Did you realised today, when you go to the bank, unit trust or insurance company, financial planning seems to be the new buzzword amongst clients and individuals in the investment and banking field?

But, what IS financial planning, actually? Is it only for the rich or individuals who possess cash to invest? Or is it for those who desire to buy insurance and unit trusts? Or is it somthing that we layman can achieve?

The truth is that whoever has financial strength will meet their financial goals. However, in spite of of how much cash you are making, financial planning will assist you fulfil both greater wealth and financial security. Insufficient or poor financial supervision can certainly show the way to unthinkable financial disasters. Even the rich can become a pauper due to poor financial planning.

For instance, an uninsured loss can clear out all your accumulated riches. Insufficient savings for retirement can cause one into a lower quality of living or even worse, the postpone of retirement and numerous other fiscal catastrophes that are far too depressing to be named!

You wouldn't want to be in this situation! All these can be avoided by proper financial planning!

So in a nutshell, financial planning involves engaging a broad view of one's financial affairs looking over many areas of wealth supervision and then running through a step-by-step process to solve financial problems and achieve financial goals.

Financial planning is also about making financial choices. What are they? Some of the decisions will include things like:

- Should I spend all my takings today? Or should I preserve a segment of it for rainly days?

- Should I clear all my debts right now? Or should I enlarge my savings for retirement instead?

- Should I layout for my child's education? Or should I let him look for his own education applications and apply for a student's loan?

These are the decisions that can make or break your personal bank.

So, what is included in Financial Planning? If you were to wonder what areas wealth management would cover the following:

- Cash flow management: The ability to manage the liquidity of your cash
- Investment planning: The decision of making more money with the extra cash you have on hand.
- Insurance planning: Planning for the unexpected situations
- Retirement planning: Knowing how much you can have when you stop working
- Estate planning: Knowing and managing the ultimate value of your property.

All in all, an ideal financial plan does not focus on one angle or product exclusively. One should not look at just one aspect of the planning. It involves looking at all areas of planning, putting them together in perspective and finally the careful consideration when making financial decisions.