As we continue to slog away days and nights in an increasingly futile attempt to have a “lifestyle” and “peace of mind” (contradictory?), there are times when we pause and think, “Is this something I really enjoy doing or I would rather be doing something else?”. Our home loans, children’s education and the next payment for that 52′ LCD TV stare at us – we shake our heads, hunker down and go to work.

This is what happens to me. If you can relate to this situation, then this site is for you. Over the past few months, I have heard the term “Financial Planning” being bandied about and in my search for financial freedom, I did some research and found that being financially independent means different things to different people. For me, financial independence means not being worried on what would happen if I took a break from work for a couple of months to do something what I want. My job keeps me really happy, but I need to get away from it sometimes.

If you have to drag yourself to work every morning or feel burned out, your goals may be different. But regardless of your situation, a little planning never hurts. Financial planning is the stepping stone to financial independence. A word of caution, though. It is not always about the money. This journey will have emotional consequences too. Fiscal discipline is hard if you or your family is used to instant gratification or a lavish lifestyle. You need to stay mentally firm to break these habits or all your planning won’t help you.

That doesn’t mean you have to live the life of a miser! Remember, the objective is to do what you really want to do by not doing the things that do not give lasting pleasure. A family vacation, for example, gives you emotional bonding and wonderful memories that last a lifetime. But an expensive game console, which you use rarely, but buy simply as a status symbol is not a good choice.

Financial Planning involves identifying your long-term and short-term goals, finding out what money you need to achieve them and then planning how to earn that money. A fundamental principle is “Earn more and Spend less”. While this seems common sense, it is exceedingly difficult to practice all the time.

Now that we have understood the concept and established a case for financial planning, I will discuss more about the implementation details in the coming weeks. In the meantime, do you do financial planning? If so, what factors do you consider and what strategies have you adopted? Let us know in the comments.

Live well.