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THE RICHER RETIREMENT SPECIALISTS

FINANCIAL GOALS

BUDGETING WORKSHEET

ROD THOMAS INVESTMENT

BUDGETING WORKSHEET

Regardless of what life stage you are in, you are likely to have some short and long term personal financial goals. Setting tangible and realistic goals, following them, and tracking your progress is the key to success in achieving all of your financial goals.

If you are married, it is absolutely essential that you and your spouse both share the same financial goals. Otherwise, achieving your personal goals is almost impossible. Develop your financial plans together, and review your progress together to make sure both of you are contributing to the same goals.

Determining what your short-term, medium-term, and long-term personal financial goals are is essential. Some common financial goals are a dream holiday, a new home, university savings, retirement savings, and an emergency fund. Once you and your spouse have agreed on your goals, you need to determine a good estimate for how much money you’ll need for each of them.

Figuring out an accurate amount involves discussion about the financial goals—for example, if you are saving for university for your children, what percentage do you want to pay? Also, do you want to pay for a state school or a private school? Retirement savings needs depend greatly on the lifestyle you plan to lead once you are retired, as well as when you plan to retire.

Prioritise each of your personal goals in order of importance, and then determine how long you have to save for each of them. Retirement could be many years away, but your short-term goals could be in a year or two. Next, estimate how much interest or capital gains you’ll expect to see in the accounts where you are saving your money. While capital gains are never guaranteed, you can use an estimated average for these purposes.

Finally, figure out how much you’ll need to save per month to achieve your financial goals. Don’t be discouraged if the amount is overwhelming. The important thing is to have a set of tangible financial goals to work toward. On a monthly or quarterly basis, you and your spouse should review your progress, and continue to refine your plan. If you aren’t meeting your goals, revisit your financial budget to see if there are any areas where you can cut expenses in order to free up money for savings. In addition, use this plan to allocate any windfall amounts you may receive – from bonuses, inheritances, tax refunds, etc.

To help simplify the goal setting process, try using this Budget Worksheet. First complete section 1 to see what funds you have available. Next work on section 2 - setting your financial goals.

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INCOME

All figures should be net of tax. The “Future potential” column provides space to consider options for improvement

EXPENSES

SECTION 1

Source Amount now Future potential? CommentEmployment - basic £ £Employment - overtime £ £Employment – bonus £ £Self-employment £ £Savings £ £Investments £ £Family support £ £Government support £ £Pensions £ £Other? £ £Other? £ £TOTAL - Income £ £

Utilities Amount now Future potential? CommentElectricity £ £Gas / Oil £ £Telephone £ £Internet £ £Mobile Phone £ £Cable/Satellite package £ £Other? £ £Total Utilities £ £

Home Amount now Future potential? CommentMortgage £ £Second Mortgage £ £Rent £ £Insurance – Building £ £Insurance – Content £ £Council Tax £ £Service Charges £ £Ground Rent £ £Repairs & Maintenance £ £Other? £ £TOTAL - Expenses £ £

Transport Amount now Future potential? CommentCar payment 1 £ £Car payment 2 £ £Car payment 3 £ £Vehicle Tax £ £Repairs / Servicing £ £Insurance – Car £ £Fuel – for all cars £ £MOT £ £Train £ £Bus/Coach £ £Underground £ £Parking costs £ £Other? £ £Total Transport £ £

Loan Payments Amount now Future potential? CommentCredit Card 1 £ £Credit Card 2 £ £Credit Card 3 £ £Credit Card 4 £ £Credit Card 5 £ £Personal Loan 1 £ £Personal Loan 2 £ £Personal Loan 3 £ £Student Loan £ £Other Loan £ £Total Loan Payments £ £

Insurance Amount now Future potential? CommentLife insurance £ £Health insurance £ £Other? £ £Total Insurance £ £

Household Amount now Future potential? CommentFood £ £Cleaning supplies £ £Repairs & Maintenance £ £Total Household £ £

EXPENSES

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EXPENSES

Family Expenses Amount now Future potential? CommentDay care £ £Children’s activities £ £Alimony – payments to ex-partner

£ £

School tuition £ £Exam fees £ £Other? £ £Total Family Expenses £ £

Pets Amount now Future potential? CommentFood £ £Grooming £ £Veterinary bills £ £Pet insurance £ £Other £ £Total Pet Expenses £ £

Personal Care Amount now Future potential? CommentHaircuts / Waxing / £ £Other treatments £ £Toiletries / Makeup £ £Prescription medicine £ £Dental care £ £Private medical care £ £Clothing £ £Other? £ £Total Personal Care £ £

Entertainment Amount now Future potential? CommentHolidays £ £Eating Out £ £Pub / Alcohol £ £Smoking £ £Film / Concerts £ £Music £ £Hobbies £ £Sports £ £Other? £ £Other? £ £Total Entertainment £ £

Other Amount now Future potential? CommentCharitable donations £ £Other? £ £Other? £ £Other? £ £Total Other Expenses £ £

Grand Total Expenses Amount now Future potential? CommentGRAND TOTAL INCOME £ £ Bring figures down from

Income section aboveWhat % of income are your expenses?

£ £ The formula is expenses/income x 100.

If expenses are greater than income, by how much a month do you need to increase income or reduce expenses?

£ £

What percentage of total expenses is this number?

£ £ This gives you a sense of the scale of the problem, if indeed there is one

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Personal Care Amount now Future potential? CommentWork pension £ £Private pension £ £Savings £ £ISA’s £ £Share portfolio £ £Other investments £ £Other? £ £Total Retirement Contribitions

£ £

RETIREMENT CONTRIBITIONS

All figures should be net of tax. The “Future potential” column provides space to consider options for improvement

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If you’re not making any provision for your retirement, then now is a good time to start. In the next section, set your financial goals - starting with making provision for your retirement as your number one goal.

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THE FIVE STAGES OF RETIREMENT SECURITY

If you have completed the income, the expense and the retirement contribution section of this budget worksheet then we now have the full picture to review where we are.

You will find yourself in one of these key categories. In a perfect world you need to be at Level 4!

Level What’s happening Comment and prioritiesLevel 1 Your expenditure is greater than

your income, and that’s without any retirement savings.

Very challenging situation. You must work hard on increasing income, reducing expenditure or both to at least break even situation. Can be very tough.

Level 2 Expenditure is roughly equal to income, without any provision for retirement savings.

You are at ‘break even’ and not likely to get into financial difficulty right now. But you are not creating a financial buffer and you are not building for your retirement.

Level 3 Your income exceeds your expenditure and you are making some retirement provision, but you know it’s not enough.

On your way now. You are in monthly surplus and now need to focus on increasing that surplus to contribute the amount you need to your retirement fund.

Level 4 Income exceeds expenditure and you are contributing on target to your retirement fund.

Extremely well done. Relatively few people achieve Level 4. The only thing missing is a ‘security buffer’ in case something goes wrong with the plan (eg being made redundant).

Level 5 Nirvana. Income exceeds expenditure by a large amount. You are making a full contribution to your retirement and you still have cash left over which you are using to build a reserve, in case of disasters.

This is a great place to be in. We’d all like to be here but few achieve it. Keep going as you are is the message.

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CREATING A SMART PLAN

Now it’s time to create a personalised spending plan that will help you commit to making sound money management decisions.

Create a SMART plan, one that is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Trackable.

SECTION 2

1

2

I commit to making a spending plan each month.

I commit to following my plan each month.

YES

YES

NO

NO

Personal notes:

Personal notes:

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SET SMART FINANCIAL GOALS

List three of your financial goals you hope to achieve. Be sure that they are:

Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Rewarding, and Trackable (SMART).

These are my goals as of this date: Example: I will set up an emergency savings account of £1,500 within six months.

Short-term Goals: Target Date: Cost Estimate Amount Already Saved/Paid

Amount Needed/Month to Reach Goal

1. Pay down debt DD/MM/YYYY £ £ £2. Please enter text DD/MM/YYYY £ £ £3. Please enter text DD/MM/YYYY £ £ £4. Please enter text DD/MM/YYYY £ £ £

Medium-term Goals: Target Date: Cost Estimate Amount Already

Saved/Paid

Amount Needed/Month to Reach Goal

1. Establish emergency savings DD/MM/YYYY £ £ £

2. Please enter text DD/MM/YYYY £ £ £3. Please enter text DD/MM/YYYY £ £ £4. Please enter text DD/MM/YYYY £ £ £

Long-term Goals: Target Date: Cost Estimate Amount Already Saved/Paid

Amount Needed/Month to Reach Goal

1. Prepare for retirement DD/MM/YYYY £ £ £

2. Please enter text DD/MM/YYYY £ £ £3. Please enter text DD/MM/YYYY £ £ £4. Please enter text DD/MM/YYYY £ £ £

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Next Steps

Thank you for using this Special Report. We hope you have found it useful.

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Armed with this information you can explore options to do better.

If you have any questions or comments and suggestions for improvement for the next edition please email:

marketing@avantiswealth.com

It’s time to take action and implement your financial goals.

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DISCLAIMER

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THE RICHER RETIREMENT SPECIALISTS