Financial planning isn’t something that strikes many people as exciting. It really doesn’t conjure up images of people jumping up and down with enthusiasm, as they are told that you need to sit down and figure this stuff out. Many people just ask “Why would I need any kind of financial planning?”,or “I’m doing “great” without much planning.”

The truth is, everyone needs some kind of financial planning. Depending on how much you want to have at retirement, depending on how unstressed about money you want to be on a daily basis, these questions answer how much time you will need to spend sitting down and figuring out you and/or your family’s finances.

FP entails tearing everything in your financial history apart, starting from scratch, setting up a budget and goals, and sticking to the path. FP shows you where you will end up in the future, where you can expect to be in the next 5, 10, 20 years, all the way up to retirement. Now, FP doesn’t make you rich. FP just changes your views and outlooks on money, and potentially, with the right goals and steps, leave you with much more money than you have dreamed of ever having, to this point.

The main ideas of FP are goal setting, compounding interests, budgeting, investing, savings, and basically, a complete knowledge of every dollar in your budget, not in any particular order, although, you’re going to want to start out with the budget and goal setting first.

FP is the framework for getting you and your family safely to retirement age with resources left over to enjoy your time together and not end up being a burden on others. FP potentially leaves you at the ripe retirement age able to travel, enjoy your hobbies, HELP others, and spend extended time growing with your family. All of these things are great, but the beauty of FP, if done right, will leave the time reaching retirement with much less stress, more time raising the family, and provide for every aspect of leading a financially sound family life.

The amount of income doesn't really matter as much as you might think. I can attest to that, as I've been providing for my family on about 10k less per year than the poverty level for years. There are many tools out there to begin your FP path, including books, of course the internet, and professional planners. You should always be learning new things in life, and it’s never too late to start learning about FP. Open your mind to the necessity of financial planning, buckle down, and get the ball to a safe and financially sound future rolling.