Personal Financial Planning 15th Edition by Randy Billingsley,
. . . . . . . .
Lawrence J. Gitman, Michael D. Joehnk
. . . . .
Understanding the Financia . .
lPlanningProcess Chapter 1
. . . .
How.Will.This.Affect.Me?
The.heart.of.financial.planning.is.making.sure.your.values.line.up.with.how.you.spend.and.save..That.
means.knowing.where.you.are.financially.and.planning.on.how.to.get.where.you.want.to.be.in.the.futur
e.no.matter.what.life.throws.at.you..For.example,.how.should.your.plan.handle.the.projection.that.Soci
al.Security.costs.may.exceed.revenues.by.2035?.And.what.if.the.government.decides.to.raise.tax.rates.t
o.help.cover.the.federal.deficit?.An.informed.financial.plan.should.reflect.such.uncertainties.and.more
.
This.chapter.overviews.the.financial.planning.process.and.explains.its.context..Topics.include.how.fi
nancial.plans.change.to.accommodate.your.current.stage.in.life.and.the.role.that.financial.planners.can.
play.in.helping.you.achieve.your.objectives..After.reading.this.chapter.you.will.have.a.good.perspecti
ve.on.how.to.organize.your.overall.personal.financial.plan.
LEARNING GOALS .
LG1.Identify.the.benefits.of.using.personal.financial.planning.techniques.to.manage.your.finan
ces.
Key.concept.in.this.section.is.the.planning.model.as.displayed.in.Exhibit.1.1.. Your.standard.of.living.i
s.greatly.impacted.by.your.spending.habits.and.your.commitment.to.saving.. Your.spending.is.measur
ed.by.your.propensity.to.consume.. Wealth.is.the.total.value.of.all.property.you.own.less.the.amount.t
hat.you.owe.to.others.
ACTIVITY:. Ask.the.students.to.assume.that.they.have.just.inherited.$100,000.. What.will.you.do.wit
h.the.money?. Write.down.three.ways.you.will.spend.or.use.the.money.
©.2021.Cengage.Learning®..May.not.be.scanned,.copied.or.duplicated,.or.posted.to.a.publicly.accessible.website,.in.whole.or.in.
part,.except.for.use.as.permitted.in.a.license.distributed.with.a.certain.product.or.service.or.otherwise.on.a
password-protected.website.or.school-approved.learning.management.system.for.classroom.use.
,Ask.the.students.to.share.one.item.with.the.class.and.record.what.they.say.so.that.the.entire.class.can.refl
ect.on.the.answers.. Hopefully,.at.least.a.few.will.mention.investing.even.if.only.$10,000.of.the.amount
.. Use.their.answers.to.discuss.taking.care.of.current.needs.versus.future.needs.
Focus.on.their.propensity.to.consume.and.its.impact.on.accumulating.wealth.. Point.out.the.Financial.P
lanning.Tip,.―Be.SMART.in.Planning.Your.Financial.Goals.‖
Use.Exhibit.1.2.to.show.how.the.average.person.earns.and.spends.their.money.and.Exhibit.1.6.to.help.t
he.student.identify.where.they.are.now.
LG2.Describe.the.personal.financial.planning.process.and.define.your.goals.
Dwight.Eisenhower,.army.general.and.president,.is.quoted.as.saying.―Plans.are.useless;.Planning.is.pri
celess‖.. The.process.of.planning.allows.you.to.focus.on.the.issues.that.are.most.important.and.to.be.rea
dy.when.things.change.
Exhibit.1.3.lists.the.Six.Step.Financial.Planning.Process.. The.first.and.most.important.is.defining.you
r.financial.goals.. Exhibit.1.6.lists.goals.by.age.to.demonstrate.how.goals.change.over.time.. Use.the.ex
amples.in.Exhibit.1.5.to.ask.students.if.the.assumptions.are.realistic.. Yes,.the.answer.is.in.the.exhibit,.
but.many.will.not.have.read.chapter.at.this.point.. For.your.use,.the.assumptions.are:
Assumption.1:.Saving.a.few.thousand.dollars.a.year.should.provide.enough.to.fund.my.child‘s.colle
ge.Education.
Assumption.2:.An.emergency.fund.lasting.3.months.should.be.adequate.
Assumption.3:.I.will.be.able.to.retire.at.65.and.should.have.plenty.to.live.on.in.retirement..Assu
mption.4:.I‘m.relying.on.the.rule.of.thumb.that.I.will.need.only.70.percent.of.my.pre-
.retirement.income.to.manage.nicely.in.retirement.
There.are.several.worksheets.in.the.book.. Worksheet.1.1.gives.the.student.a.format.to.write.down.thei
r.Personal.Financial.Goals.. There.is.power.in.writing.down.goals.[and.most.any.other.plan].. Recordin
g.the.goal.and.then.reviewing.three.months.later.will.help.you.to.keep.focus.on.the.goal.
LG3.Explain.the.life.cycle.of.financial.plans,.their.role.in.achieving.your.financial.goals,.how.to.
deal.with.special.planning.concerns,.and.the.use.of.professional.financial.planners.
Exhibit.1.7.can.help.focus.the.attention.on.how.goals.differ.between.the.various.stages.of.life..Section.
1-3b.lists.various.decisions.that.you.will.have.to.make.over.your.life.. The.section.1-
3c.addresses.Special.Planning.Concerns.. Worksheet.1.2.focuses.on.the.financial.benefit.to.the.family.
of.the.second.income.. If.the.second.income.is.from.a.minimum.wage.job,.it.may.not.be.a.good.financial.
decision.. Of.course.having.a.job,.even.a.minimum.wage.job,.may.give.the.person.psychic.income.that.
will.override.the.financial.impact.
While.perhaps.off.topic,.I.recall.a.high.school.science.teacher.who.was.a.smoker.. He.walked.through.t
he.amount.of.money.he.spent.on.purchasing.tobacco.products.. That.computation.had.a
©.2021.Cengage.Learning®..May.not.be.scanned,.copied.or.duplicated,.or.posted.to.a.publicly.accessible.website,.in.whole.or.in.
part,.except.for.use.as.permitted.in.a.license.distributed.with.a.certain.product.or.service.or.otherwise.on.a
password-protected.website.or.school-approved.learning.management.system.for.classroom.use.
,lot.to.do.with.my.decision.to.not.smoke.. How.this.relates.to.the.course.is.that.this.is.an.illustration.of.ho
w.the.financial.impact.of.a.decision.can.drive.the.decision.
LG4.Examine.the.economic.environment’s.influence.on.personal.financial.planning.
For.older.folks,.the.financial.crisis.of.2008-
2009.is.fresh.in.our.memory.. To.the.student.of.2021,.that.crisis.is.more.of.history.than.life.. If.you.can.s
hare.a.war.story.on.how.you.were.personally.impacted,.it.will.help.bring.the.impact.of.the.world.econo
my.on.financial.plans.to.life..The.book.speaks.how.to.manage.this.type.of.crisis,.but.you.had.to.go.throu
gh.it.to.really.understand.the.impact.it.had.
The.value.of.professional.advice.is.greatly.understated.. If.by.talking.to.a.professional.you.can.prevent.
making.a.mistake.--.that.can.be.of.a.great.value.. Section.1-
3e.speaks.to.the.use.of.professional.financial.planners.. Exhibit.1.9.lists.out.the.various.certifications.th
at.planners.have.
Economic.or.business.cycles.are.real.. Perhaps.the.most.useful.thing.about.the.cycles.is.the.knowledge.
that.if.things.are.bad,.you.know.they.will.get.better.. Of.course,.when.life.is.good,.you.know.that.the.ba
d.cycle.will.come.around.again.. Thus,.financial.planning.requires.saving.in.the.good.times.for.the.bad.t
imes.. See.the.―Test.Yourself‖.question.1-17.for.a.short.discussion.of.business.cycles.
The.power.of.compounding.is.rarely.understood.. Exhibit.1.8.shows.how.the.amount.$10,000.will.gro
w.over.time.. The.longer.the.investment.stays.invested,.the.greater.the.amount.–
.the.power.of.compound.interest.
LG5.Evaluate.the.impact.of.age,.education,.and.geographic.location.on.personal.income.
Exhibit.1.12.says.it.all.
LG6.Understand.the.importance.of.career.choices.and.their.relationship.to.personal.financial.p
lanning.
Exhibit.1.13.shows.that.the.choice.of.a.college.major.has.a.financial.impact.. Of.course.money.cannot.b
uy.happiness,.but.having.a.bit.helps.. If.you.really.want.to.be.an.elementary.school.teacher,.you.must.re
cognize.that.you.will.not.have.as.much.wealth.as.a.lawyer.or.financial.analyst.
The.summary.of.the.learning.goals.at.the.end.of.the.chapter.should.aid.the.student.in.reviewing.the.ch
apter.when.exam.time.comes.. It.will.be.useful.to.point.out.to.the.student.how.to.use.this.material.
Link.to.Solutions.to.Financial.Planning.Exercises
Pre-tests
©.2021.Cengage.Learning®..May.not.be.scanned,.copied.or.duplicated,.or.posted.to.a.publicly.accessible.website,.in.whole.or.in.
part,.except.for.use.as.permitted.in.a.license.distributed.with.a.certain.product.or.service.or.otherwise.on.a
password-protected.website.or.school-approved.learning.management.system.for.classroom.use.
, I.have.mentioned.Pre-test.in.other.places.. Simply.stated,.they.work.. Students.who.experience.a.pre-
test,.that.is.a.quiz.before.you.have.covered.the.material,.perform.better.on.the.exam.over.the.material.a
nd.they.will.learn.more.from.the.course.. At.least.they.will.have.a.higher.grade.. For.a.discussion.of.pre
-
testing,.see.Craig.Shoulders.and.Sam.Hicks,.―ADEPT.Learning.System‖,.Issues.in.Accounting.Ed
ucation,.May.2008.Volume.23,.Number.2,.pp.161-182.
Financial.Facts.or.Fantasies?
These.may.be.used.as.―teasers‖.to.get.the.students.on.the.right.page.with.you.. Also,.they.may.be.used.as.
quizzes.after.you.covered.the.material.or.as.―pre-test.questions‖.to.get.their.attention.
An.improved.standard.of.living.is.one.of.the.payoffs.of.sound.personal.financial
Fact:.The.heart.of.sound.financial.planning.and.effective.money.management.is.the.greater.enjoymen
t.of.the.money.one.makes.by.improving.one‘s.standard.of.living.
A.savings.account.is.an.example.of.a.tangible.asset.because.it.represents.something.on.deposit.at.a.ban
k.or.other.financial.institution.
Fantasy:.A.savings.account,.like.stocks,.bonds,.and.mutual.funds,.is.an.example.of.a.financial.asset.
–.an.intangible,.a.―paper‖.asset..Real.assets,.in.contrast,.refer.to.tangibles.–
physical.items.like.houses,.cars,.and.appliances.
Personal.financial.planning.involves.translating.personal.financial.goals.into.specific.plans.and.arran
gements.that.put.these.plans.into.action.
Fact:.Personal.financial.plans.are.based.on.the.specific.financial.goals.that.you.set.for.yourself.and.yo
ur.family..Once.in.place,.the.plans.are.put.into.action.using.the.various.financial.strategies.explained.in.
this.book.
Over.the.long.run,.gaining.only.an.extra.percent.or.two.on.an.investment.makes.little.difference.in.the.a
mount.of.earnings.generated.
Fantasy:.Gaining.an.extra.percent.or.two.on.an.investment‘s.return.can.make.a.tremendous.difference.
–.often.thousands.of.dollars.–.that.increases.the.longer.the.investment.is.held.
Inflation.generally.has.little.effect.on.personal.financial.planning.
Fantasy:.Inflation.is.a.vital.concern.in.financial.planning..This.is.because.inflation.affects.not.only.the
.prices.we.pay.for.the.goods.and.services.we.consume.but.also.the.amount.of.money.we.make.. If.ignore
d,.inflation.can.wreak.havoc.on.our.budgets.and.financial.plans.
Your.income.level.depends.on.your.age,.education,.and.career.choice.
Fact:.All.three.of.these.variables.are.important.determinants.of.your.income.level,.particularly.whe
n.accompanied.by.adequate.ambition.and.disciplined.work.habits.
Financial.Facts.or.Fantasies?
These.may.be.used.as.a.quiz.or.as.a.pre-test.to.get.the.students.interested.
©.2021.Cengage.Learning®..May.not.be.scanned,.copied.or.duplicated,.or.posted.to.a.publicly.accessible.website,.in.whole.or.in.
part,.except.for.use.as.permitted.in.a.license.distributed.with.a.certain.product.or.service.or.otherwise.on.a
password-protected.website.or.school-approved.learning.management.system.for.classroom.use.