What is a financial plan?

When you make a financial plan, you create a written record of your goals and the ways you plan to turn those goals into realities. The way to start is by writing down all the things you want to achieve financially, arranging them in their order of importance.

You don't have to choose just one or two: You can include as many as you'd like. Then you identify those that have the greatest importance or the shortest time frame and emphasize achieving them.

Getting what you want

A financial plan is more than a wish list. After you've taken the time to express what you want from your financial life, you'll need to create a strategy to help you achieve those goals.

One of the challenges is likely to be that various ambitions compete for your attention:

• Should you be making the down payment on a home or putting extra money into your retirement account?
• Will taking a vacation mean you have to put plans for going back to school on hold?
• Does it make sense to use the money you just inherited to start your own business?

Working out the ways you can accomplish many goals at the same time may not be easy, but the sense of control and power that making thoughtful decisions can give you will make it worth the effort.