What Is a Financial Plan, and How Can I Make One?

A financial plan creates a roadmap for your money and helps you achieve your goals. Financial planning can be done on your own or with a professional.

Kevin Voigt, Alana BensonAug 4, 2021

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A financial plan is a comprehensive picture of your current finances, your financial goals and any strategies you've set to achieve those goals. Good financial planning should include details about your cash flow, savings, debt, investments, insurance and any other elements of your financial life.

What is financial planning?

Financial planning is an ongoing process that will reduce your stress about money, support your current needs and help you build a nest egg for your long-term goals, like retirement. Financial planning is important because it allows you to make the most of your assets, and helps ensure you meet your future goals.

Financial planning isn't just for the wealthy: Creating a roadmap for your financial future is for everyone. You can make a financial plan yourself, or you can get help from a financial planning professional. Due to online services like robo-advisors, getting assistance with financial planning is more affordable and accessible than ever.

Financial planning in 7 steps

1. Start by setting financial goals

A good financial plan is guided by your financial goals. If you approach your financial planning from the standpoint of what your money can do for you — whether that's buying a house or helping you retire early —  you'll make saving feel more intentional.

Make your financial goals inspirational — what do you want your life to look like in five years? What about in 10 and 20 years? Do you want to own a car, or a house? Are kids in the picture? How do you imagine your life in retirement?

You start with goals because they will inspire you to complete the next steps and provide a guiding light as you work to make those aims a reality.

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2. Track your money, and redirect it toward your goals

Get a sense of your monthly cash flow — what’s coming in and what’s going out. An accurate picture is key to creating a financial plan, and can reveal ways to direct more to savings or debt pay-down. Seeing where your money goes can help you develop immediate, medium-term and long-term plans.

Developing a budget is a typical immediate plan. NerdWallet recommends the 50/30/20 budget principles: Put 50% of your take-home pay toward needs (housing, utilities, transportation and other recurring payments), 30% toward wants (dining out, clothing, entertainment) and 20% toward savings and debt repayment. Reducing credit card or other high-interest debt is a common medium-term plan, and planning for retirement is a typical long-term plan.

» Need a jump start? Try this easy-to-use budget worksheet.

3. Get your employer match

If you visit a financial advisor, he or she will be sure to ask: Do you have an employer-sponsored retirement plan like a 401(k), and does your employer match any part of your contribution?

True, 401(k) contributions decrease your take-home pay now, but it’s worth it to put in enough to get the full matching amount, because that match is free money. Here's how much you should contribute to a 401(k).

4. Make sure emergencies don't become disasters

The bedrock of any financial plan is putting cash away for emergency expenses. You can start small — $500 is enough to cover small emergencies and repairs so that an unexpected bill doesn’t run up credit card debt. Your next goal could be $1,000, then one month’s basic living expenses, and so on.

Building credit is another way to shock-proof your budget. Good credit gives you options when you need them, like the ability to get a decent rate on a car loan. It can also boost your budget by getting you cheaper rates on insurance and letting you skip utility deposits.

5. Tackle high-interest debt

A crucial step in any financial plan: Pay down “toxic” high-interest debt, such as credit card balances, payday loans, title loans and rent-to-own payments. Interest rates on some of these may be so high that you end up repaying two or three times what you borrowed.

If you’re struggling with revolving debt, a debt consolidation loan or debt management plan may help you wrap several expenses into one monthly bill at a lower interest rate.

6. Invest to build your savings

Investing sounds like something for rich people or for when you’re established in your career and family life. It’s not.

Investing can be as simple as putting money in a 401(k) and as frictionless as opening a brokerage account (many have no minimum to get started).

» See a step-by-step explainer on how to invest money.

Financial plans use a variety of tools to invest for retirement, a house or college:

• Employer-sponsored retirement plans. If you have a 401(k), 403(b) or similar plan, gradually expand your contributions toward the IRS limit of $19,500 per year. If you’re 50 or older, the limit goes up to $26,000.

• Traditional or Roth IRA. These tax-advantaged investment accounts can further build retirement savings by up to $6,000 a year (or $7,000, if you are over 50). This NerdWallet IRA guide will help you choose the right type of IRA and show you how to open an account.

• 529 college savings plans. These state-sponsored plans provide tax-free investment growth and withdrawals for qualified education expenses.

7. Build a moat to protect and grow your financial well-being

With each of these steps, you're building a moat to protect yourself and your family from financial setbacks. As your career progresses, continue to improve your financial moat by:

• Increasing contributions to your retirement accounts.

• Padding your emergency fund until you have three to six months of essential living expenses.

• Using insurance to protect your financial stability, so a car crash or illness doesn’t derail you. Life insurance protects loved ones who depend on your income. Term life insurance, covering 10-year to 30-year periods, is a good fit for most people’s needs.

Do you need financial planning help?

A financial plan isn’t a static document — it's a tool to track your progress, and one you should adjust as your life evolves. It's helpful to reevaluate your financial plan after major life milestones, like getting married, starting a new job, having a child or losing a loved one.

» I want to work with a local advisor. Find a financial advisor near me

If you're not the DIY type — or if you want professional help managing some tasks and not others — you don't have to go it alone. Consider what kind of help you need:

Portfolio management only: Robo-advisors offer simplified, low-cost online investment management. Computer algorithms build an investment portfolio based on goals you set and your answers to questions about your risk tolerance. After that, the service monitors and regularly rebalances your investment mix to ensure you stay on track. Because it's all digital, it comes at a much lower cost than hiring a human portfolio manager.

» Need help investing? Learn about robo-advisors

A complete financial plan and investment advice: Online financial planning services offer virtual access to human advisors. A basic service would include automated investment management (like you’d get from a robo-advisor), plus the ability to consult with a team of financial advisors when you have other financial questions. More comprehensive providers basically mirror the level of service offered by traditional financial planners: You're matched with a dedicated human financial advisor who will manage your investments, create a comprehensive financial plan for you, and do regular check-ins to see if you're on track or need to adjust your financial plan.

» Need some help? Check out our roundup of the best wealth advisors

Specialized guidance and/or want to meet with an advisor face-to-face: If you have a complicated financial situation or need a specialist in estate planning, tax planning or insurance, a traditional financial advisor in your area may fit the bill. To avoid conflicts of interest, we recommend fee-only financial advisors who are fiduciaries (meaning they've signed an oath to act in the client's best interest). Note that some traditional financial advisors decline clients who don’t have enough to invest; the definition of “enough” varies, but many advisors require $250,000 or more. If you want to know more about how much seeing an advisor will cost, read our guide to financial advisor fees.

About the authors: Kevin Voigt is a personal finance writer at NerdWallet. He has covered financial issues for 20 years, including for The Wall Street Journal and CNN.com. Read more

Alana Benson is one of NerdWallet's investing writers. She is the author of "Data Personified," "WTF: Where's the Fraud?" and several young adult titles. She has spoken at multiple fraud conferences, most notably for the FTC. Read more