Life and Career Planning LLC recognizes that different individuals, especially from different age groups, have different understandings of the elements that make up one’s financial life and financial plan. We also recognize that individual circumstances require individual attention to financial details in order to have a quality plan. Our firm created “Getting Started with Financial Planning” as an addendum to our book, Time To Get Real!, in order to help our younger clients and those without a great deal of experience with financial planning. We recommend that you first read chapter 9, Financial Plans, before proceeding with this document.
The websites and resources noted in this document are for your information and planning purposes. Life and Career Planning LLC does not endorse or have an association with any of these sites in particular.
Getting Started With Financial Planning
For most people, the topic of money is usually not a comfortable thing to talk about, in fact, it once was considered taboo to bring up the subject of personal finances in most settings, especially at work. Here’s the thing though, ignoring it doesn’t make it go away. Avoiding the subject of personal financial planning can actually spin things out of control. Let’s begin by acknowledging that these are very different times than 30 years ago. Younger generations came of age at the time of 9/11 and its aftermath, went to college and entered the job market during the Great Recession, and most recently experienced the economic fallout of Covid. It’s no wonder that so many young people feel so far behind. How can you plan for retirement when you are struggling to just pay the bills? It’s no doubt that all of this can feel incredibly daunting, and that’s okay--but it does not have to be so difficult. There is no one size fits all approach to personal financial planning and money management. Everyone has different goals, needs, and responsibilities. But by learning about and incorporating these understandings into your Life and Career Plan, you will be more empowered to move forward on your path toward the personal vision you have for yourself.
Based on the areas of financial planning that are most relevant to those who may just be starting out, we gathered some of our favorite resources. While this isn’t an all-encompassing list, we hope to provide tools that make sense for your life that can help you learn the habits that can set you up for financial success.
Budget
One of the most valuable tools in taking control of your finances is a detailed, personalized budget that works for your lifestyle. With money being easier than ever to spend, we can sometimes forget that each time we buy with the click of a button, which often disconnects us from the act of pulling cash from a wallet, makes extra spending easy and forgettable. Learning the importance of creating a budget that works for you can lay the groundwork for financial freedom in the long run.
Step-By-Step Guide to Make a Personal Budget
https://www.thebalance.com/how-to-make-a-budget-1289587
This guide is a great starting point for creating your budget. The Balance is a practical resource to help understand and manage every aspect of your finances. You can also find budgeting calculators and step-by-step guides for all aspects of your financial life.
Mint: Budget Tracker & Planner | Free Online Money Management
Mint is an easy, accessible, and automated way to create and stick to your budget. You can link your bank accounts and the app automatically lets you track your spending, monitor your credit, and help you to account for every penny. It can be customized to how you decide to create and categorize your spending.
Wealth Management 7 Financial Lessons to Master by Age 30
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/092815/6-financial-lessons-master-time-youre-30.asp
This article goes a bit more in-depth about why it’s critical to start paying attention to these things as early as possible.
Debt
We can sometimes shy away from talking about debt because of shame or fear, or in just hoping that by ignoring it, it will go away. Not all debt is created equal, and understanding how it works can help us to create a plan that works for our personal situation. Not all debt is bad, and it doesn’t have to be a hardship forever. Below are some resources to help you understand your debt, the options you have for paying it off, and how to decide whether you should take debt on.
Understanding Debt and Loans | SkillsYouNeed
https://www.skillsyouneed.com/rhubarb/understanding-debt.html
One of the things that makes debt scary for people is that they simply don’t understand how it works. This is a great explainer on the ins and outs of the different types of debt and the different options available.
Debt Snowball vs. Debt Avalanche
https://www.thebalance.com/debt-snowball-vs-debt-stacking-453633
There are many methods for tackling your debt and there is no one size fits all approach.
This article talks about two of the most common approaches to managing debt and how they can work for you.
Everything You Need To Know About Student Loans
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyLRxU5mJPM
In this short video, Chelsea from The Financial Diet breaks down the ins and outs of student loans. These fall into a bit of a different category of debt than credit card debt and are also the most common kind of debt that younger people must deal with. It’s important to understand what your loans mean and what your options are. The Financial Diet is an extensive resource with articles, videos, and podcasts being released each week about how to live fully while staying within your means.
Salary Calculator
Job trends and job pay ranges change frequently. It’s important to understand the pay ranges for your vocation and compensation trends. Robert Half, the #1 staffing firm publishes a guide yearly that you can receive for free, in the resources below:
https://www.roberthalf.com/salary-guide
https://www.roberthalf.com/salary-guide/calculator
Once you have a better understanding of compensation for positions similar to yours, the most important thing is to know what to do with that information. Especially when just starting out, or if you have some experience in a particular field, it can be hard to feel confident in negotiating what you are worth. Oftentimes people will say that the biggest mistake they made when entering a company was not negotiating better upfront, before accepting the position. Once you start at a certain position, it can feel like you’re spending the rest of your time in that organization catching up to where you want to be if you don’t feel adequately compensated. It is much better to ask for what you want before taking that new job.
6 Tips To Negotiate Your Salary With Confidence—And Get What You're Worth
Savings
Saving money can be difficult, especially early on in your career. It is very important to have a savings account, as well as an emergency fund. This allows you to have ready access to immediately needed funds. No matter how little you are putting away each month individuals should also consider maximizing their 401k or 403b contributions at work if these plans are offered. Below are some resources to help you determine what is right for you:
https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/nerdwallet-budget-calculator
Nerd Wallet is a great site for education on savings, credit cards, and debt solutions. The above calculator will determine how much savings and debt payments you should have each month based on your current income.
https://www.ramseysolutions.com/budgeting/the-secret-to-saving-money
Dave Ramsey is one of the leading experts on financial management. He has published 19 best-selling books and has 23 million subscribers to his podcast. There are a ton of free resources he offers as well as paid classes.
https://www.amazon.com/Automatic-Millionaire-Expanded-Updated-Powerful/dp/0451499085
Written by David Bach who is an internationally known financial expert. He has been featured on the cover of Money magazine and has written 12 best-selling books.
Investments
Once you have more control over your finances, it opens you up to explore additional avenues to help your money work for you. We’re not suggesting throwing all your extra cash at the stock market and crossing your fingers, but there are some really simple ways to dip your toes in the investment market without risking everything. When you’re not making a lot of money, investing can sound like a privileged luxury. However, gaining a better understanding of the options available may get you thinking differently about where you are putting your money.
This article from Wealthsimple is a great starting point that lays out all of the details of the different kinds of investing and how to begin.
Investing 101: Investing Basics For Beginners:
https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-us/learn/investing-basics#real_estate_investing_basics
Acorns is a simple, unintimidating app that takes the guesswork out of investing. By linking your bank account, debit cards, etc., Acorns does the rest and rounds up your spare change into a diversified portfolio managed automatically. For example, if you spend $40.25 on gas, Acorns deposits $.75 into your portfolio. While this is the simplest option, the app also has features for more seasoned investors.
Acorns - Invest, Earn, Grow, Spend, Later | Acorns
Life and Career Planning LLC hopes that you found this article to be of help as you consider your financial situation and your financial plans. We strongly recommend that you consider two things: first, read our book Time To Get Real! to fully understand how your financial plans both support and fit into your life and career plans. Second, consider committing to an amount of coaching that will set you on the course to the best life that you deserve. Our book can be obtained here and our request for coaching form can be obtained here. Best wishes on your road to your desired future.