In addition to your Financial Statement, your Cash Flow must also be examined to determine your current financial status.

In financial planning, determining your Cash Flow by observing your income and expenses is extremely important to assist in the following:

• Analyzing your current standard of living to determine your Financial Independence Feasibility
• Planning for retirement and anticipated standard of living
• Indicating your ability to accumulate assets, increasing your Net Worth at Work
• Highlighting problem areas
• Assisting you as you make lifestyle decisions

Painless Cash Flow Management

Many approach Cash Flow Management with the same excitement as dieting. The reason some disdain Cash Flow Management is they confuse it with “budgeting”. However, Cash Flow Management is not budgeting; rather it is the organization of your income and expenses into categories, and then observing the amounts.

Cash Flow Management Categorization

Cash Flow Management can be more meaningful when broken into major and minor categories that include such expenses as:

• Recurring Monthly Expenses
• Non-Monthly Fixed Expenses
• Discretionary Expenses

Major categories such as Recurring Monthly Expenses can help to determine the amount needed monthly before discretionary expenses to cover the necessities.

Next, knowing the Non-Monthly Fixed Expenses allows for the anticipation of regular expenses that have a tendency to surprise those not planning for them. For example, money for large annual expenses can be placed into a savings or money market fund and expensed from there so monthly Cash Flow is not upset.

Lastly, the Discretionary expenses are those you don’t receive a bill or have a payment book for, but can come whenever you desire: monthly, annually, or as a single payment.

Managing Cash Flow, rather than letting Cash Flow manage you, should be the goal of every sound Financial Plan. Having a system to manage Cash Flow will help you know your current status and plan for future financial events.

Before Your First Visit

Please print and complete the Financial Planning Checklist and bring it to your first appointment.