What is a Financial Plan
Most of us will encounter monetary challenges during our lifetimes. We can overcome many of these challenges and achieve our financial goals with proper financial planning. A financial plan analyzes an individual's or family’s situation- using current data and preparing forecasts- alongside their wishes and goals. It examines the feasibility of achieving the goals, identifies the risks that could obstruct their attainment, and offers the requisite solutions.

Commonly Encountered Challenges
Almost all of us have anxieties and concerns of a financial nature. Based on our experience as planners and investment advisers, the following situations are most common:

• Client has high income, but modest savings and wishes to know how much college education would cost for his children and if he can afford it. His future financial security is more worrisome. His pension and social security incomes are going to be modest. He needs to know how much he should henceforth save and the manner in which to invest his assets to provide the balance of required resources in retirement.
• Client is eligible to retire with full benefits in a year from now, but need not retire for another three years. Client finds present job very stressful and would like to retire early. Wants to know if retirement would be more comfortable if she delays retirement. Her company also allows her the choice of taking her pension either as a lump sum or annuity and she would like an evaluation of the alternative
• A couple has been married for three decades. Most of the assets are in the wife's name. They wish to minimize estate taxes and would like advice on how to re title their assets
• Client is the sole income earner in the family. Is his life insurance adequate to protect her family in the event of her death?

Knowledge of Rules and Laws
The laws and rules covering income and estate taxes are very complex and a competent understanding of the rules is needed to prepare a good financial plan.

BFP Prepared Financial Plans
BFP is very experienced in preparing financial plans that reflect realism, thoroughness and quality insights. High quality plans are not easy to create, since it is very difficult to predict the future. A client's personal circumstances and the external environment such as regulations or economic conditions are likely to change unpredictably. However, a plan is required to assess whether objectives with a future completion date can be achieved. Wherever applicable, it is necessary to use relevant statistical methods in the analysis to address future uncertainty.

We strive for realism in our forecasts. Since correct inputs on a client's present situation and reasonable assumptions are essential for a competent analysis, we devote considerable attention and time to assure ourselves on the integrity of the data. We also use probability analysis extensively to evaluate the certainty with which financial security can be attained at different points in the planning horizon. Finally, we'll provide our client with a written report covering our analysis and recommendations. We will meet with the client to review the report, discuss any questions or concerns our client may have and discuss implementation options. We'll then meet on an annual basis, at a minimum, to review and revise, if necessary, the plan.