FINANCIAL PLANNING PROCESS- THE DOCTORS WAY

Doctors are highly organized people and they plan everything really well, but they are not very chaotic while handling their financial affairs and this is mainly because of the following 3 points:

1. No time to plan and review their investments
2. Lacks expert knowledge, when it comes to areas of investment.
3. Investments are not made according to their needs and objectives; random investments are made.

Doctors are always running short of time so they are not able to focus on their financial matters properly and need an approach which can keep their financial life on track. Financial Planning is a perfect approach which helps them to keep their financial life healthy. Financial planning is basically a process of managing the cash inflows and outflows, by making proper investments based on needs and objectives of an investor. Financial planning is a five step process, this means that there is systematic series of action to organize and manage the financial affairs, just like doctors have a systematic process to treat their patients.

Financial process is as follows:

1. Financial health checkup and diagnosis: this is the first step of financial planning process, as being a doctor you check all the past medical conditions of the patient and understand the current problems that your patient is facing, on that basis you make a report on how to improve. Similarly, your financial planner checks all the financial data’s and previous investment. Based on that a report is made which has analysis of all the finance related transactions. This report is helpful for taking corrective actions for better investment plans.
2. Financial Advice and Action: After financial health checkup, the next step is implementing the proposed plan or actions, this is very similar when you diagnose your patient and prescribe a line for treatment for overcoming the health issues. In the same manner the financial planner makes a list of plans and actions that would help to achieve targets. Also proper advices are given by financial planner on asset allocation, insurance coverage risk management etc. And accordingly proper investments are made which can help in improving the financial conditions.
3. Reviews: Financial planner helps to take corrective actions to make financial plan to work effectively and makes sure that the adopted actions are tuning to be successful. This is similar to the post treatment visits that are made to doctors to check whether the treatment was a success or some medications needs to be changed for better results.
4. Goal achievements: When the patient is completely cured by undergoing comprehensive health checkups, proper line of treatment and post treatment checkups similarly by the process of comprehensive financial health checkups, action plans, and the reviews the investor can achieve his goals and objectives.
5. Regular financial health checkups: Even after the goals and objectives of investors are met, the investor should have a regular checkup of his financial health in order to assure that the results are matching to the expectations or some changes need to be made, as in medical terms when a annual health checkup can help the person understand whether he is healthy or requires treatment.

This process of comprehensive financial health checkups, action plan, review, goal achievement and regular financial reviews will help one lead financially healthier life similar to how your patient is happy and satisfied when his disease is cured. We wish your patients a healthy and you a wealthy life.