Individuals, businesses, and families can only benefit by setting clear goals and carefully managing the budget, which can ensure financial health for life.
After all, the realization of many of our dreams depends on the power of money.
For this reason, efficient financial planning, conscious consumption, and wisdom in the use of credit are golden rules.
With the phenomenon of indebtedness and economic crises always lurking, those who plan are much more likely to overcome instabilities and continue to prosper in any scenario.
What is financial planning?
Financial planning is an instrument that formalizes, structures and organizes the strategies and actions necessary to achieve certain financial objectives.
As a tool for managing the future, planning is essential in any management activity and becomes especially important in relation to finances.
In the case of companies, some of the main financial objectives are profitability, return on capital, and increased market share.
In the case of people, the financial plan is guided by the achievement of life goals, such as opening a business, acquiring a property, making investments or any goal related to money.
Whatever the purpose and path chosen, planning is crucial in anticipating unforeseen events and guiding action and should be adjusted as changes require.
How important is financial planning?
Financial planning is the starting point to grow the business or achieve personal goals, as it describes the routes necessary to manage money effectively.
Any type of financial planning starts from the diagnosis of the current situation to define the desired future state.
After the survey, the objectives and their respective strategies are defined, anticipating each action that must be taken to achieve the goals.
Thus, it is possible to manage income and expenses efficiently and maintain financial stability, planning the budget in advance.
The basis of this type of plan is the control of inputs and outputs, as well as investment strategies and cost reduction to increase profits and increase capital.
With proper planning, it is much easier to make better decisions and have benchmarks to assess performance along the journey.
It is worth remembering that the finance dimension can be quite unstable, subject to the influence of macroeconomic factors and uncontrollable variables.
Therefore, it is important that financial planning contains alternative plans to deal with unforeseen circumstances.
Furthermore, this planning cannot be just on paper, but must be constantly updated according to changes in the course of objectives and strategies.
It is impossible to predict the future, but when it comes to finances, the bottom line is to always be prepared for what is to come.
What is personal financial planning?
Personal financial planning is an indispensable tool for balancing finances and achieving goals that involve money.
Basically, personal financial planning involves all the problems that influence the relationship with money, from the basic budget to consumer behavior.
The realization of dreams is one of the biggest drivers of this type of plan, since most life projects are related to financial resources.
Buying property, taking a trip, and starting a business are examples of common goals that can only be achieved with planning and control.
Therefore, financial life planning begins with budget management and encompasses all attitudes toward money, prioritizing long-term goals over immediate desire.
In this context, money itself is only an instrument for satisfying needs and wants and, therefore, must be well managed.
Otherwise, all dreams and life projects are restricted to the plan of ideas, because in the real world it is necessary to make balanced decisions to support your goals.
How to develop personal financial planning?
Personal financial planning follows some basic steps that are appropriate for any situation.
Follow a simple script to draw yours.
Goal setting
The starting point of all financial planning is the definition of objectives.
These are not abstract objectives, but 100% realistic and achievable, with determination of the object, price, deadline and maximum possible details.
The more concrete the objective, the more likely it is that you will achieve it.
Budget
The first step in financial management is to record everything you earn and spend during a certain period, generally monthly and annually.
In this process, it is important to separate the fixed income and expenses from the variables.
For example, a fixed income would be a salary, while a variable income could be obtained from commissions or additional income.
An example of a fixed expense is rent, and variable expenses can be taxes, insurance, credit card bills, etc.
That first moment can already reveal if the budget is balanced or if you are spending more than you earn.
At best, you will earn more than you spend, or you should move toward that primary goal.
So, in a surplus situation, you start to accumulate money to achieve your initial goals.
Conscious use of credit
The second step is to carefully analyze your use of credit options in the market.
The great advantage of credit is the possibility of anticipating consumption and responding to emergencies, as well as allowing us to take advantage of good business opportunities even without the money available at the moment.
But the cost of this anticipation is the payment of interest, the risk of indebtedness and the limitation of future consumption.
Before opting for credit, you need to carefully calculate the Total Effective Cost of the loan, that is, the sum of all fees, taxes and charges plus interest.
As a general rule, it is almost always better to save money for a while and buy cash rather than finance it.
But, if you know how to manage your money, sometimes there is no problem in choosing credit.
Consumption planning
There is a general conflict between what we want to acquire and what our financial resources allow.
Therefore, consumption must be conscious and planned, which means consuming more and better.
This planning ranges from debt control to the elimination of unnecessary expenses, with simple actions such as investigating prices, negotiating discounts and optimizing the use of credit.
And of course it is necessary to overcome the search for immediate pleasure, which can cause many financial problems.
Savings and investment
Saving means accumulating financial values today to use tomorrow, and investing is applying the resources saved to obtain remuneration.
Saving is the foundation of any financial planning, while investments make money work for you.
When investing, it is essential to take into account the criteria of liquidity, risk and profitability, choosing the best option according to your profile.
Prevention and protection.
Finally, prevention and protection refer to pension plans, insurance and other measures that minimize risks and guarantee a peaceful future.
Securing your retirement is one of the basic pillars of financial planning, as well as taking out insurance to protect your assets (such as your car, for example).
What is family financial planning?
Family financial planning follows the same principles and steps as personal planning and involves other family members in the process.
For planning to be efficient, everyone must commit to goals and ensure responsible family financial management.
To help with collaboration, you can get members involved in budget decisions, showing that everyone will benefit.
There are several difficulties in setting limits and controlling the family budget, but the most efficient way to keep the house in order is to define future purposes that motivate people to participate.
When everyone is imbued with the same goals, it is much easier to save money.
Benefits of having good financial planning
The benefits of good financial planning and efficient budget management are countless.
See how this simple measure positively affects each audience.
For the people
The most obvious benefit to people of all profiles is the feasibility of achieving goals and making dreams come true. .
After all, a good chunk of our life ambitions can be accomplished in the right amount, and it only takes effective planning within reality to succeed.
Many people don’t even know where their money goes each month, and financial planning offers that control.
With you in charge of finances, you have the freedom to set goals and dream big.
For businesses
Financial planning is the norm of any company, since it allows the business to grow in a sustainable way and offer the desired value to investors and clients.
With a well-managed cash flow, defined investment proposals and estimated budgets, the company can organize its available resources in the best possible way and multiply its assets.
Lack of good financial planning in organizations is one of the main causes of corporate mortality in Brazil, hence the need to control money today to prosper tomorrow.
For families
The percentage of indebted families is the highest for some years now.
In total, families have overdraft debts, credit cards, brochures, personal loans, and fees.
In addition, there are% of defaulters, with more than 60 days of delay in paying bills.
These alarming rates could be avoided with proper financial planning, which would avoid excessive indebtedness and encourage conscious consumption.
Therefore, the greatest benefit for the family is financial health, which guarantees a more secure future and preserves the heritage passed down between generations.
Financial planning is becoming increasingly important to individuals, families, and businesses who want to update their accounts and improve the health of their finances.
In times of economic instability, attention must be doubled, as there are factors that are beyond our control and can directly affect the pocket.
