Financial planning is a good way of making your income and your savings and debts work together in a profitable way. The best way to build a plan is to see a professional financial planner who can help you put together a plan that works for you. You will need to tell your adviser some things about yourself. Here are some of the things you will need to tell your financial planner.

The basics

Naturally, your financial planner will need to know the basics about you; things like your age and your family situation. Do you have a partner or children? Do you have any other dependants? They’ll also need to know your income, and your household’s income if there’s more than one wage-earner. They may also ask about your immediate plans and expenses; do you have any holidays planned, or a wedding, or are you starting a family? Are you planning on studying any time soon, or planning to renovate your house? This is all standard and will help your adviser gain a picture of your lifestyle.

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Expenses, debts and loans

A financial planner will also ask about your day-to-day expenses, the number of bills you pay, how much tax you pay and your current budgeting strategies. They will ask you about your savings plan, debts, such as credit cards, HECS, personal loans, car loans and mortgages. This will give your planner an idea of what your outgoings are, and how much money you are saving and spending. Your assets, such as cars, boats, and other valuable items will also be of interest. Your financial planner may also use this information to assess how willing you may be to take financial risks.

Investments, superannuation and insurance

Details about any investments you have will be needed as well, such as term deposits, shares, ETFs, investment portfolios, investment properties and any other financial assets. Your adviser will ask about your superannuation funds, how many you have if you have more than one, how much you’re contributing to those and how much you have already accumulated. Life insurance, health insurance and income protection will also be taken into account. If you don’t have any of these, your financial planner will be able to take this into account and make some recommendations.

Your goals, plans and expectations

Most importantly, your financial planner will ask you about your goals and priorities. Are you just looking for a simple and effective plan to manage your income, or are you looking to save money to spend on a holiday or buy a house? Are you interested in the stock market and considering investing money in shares, or are you keen to buy an investment property? You may want advice on superannuation and how to make it more profitable, or you may want some information about insurance. Your adviser will also need to know what kind of return you’re looking at, and the timeframe in which you’d like to achieve that: are you looking for longterm or short term gain. They will then use all of the information you’ve provided to draw up a financial plan to present to you as a Statement of Advice.

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