Revamping your financial planning checklist

Now that you’ve done your financial planning, it’s important to review and revise your financial plan every year to see whether you have kept up with your goals or need to make changes.

Did you know that you shouldn’t just set your financial plan and forget it? Your financial plan is an ongoing process and something that needs to evolve and mature as your life stage and lifestyle change. Reviewing it makes it easy to identify where you are on your financial journey, what’s working and what you should tackle next.

Here’s how to take inventory of your personal finances and a checklist to review your financial plan annually:

• Revisit your goals

Take a look at the financial goals you set for yourself over the last year. Did you achieve them, and if not, how far did you get? For example, if your goal was to pay off your credit card debt last year, reviewing your financial plan helps you see whether you achieved it.

If you did, you could focus on other financial goals, and if you didn’t, you can rework your plan to see what you can do differently this year to achieve it.

• Assess your budget

What were your income and expenses over the past year? Did you stick to your budget, and were you able to manage all your expenses? Perhaps your income increased, and you can afford to accelerate your financial goals. Use this information to adjust your budget for the coming year.

• Review your retirement savings

Are you on track to meet your retirement goals? Can you afford to increase your contributions? Now is a great time to make adjustments that could benefit you in the future.

• Evaluate your insurance

Make sure you have adequate coverage for all your needs. Check whether you need to increase your coverage or perhaps there is an opportunity to decrease it or pay less for it. Also, focus on having the right kind of insurance. For example, you might have medical, car and home insurance, but are you covered for death, disability and income protection?

• Assess your investments

Are your investments still aligned with your goals, and have they performed in the way that you expected? Is there room for improvement or diversification so that you’re not carrying too much risk, or are you able to take on more risk for the potential of more return?

• Update your emergency fund

Your situation and/or lifestyle could be different today than it was the previous year, so will your emergency savings keep up? See whether you have enough tucked away or you need to add to your savings.

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_{Disclaimer: This article is solely intended for information. It does not constitute financial, tax or investment advice or recommendation. Please speak to a financial advisor or registered financial professional before making any financial decision(s).}

_{Standard Bank, its subsidiaries or holding company, or any subsidiary of the holding company and all of its subsidiaries make no warranties or representations (implied or otherwise) as to the accuracy, completeness or fitness for purpose of the information provided in this article or that it is free from errors or omissions.}