Developing Your Personal Financial Plan Skills Being Assesse

Developing Your Personal Financial Plan Skill(s) Being Assessed

In this assignment, you will create a budget for a financial plan using Excel to ensure that the financial information is organized, accurate, and complete. You will identify a personal savings goal and a time frame for reaching that goal. Additionally, you will explain your choice of housing option in the context of how it will help achieve your financial goal. You will also align expenditures to reflect your selected financial goal. Furthermore, you will reflect on how creating a step-by-step and organized approach to the assignment helped you adjust your financial priorities and financial plan.

Paper For Above instruction

Developing a comprehensive personal financial plan is essential for achieving specific financial goals and maintaining fiscal responsibility. This assignment guides students through a strategic process that integrates budget creation, goal setting, and reflection using Excel and written explanations.

The initial step involves understanding the importance of an organized budget. Students are required to construct a detailed financial plan using Excel, which includes inputting a realistic annual income — whether it be a sample value like $50,000, their current income, or a projection based on targeted career fields. This income forms the foundational figure upon which all subsequent calculations are based. Accurate income assessment is vital as it determines the feasible scope of savings and expenditures.

Following this, students are tasked with selecting a specific financial goal to save towards. The options are varied, ranging from short-term objectives such as building an emergency fund of $1,000 or saving for a vacation costing $2,000, to long-term ambitions like purchasing a vehicle ($15,000), making a house down payment ($40,000), or saving $50,000 for education. The choice of goal aligns with personal aspirations, and students are instructed to determine a realistic timeframe, typically from 1 to 10 years, for achieving this target. The rationale for the selected timeframe involves assessing income, expenses, and current savings capacity to ensure the plan is attainable within the set period.

Once the goal and timeframe are established, students proceed to select a housing option from provided choices. The options include renting a house for $15,000 annually, an apartment for $12,000, or renting a room for $9,000 per year. This choice significantly influences the overall budget, as housing is a primary expense, and selecting an appropriate option is crucial for aligning expenditures with savings objectives.

After defining housing, students are asked to fill in other expenditures based on personal preferences. This includes all necessary and discretionary expenses, ensuring the total expenses do not exceed income, and ideally support the savings goal. Using formulas, students calculate total spending and compare it against their income, adjusting expenditures to create a balanced and realistic budget plan.

In the written component, students explain their chosen savings goal, the rationale behind their timeframe, and how realistic this plan is based on their income and expenses. They also justify their housing choice, discussing how it facilitates their goal. Moreover, they analyze how other expenses align with their target savings, emphasizing budget prioritization.

Furthermore, students reflect on the productivity strategies employed during planning. This includes the benefits of breaking down the process into manageable steps, staying organized, and how such an approach aided in adjusting priorities and refining their financial plan. Reflection helps in understanding the value of organized planning for achieving financial goals efficiently.

Overall, this assignment emphasizes the significance of budgeting, goal setting, strategic planning, and reflection in personal financial management. It enhances financial literacy, planning skills, and the capacity to make informed decisions that lead to financial stability and achievement of personal objectives.

References

  • Clark, R. L., & D'Ambrosio, M. B. (2017). Personal Finance. Pearson.
  • Investopedia. (2020). Personal Budgeting and Planning. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/personalbudget.asp
  • O*Net Online. (2023). Occupational Outlook Handbook. https://www.onetcenter.org
  • Corley, T. (2018). The importance of financial goals. Journal of Financial Planning.
  • Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). (2019). Save and Invest. https://www.finra.org/investors/learn-to-invest/types-investments/save-and-invest
  • United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). (2021). Housing options guidance. https://www.hud.gov
  • SmartAsset. (2022). How to create a personal budget. https://smartasset.com
  • Ferguson, V. (2020). Budgeting strategies for financial success. Journal of Personal Finance.
  • Black, A., & White, B. (2019). Financial goal setting: Achieving your savings objectives. Financial Planning Review.
  • Meier, J. (2018). Effective financial planning in practice. Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning.

Related Assignments