Peter Fogel's "How Financial Planning Can Help the Over 40 Crowd! (Psst! That's You!)"

I've been studying and as a copywriter writing for the financial markets for quite a while now. Of course, I am not an expert, more than anything I come from school of hard knocks. So here are some aspects that you should think about when and if you want to take the prudent approach to financial planning.

First off: If you are still thinking that financial planning is only for the rich ,you might just want to change your mind on that now.

It is a fact that financial planning is even more important for the person with an average income than it is for someone who earns a very high income.

The reason is this: an average person has to make his income stretch to cover many needs, and usually there is little money left each month after paying all the bills and loan.

Hence, it is wise to say that financial planning can help you in a number of ways, among them are:

Financial planning can help you make beneficial use of your current income and savings. By having every household's expenditure budgeted and a savings plan drawn up, it will help you spend your money wisely and effectively.

It can fight the effects of inflation on your savings – by having your savings invested in an investment vehicle that pays higher returns than the normal bank account, it will add in some muscle to your savings and help you reach your financial goals in a shorter period of time.

It can push you to take advantage of savings and investment options that exist now, but may not be available later.

For example, you want to invest some of your savings – in a particular unit trust fund that pays good returns. However, the fund's approved size is limited and the units are easily taken up by investors. Now, if you were to have some extra cash and buy some of these unit trusts before they are all taken up, you will hopefully make your money work for you through future gains from this investment.

Lastly, financial planning helps you identify the expected sources and amount of your retirement income.

Start TODAY!

By starting your retirement planning now (not later!), you can gauge how much money you will need to maintain your current lifestyle and where this money will come from.

Many people, especially those who have just started working, always put their retirement planning on the back burner for reasons such as “I just started work” and “Oh, I am still young”.

Many, however, fail to realize that by starting early to save for retirement, you will be able to save and invest more due to the magic of “compounding interest”, provided that you invest your savings wisely.

Maybe you do not have to wait until the age of 65 to retire. For all you know, by the age of 40, you might have already reached your financial independence and do not have to worry about getting up early to clock in or work until late hours because there are deadlines to meet.

You can then reinvent yourself NOW into a new business or second career that does not involve clocking in and reporting to your boss, especially if that person is other than you!