No Financial Planning Means Bigger Financial Risks

Identifying proper financial goals and planning to achieve them in a systematic way is the heart of financial planning. Without a proper chalked out financial plan, there are a lot of risks. Often we find people without a proper retirement corpus and no money to bank upon because they haven't planned for it in advance.

Not understanding the risk profile is another major drawback that a person faces if he hasn't done proper financial planning. Imagine a retired person putting all his savings into a high risk mutual fund in anticipation for a high return, and losing a major chunk of his hard earned money. At a time when he required a steady, stable income, he has simply wiped out his savings. Financial planning reduces the risks of loss by removing impulsive decisions through a seasoned and planned financial advice.

Besides planning for emergency, understanding the investment strategies and risk profiles, a financial plan helps you prepare for major events of life. Be it a marriage, buying a car, or a dream vacation, or buying a house, planning for kids education, daughter's marriage all can be planned and executed in a desired manner with a well laid out financial plan.

Life often throws unexpected surprises like a divorce (which no one even dreams of when one marries) or a sudden lay off (which might mean a new job hunting and supporting the family or self for the entire jobless period). Tackling all these require prudent financial planning.

Another major expenditure, which is often ignored by parents, is the cost of educating their kids. The cost of education is increasing by each passing year and the desire to be in the forefront demands a good education. Can you imagine what a good schooling, good college, coupled with a foreign degree will cost? We are talking in Lakhs of Rupees here. If you don't start saving for your kid's education at early stages, chances are good that you'll feel the cash crunch when the time comes.

Lifestyle changes as one grows in his or her life. The two bedroom house that you have now might be insufficient five years from now when you have two kids. Similarly, a long vacation every year might become inevitable. A bigger and more luxurious car might be required to complement your lifestyle as you shift into a plusher house. All this would require financial inputs at different stages of life, and being prepared beforehand will always help.

Get a Financial Planning Seminar at Home With Home Study Courses

These days you can learn practically anything online. From cooking to computer maintenance to even Forex trading, the internet has made learning extremely accessible. There is a wealth of knowledge to be found online, and if you're looking to learn more about financial planning, there are plenty of seminars and online courses that you can sign up for. Many experts in the field (including financial self-help gurus and even college professors) have turned to the internet to share their knowledge on the subject matter - for a small fee of course. A lot of people have benefited from an online financial planning seminar, and the thing is, these home study courses are convenient because you study them on your own time, on your own terms.

There are many websites out there on the internet that would allow you to take a home study course on financial planning online. Registration is usually free, and upon becoming a member of these sites you would gain access to their exclusive members-only features, such as online content, discussion forums, newsletters, alerts, online seminars, and podcasts. Look hard enough and you'll find one particular website that can be considered as the one-stop-shop for all of your financial planning education needs. There are websites that offer home study courses from accredited institutions, and if you're interested in getting the proper qualifications you may even take up an online degree course.

From investments to retirement planning, these seminars provide valuable information that you can use to create a financially secure plan that you can use to manage your finances. Depending on the subject matter you're looking into, these seminars are usually detailed to a fault, often delving into specific topics.

For example, in the case of an online retirement planning seminar, you would be provided with all the important data that you will require for your retirement planning, and you would receive valuable advice from some of the renowned minds in the finance industry on how to go about your retirement planning. These online seminars will teach you to consider a wide range of factors when calculating your retirement income so you won't end up with any shortcomings, factors such as inflation, diversification of your financial resources, and annuities.

Most of these online seminars (or webinars as some call them) are not simply point-and-click lessons or a purely text-filled PDF file that you have to mull over. The online seminars are usually conducted live over the internet via video streaming, so you can learn from the convenience of your own living room couch if you wish to. But don't fret if you can't attend the live online stream cast; some online seminar websites have their lessons prerecorded, so you're able to view them whenever, wherever.

If you're looking to learn more about financial planning but you're just too busy being a stay-at-home mom or you just can't find the time to attend classes, then consider getting online and attending a financial planning seminar. With so many home study courses available on financial planning, you can be sure that you too can get a proper education in financial planning, and be well prepared for your future financial needs.

Careers In Financial Planning-Do You Have What It Takes To Excel As A Financial Planner?

So you're looking for careers in financial planning? A career in this highly competitive field can be one of the most satisfying and rewarding careers you will ever have.

Of course, careers in financial planning are very competitive, and does require some good marketing skills to acquire clients. Here is a list of the duties this job entails, so you can make an informed decision about whether or not this might be the career choice for you.

Quits simply, you will help your clients achieve their financial goals, whatever they may be. Whether it is planning for retirement, getting wealthy, escaping the rat race, paying for college, etc, you will help them plan and map out a course to achieve those goals.

As you might guess, you will need a lot of knowledge into areas of investment such as stocks, mutual funds, bonds, etc, vehicles to help your clients achieve their financial goals. Of course, the most important thing you need in financial planning careers, besides all this, is credibility. Quite simply, if you aren't walking the walk, then you can't talk the talk.

For instance, if you are advising a client to invest in a stock you would never even consider for yourself, your credibility is shot. Obviously, in order to achieve this, you need to be on solid financial ground yourself.

Nobody will take advice from a financial planner whose finances are a mess themselves. Many of the more knowledgeable clients will often times ask you what stocks you are currently investing in, or what kind of shape you are currently in financially to validate that you are the right person for the job. If you on shaky financially ground yourself, they will simply look elsewhere.

Most of all, you have to care about your clients and want to see them realize their financial goals. This is the number one factor of this job. If you aren't good at working with others, then this definitely isn't the career for you.

As a financial planner, you can work either for somebody else or have your own company. Many financial planners choose to become sole proprietors because of the freedom it offers; quite simply, this way you can set your own hours, and the sky is the limit as far as income. If you opt to work for somebody else, you will likely be working on a salary basis and are more limited in how much you can earn.

I hope this information has helped you to determine whether or not a career in financial planning is right for you. If this sounds of interest to you, then by all means check it out. If you want to work for a larger corporation, then a degree in finance will probably be necessary; obviously if you become a sole proprietor, this won't be as important.

The bottom line: if you enjoy helping others, and in one of the most important areas of their life, then careers in financial planning may be right up your alley. There is a lot of opportunity in the financial planning field today. This is one of the most rewarding careers in existence, because it empowers you to help others realize their financial (and ultimately life) dreams.