The One-Page Financial Plan: A Simple Way to Be Smart About Your Money

Great Book--not just about personal finance but also about life! I think this is a great book for those of us who feel terror at the mention of budget or finance. Every time I tried to read a book about finance it just made me so uncomfortable that I could not get past the first chapter. For one thing, my financial situation is not typical--I will have no pension, nor will i receive social security--I am a lifetime contract worker. And, I only recently obtain some kind of financial stability after years of living on the fly. I only wish I had this book twenty years ago. This book presents finance in a very practical, accessible way. It is very useful. And, it is not just about your money issues--it really applies to life in general. He does not offer quick results, or some secret plan for success. Yet, what is really awesome about this book is that he offers some great useful advice that you can use every day. Additionally, this book relieved a lot of my stress about my future and about my financial situation. I was able to create a doable one page financial plan that was practical and real. Also, there is a chapter in this book that really changed how I viewed my life and career--I am not kidding--because he offers a very profound understanding about what real life is and how we can deal with our disappointments. Read chapter 2 because it really was the advice I needed to set me free from a lot of angst about my life choices. If you are a young person read this now--do not wait. If you are in midlife and was never able to get it together to come up with a strategy based on your life--not someone else's life issues--I always laugh when I watch some of those financial gurus on public television--none of them addressed my issue. The fact is, everyone is different--no two people in this economy have exactly the same situation. And, who can plan for a future really? You cannot do so. But, you can come up with a flexible plan that is doable. You may have to adjust your choices but frankly that is what life is about for all of us. Thus, I would give this book to anyone who had to answer the deep life issues regarding money and life questions.

I think it’s fair to say that I like simple. Simple is good. Simple is my friend. And that might be why I liked Carl Richards’ easy to understand personal finance book The One Page Financial Plan. But it might not be for experienced investors and the financially savvy and sophisticated. There is no advanced economic theory, complex options strategies and he even pooh-poohs buying individual stocks. And while I don’t subscribe to that last piece of advice, there was a lot of good, common-sensical advice on establishing a straight-forward, simple financial plan for you and your family.Richards is a certified financial planner, New York Times and Morningstar columnist and the author of a few books. In One Page Financial Plan, he echoes a sentiment I often hear from Morgan Housel: namely that it’s better to be generally right than precisely wrong when it comes to your money.Richards begins at a place few financial books cover, by asking his readers one over-arching question that would guide the rest of the advice of the book: Why is money important to you? Acknowledging that few financial advisors or books ever cover this type of personal feelings, Richards explains that answering this question is paramount before one can plan their finance. He writes:"The reason I ask my clients this question is because it helps us understand their values. Often, the process of asking 'Why?' – 'Why is money important to me?' or 'Why have I been so anxious about money lately?' or 'Just why do I work so hard anyway?' – uncovers deep desires and fears that we are often too busy or too scared to think about. While the process can be uncomfortable, recognizing what really matters to you is the first step toward making financial decisions that are in sync with your values."This allows us, Richards goes on to explain, to identify our priorities, prioritize our goals, and then to balance trade-offs. For instance, if one identifies going on long summer vacations with their family as a top priority, it then makes it easier to not buy a new 4K television when our “old” HD television still works.Another thing Richards makes clear early in the book is that there are other important aspects to financial planning than just money. It also involves our time, skills, and energy. He writes:"It may help to think about the different kinds of human capital in units – units of time, units of energy, and so on. Each day, you take some of your units and exchange them for units of money. You then take those units of money and spend them on something. But every time you exchange a unit, there’s a trade-off, and we often fail to look past the immediate return to the potential long-term consequences. When we think about money only in terms of dollars and cents, we risk depleting our stores of energy, time and skill."He then gives a few examples like earning money isn’t always worth the time spent away from family. Yes, I know this might sound rather obvious, but I still appreciated it. I’ll take every reminder that I can get that I need to spend more time with my kids rather than endlessly surfing away on the internet or watching Sportscenter or even posting on Motley Fool boards. There’s plenty of time for those things after they’re asleep and there will be plenty of time for those things when they’re older and won’t enjoy my company as much!In the second part of the book, Richards tackles spending and saving. Richards doesn’t propose anything radical here, and tackles usual suspects like budgeting. Once again though, what I do appreciate about Richards is how he drags our values into the discussion. He writes:"Budgeting isn’t just about numbers. It’s about awareness. In fact, budgeting equals awareness. It’s purpose isn’t to punish ourselves for spending money; it’s to become very aware of how we’re spending our money so that we have enough for the things that matter most."I think anyone who takes the time to think about it would agree that spending money in a way that’s aligned with what we value will bring us more happiness."Richards does suggest a few techniques to get to spend less besides the tired take your lunch to work, skip the coffee house latte, avoiding online impulse purchases, etc. One of these ideas is what he calls a “spending cleanse”. During this period of anywhere from a couple days to a couple weeks, the idea is not to spend any money. He suggests you pay your bills in advance, stock up on groceries and to go the entire period without spending. This means no eating out and finding free ideas for entertainment like taking your family to the park or going for a bike ride.Richards approach to saving money is similar to the rest of his approach. Depending on your values and capability, will depend upon how much one can save. In the end his conclusion is: Save as much as you “reasonably” can. He does dive into this a bit more, asking questions and examining habits that are supposed to get the reader to determine what “reasonably” means to them but is careful to never assign a one-size-fits-all savings percentage rate. He does include a few tips for saving more, including saving one time windfalls, automating savings, and setting short term goals.In the final part of the book Richards discusses investing. A lot included here is good, solid advice but don’t expect any fundamental analysis or advice on how to find great stocks. Indeed, skipping to the end, Richards doesn’t go past recommending owning a mixture of stock and bond funds, which should be determined on how aggressive the investor wishes to be.But Richards does offer big picture advice that can definitely be applied by Foolish investors. One of the things I appreciated most was his take on making up for lost time by trying to find the “next big thing”. He writes:"When we get behind on our savings goals, we start to feel the pressure to make up for lost time. That pressure can often lead to spending hours looking for that home-run investment. It’s a bit like a gambler doubling down to dig out of a hole. Stop hoping that a home-run investment will solve your savings problem. Maybe it’s un-American to say this, but no matter how hard you work trying to find the next Apple, it’s highly unlikely you will. Not impossible, just highly improbable. Stop waiting for the golden ticket; just start saving."Instead, Richards encourages us to find a long-term strategy and to filter our investing ideas through that lens:"Rather than making decisions based on short-term thinking and emotion, we want to make sustainable investment decisions. We want a plan in place that reflects our goals and values – and we want to stick to it."When we commit to a plan, we’re less likely to fall victim to our desires for instant gratification. We can feel confident that our plan is designed with our unique goals and value in mind; we realize maybe we don’t need to hit the jackpot after all."Another idea he tackles is paying down debt early, like a mortgage, as a form of investment. While this might not always give one the greatest return on investment, Richards acknowledges it can give an investor peace of mind which is not to be underestimated.There are a number of other topics discussed in the book, not all of which I have the time to review here. For instance there was a very helpful chapter on choosing the amount and type of life insurance.While this book might not get into the nuts and bolts of investing or financing, it does cover the basics fairly well. And I like how Richards harps on adjusting your money habits to your own personal values. While this book might be a bit too basic for some longtime investors, it would be perfect for that younger family member or long-time friend who took a late interest in financial matters.

I have admired Carl Richard's ability to illustrate financial principles simply and succinctly with his line drawings for a long time, so I was excited to hear of his new book, and even more excited when I was offered an opportunity to review a copy. I wondered if the book would be truly helpful for someone like me: not incredibly savvy financially, with a history of mistakes and regrets and not a lot of years left to make up for them. I have read (or attempted to read) other financial self-help books, but often ended up feeling like my situation was essentially hopeless.Carl Richard's approach feels real, down-to-earth and doable. I spent a long time with his initial question, "Why is money important to you", and am still pondering that. Each chapter is a progressive step through clarification of values and goal setting, spending and saving, budgeting, investing and using a financial advisor. The line drawings sprinkled throughout the book illustrate and explain the concepts, and make them more memorable.I believe this book would be of benefit to anyone who wants to be "be smart about their money." While many of the concepts in this book are explored by other authors of financial advice, this book stands out as a very clear and approachable take on the topic. If you read this you are not likely to be bored, intimidated or tempted to throw the book across the room in despair. For myself, though I received a hardcopy for review, I have since purchased a copy for my Kindle, so I can pass on the first copy as a gift.

Carl Richard stellt die richtigen Fragen. An uns. Und fordert uns auf, nicht nur, aber gerade beim Geld und den eigenen Finanzen sich und anderen viele Fragen zu stellen. Und Antworten zu finden. Warum? Damit wir das Leben leben, das wir leben möchten, gestützt von unserem Geld. Oder Geld allgemein. Leider gibt es das Buch nur auf Englisch. Es ist ein Augenöffner, ein Arbeitsbuch.

Achei básico. Pra quem não é do família, pode ajudar bastante. Mas pra quem já tem alguma vivência, vai encontrar pouca novidade.

The individual steps aren't dramatically new but the process is structured in a much more cohesive manner compared to other financial planning books. Also loved the conversational tone.

Carl did a great job simplifying the complex financial ideas that many advisors discuss. This is a great starting point and clear path forward.

Although much of what's in the book I already knew, it would be unfair to give it a lower grade since much of what we need in the world of personal finance is simplicity and the author is concise and straightforward. Great basic book. Especially gutsy and helpful was his concept of a default portfolio.