What is financial planning?

Financial planning is the process of developing a personal roadmap for your financial well being. The inputs to the financial planning process are: your finances, i.e., your income, assets, and liabilities, your goals, i.e., your current and future financial needs and your appetite for risk. The output of the financial planning process is a personal financial plan that tells you how to use your money to achieve your goals, keeping in mind inflation, real returns, and taxes. In short, financial planning is the process of systematically planning your finances towards achieving your short-term and long-term life goals.