The One-Page Financial Plan: A Simple Way to Be Smart About Your Money

<b>Whenever I tell people about my job as a financial advisor, the conversation inevitably turns to how hopeless they feel when it comes to dealing with money. More than once, they've begged, &quot;Just tell me what to do.&quot;</b><p>It's no surprise that even my most successful friends feel confused or paralyzed. Even if they have a shelfful of personal finance books, they don't have time to make sense of all the information available. They don't just want good advice, they want the best advice - so rather than do the &quot;wrong thing,&quot; they do nothing. Their 401(k) and bank statements pile up, unexamined or maybe even unopened.</p><p>What they don't realize is that bad calls about money aren't failures; they're just what happens when emotional creatures have to make decisions about the future with limited information. What I tell them is that we need to scrap striving for perfection and instead commit to a process of guessing and making adjustments when things go off track. Of course we're going to make the best guesses we can - but we're not going to obsess over getting them exactly right.</p><p>The fact is, in a single page you can prioritize what you really want in life and figure out how to get there. That's because a great financial plan has nothing to do with what the markets are doing, what your real estate agent is pitching, or the hot stock your brother-in-law told you about. It has everything to do with what's most important to you.<br><br> By now you may be wondering, &quot;What about the details? How much do I need to invest each year, and how do I allocate it? How much life insurance do I need?&quot; Don't worry: I'll cover those topics and many more, sharing strategies that will take the complexity out of them.<br><br> The most important thing is getting clarity about the big picture so you can cope with the unexpected. Maybe you'll lose the job you thought was secure; you'll take a financial risk that doesn't pan out; you'll have twins when you were only budgeting for one. In other words: Life will happen.</p><p>But no matter what happens, this book will help you bridge the gap between where you are now and where you want to go.</p>