Financial Planning with Heartland Bank
December 01, 2022
Benjamin Franklin is widely credited with saying, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”
The wisdom in his words is timeless. Few will dispute Franklin’s truism. Many will also agree that, when it comes to financial planning, we often need outside encouragement to begin the financial planning journey. Knowing what financial planning is and its benefits can spur us on.
The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (known as the CFP Board) defines financial planning as, “a collaborative process that helps maximize a client’s potential for meeting life goals through financial advice that integrates relevant elements of the client’s personal and financial circumstances.” Let’s take a closer look at the bolded aspects of this definition.
Collaboration
Successful financial planning is a collaborative and interactive experience between the client and the financial planner, with input from both parties and with each having responsibilities for assigned tasks.
Process
Like all worthwhile endeavors, the financial planning process requires a commitment of time and energy. While a basic financial plan may be built in one sitting, the comprehensive financial plan will require multiple phases, beginning with the gathering of data from the client, creation and presentation of the plan by the financial planner, implementation of the recommendations by the client, and monitoring of the plan by both.
Goals
The client sets the goals that are central to the financial plan. What does the client want this money to accomplish? What is the purpose of the money? What are their intentions for the money? The client’s answers to these questions are the foundation for the plan tailored specifically to accomplish the goals of the client.
Integration
The quality financial plan integrates personal considerations, described by the CFP Board as contextual variables: family status, net worth, income level, life stage, interests, hobbies, or charitable intent of the client.
The Effective Financial Plan
Now that we have defined financial planning, let’s look at its benefits. The effective financial plan:
- Relieves client anxiety as it focuses on goal achievement
- Provides guidelines for saving and spending to better equip the client to meet objectives
- Discloses the full current and projected financial picture of the client
- Offers a framework to help develop goal-specific strategic asset allocations for the client
- Establishes a long-term partnership between the client and the financial planner
At Heartland Bank Wealth Management, we believe the quality financial plan is a key component in helping our clients achieve their financial goals. Please contact us to discuss your financial plan.
Securities and insurance products are NOT deposits of Heartland Bank, are NOT FDIC insured, are NOT guaranteed by or obligations of the bank, and are subject to potential fluctuation in return and possible loss of principal.
This content is for informational purposes only. Readers should under no circumstances rely upon this information as a substitute for their own research or for obtaining specific advice from their own counsel.