PERSONAL FINANCE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

PERSONAL FINANCE - Essay Example The two children attend a nearby secondary school and likely to attend university. As a planner, I will ensure that the advice give to the Jameson family is suitable to the financial circumstances, and situation of the family and the financial plan will match their level of financial literacy. This paper will produce a comprehensive financial plan for the Jameson family under the following headings: 1. Current financial situation Before setting goals and strategies, it is important for the Jameson Family to determine its current financial standing. Determining the current financial position is the first step in the creation of a personal financial plan (Gitman and Joehnk, 2008). Having a thorough understanding of ones current financial position will help in the formulation of well informed and realistic goals. Therefore, the Jameson will need to determine the family’s current net worth by getting the total of their current liabilities less the total current assets. The followi ng charts will be used in the calculation of the net worth of the Jameson Family- it is simply a family balance sheet for the Jameson Family. ... wner Value Cash expenditure Joint $80,000 Insurance premiums Phillip Belinda 1,546.48 478 Total current Bills 82,024.48 Outstanding Debt Owner Value Mortgage loan Joint 100,000 Personal loan Belinda 17,000 Credit Card Joint 5,000 Total outstanding debt 122,000 Total liabilities 204,024.48 Net worth of the Jameson Family Total assets less the Total liabilities= 1,312,641- 204,024.48= $1,108,616.52 A net worth of $1,108,616.52 for the Jameson family is an indication of a better financial position for the couple/family. The client’s situation Broad category Age Group (years) Characteristics Middle age 45-55 Children usually leave home or attend tertiary education. Level of income increases. Superannuation, debt reduction, asset accumulation and risk management would be important in this stage. 2. Objectives Setting financial objectives and goals is the second step in the preparation of a personal finance. Setting of goals or objectives will give the couple a direction for their p lan as well the destination toward which they should head (Gitman and Joehnk, 2008). Some of the obvious objectives include monthly savings and retirement investments. The goal should be very smart, measurable, realistic, time based, attainable and specific. The objectives of the Jameson Family will be categorised as short term, long term or even intermediate. The development of these objectives will allow the family to achieve successes early in the plan while keeping their eye towards the future (Koh, 2012). It is also quite important for the family to establish its priorities, consider its net worth in order to make realistic objectives which align with their financial situation (Melicher and Norton, 2011). The objectives or goals should be stated as dollar amount against its future date or