How to Write a Financial Planning Essay

A woman writing a financial planning essay

Whether you’re running a company or managing your personal finances, organizing finances can be daunting. Some people are able to make it week to week and month to month without doing much financial organization. They’re seemingly able to just work with what they have and not worry too much about staying organized. This is a rare skill.

If you have financial goals that you wish to achieve, then writing a financial planning essay is absolutely essential. A good financial plan has to go beyond merely jotting down what money you have coming in and what you have to spend it on. If you want to make any real progress in getting ahead, then you need a plan that goes in depth. You need a financial planning essay. Here you’ll learn everything you need about how to write a financial planning essay and what one can do for your financial future.

Why Write an Essay?

If you have money, you likely already have some idea of how you need or want to spend it. So, why would you want to write an essay, something most people don’t do past college? The answer is simple: clarity of short-term and long-term financial goals.

When writing a financial planning essay, you’re putting down in detail what your financial plan is. You’re also defining the manner in which you will carry the plan out. It’s one thing to sit down and list your expenses and your projected income, but it’s easy for spending to get out of control without a more meticulous plan in place.

Writing in essay form helps you keep track of how much money you have coming in. You also keep track of where it came from. By sitting down and carefully describing where your money is coming from and how, when, and where you are going to spend you are being explicitly clear in your goals.

What Information Goes in a Financial Planning Essay?

Financial planning is a process that requires you to know how much money you have coming, what expenses you have, and when that money must be paid. It also enables you to factor in money and assets that are already available to you.

Weighing Options

If there is an expense your current budget does not cover, then you need to address it in the essay. Maybe you have goods around your home that you could pawn? Can you take out a loan? Maybe you can borrow money from a friend? Any means by which you can bring in money should be listed in your essay.

If you include borrowing money in your financial essay you need to also include how you plan to pay it back. If you take a loan that requires you to pay in installments, you need to feature those installments as part of the essay.

Structure

When creating a financial planning essay there is no real “right” way to go about organizing the content. However, as with any essay, if you want it to make sense it must have some form of structure. Here is just one potential financial planning essay structure that you can utilize:

  • Money goals – In this paragraph, you should state explicitly what your financial goals are and in what time frame you intend to meet them.
  • Current funds and assets – This is where you list your current amounts of money or assets that can be leveraged to get money.
  • Income – This is where you state your income and the intervals at which you receive it.
  • Outgoing expenses – This is a detailed account of what bills and expenses you need to pay in the given time frame that you have chosen. You must also outline how exactly you will pay each of these expenses.
  • Alternative means of income – This is where you detail any alternative means of bringing in money. These are sources you perhaps had not yet considered in your goal-making. Perhaps you have decided to take on a side hustle? Maybe you are thinking of donating plasma for money? Maybe you are considering having a garage/yard sale? Perhaps a family member owes you some money? Whatever alternative money you could have could make a huge difference in helping you achieve your financial goals in a more timely manner.
  • Goal implementation – This paragraph is arguably the most important one. Here you break down what your goals are when you wish to accomplish them, and how you intend to do it. Putting your goals and your plans for carrying them out is critical because you are giving yourself a perfect guide for how to achieve your financial goals.

Holding Yourself Accountable

The biggest reason for writing a financial planning essay is to hold yourself accountable. When your funding comes in, the essay is your point of reference to keep on track. Think of it as a map that shows you exactly where your money needs to go.

On the other hand, the essay also serves as a means to cushion the blow of any potential disappointment. Life happens, and sometimes when life happens you have to spend money. When this happens you can look to your essay to remember. Remember that the circumstances that set you back were unforeseen.

At the end of the day, all you can do is stick to your financial plan as best you can. It is okay to be a little tough on yourself when you misspend, but you should never beat yourself up over it either. Work your plan to the fullest of your ability. Only then you will be able to meet your goals.