep this emergency fund in a place that will fairly liquid so that you can get to the money quickly in the event of an emergency. You don’t want to have this money tied into stocks or mutual funds because the volatility of the market could cause you to lose money over the short-term.
Start with a savings account, then move to something that will give you a little more interest, money market accounts or certificate of deposits (CDs).
See Why You Need an Emergency Fund | FinancialPlan.about.com

See What Counts as a Financial 'Emergency'? | LearnVest.com

Avoid Credit Card Debt
Credit card interest rate range from 10% to 16%. That's bad.
If you have it, include a credit card debt payoff schedule in your budget.

Other things I want to add to this page.

  • Buying/Selling a home
    Owning a house also transfers savings from consumption to your estate. Your consumption can be higher if you rent.
      Free Reports - Churchill Mortgage
  • Home financing.   fixed/variable, short/long term,
  • Auto financing - Buy/Lease
  • Life Insurance. - term/whole life, when, how much
  • Other Insurance (Home, Car, Umbrella, Long term care)
  • Saving for College
  • Retirement Savings - 401K, IRA
  • Taxes
  • Relationships and Money - Marriage, Family
      daveramsey.com
  • Wills - Estate Plans

People - Gurus:

Market Gurus
Sir John Templeton
Warren Buffet
Jim Cramer
Ken Fisher
Ben Stein

Financial Planning Gurus:
Jonathan Pond
David Bach
Robert Kiyosaki
Suze Orman
Dave Ramsey

See:
8 experts recall their best personal finance advice BankRate.com
5 Financial Gurus You've Never Heard Of
Beware the Financial Gurus! Are They All They Are Cracked Up to Be? | cFinancialFreedom.com
Be Careful With Financial 'Gurus' - Business Insider


Tools:
ESPlanner Inc.
QUANTEXT Portfolio Planner
Financial Software and Online Wealth Management from Personal Capital

Books:
You Can Do It! The Boomer's Guide to a Great Retirement, Jonathan Pond, 2007

Links:
Investing
Saving
Retirement

last updated 29 Apr 2015