Financial Planning Prompts for Your Whole Life

Build my comprehensive financial life plan. Age: [X]. Income: $[Y]. Family: [describe]. Goals: [describe — house, kids, retirement, freedom]. Include: 1-year, 5-year, 10-year, 30-year milestones across saving, investing, insurance, estate, career. Integrated roadmap not isolated advice.

Build my net worth statement. Assets: [list — checking, savings, retirement, home equity, vehicles, other]. Liabilities: [list — mortgage, cards, loans]. Include: current net worth, categorization (liquid vs illiquid, productive vs consumption), month-over-month tracking setup, benchmarks for age/income.

Set SMART financial goals. Include: emergency fund target + date, retirement savings milestone, debt-free target date, home purchase/upgrade date + down payment, kids education fund, major travel/experiences, FIRE target. For each: $ amount, target date, monthly savings required, priority ranking.

Plan income growth. Current: $[X]. Career: [describe]. Include: salary negotiation timing + tactics, side income opportunities, skill development with ROI, job change potential, business/equity upside if entrepreneurial, realistic 5-year income target.

Calculate life insurance need. Income: $[X]. Dependents: [describe]. Outstanding debts: $[Y]. Existing assets: $[Z]. Include: DIME method (Debt + Income × years + Mortgage + Education), term vs whole life (term for 95% of people), 20 vs 30-year term, laddering strategy.

Evaluate disability insurance. Current coverage: [employer provided details]. Income: $[X]. Age: [Y]. Include: adequacy check (60-70% income replacement), own-occupation vs any-occupation (own much better), gap filling, private policy cost, return-to-work definitions.

Do I need umbrella insurance? Assets: $[X]. Home + auto liability limits: $[Y]. Lifestyle factors: [teen drivers, pool, rental property, business]. Include: risk exposure analysis, $1M policy cost (~$200-400/year), when $2-5M appropriate, coverage gaps.

Optimize health insurance choice. Options: [HMO, PPO, HDHP+HSA]. Age: [X]. Family: [describe]. Anticipated usage: [describe]. Include: true cost (premium + deductible + out-of-pocket max), HSA tax advantage if HDHP, network considerations, specialist access.

Build basic estate plan. Family: [describe]. Assets: $[X]. Kids: [ages]. Include: will (guardianship for minors), durable power of attorney, healthcare power of attorney, living will/advance directive, beneficiary designations review, trust if applicable (assets > $1M usually).

Trust or will? Assets: $[X]. Family: [describe]. Privacy concerns: [describe]. Include: revocable trust advantages (avoid probate, privacy, incapacity planning), when trust worth cost ($2-5K setup), will-only sufficient cases, funding the trust critical step.

Review beneficiary designations. Accounts: 401k, IRA, life insurance, bank accounts. Family changes: [marriage, divorce, birth, death]. Include: current designations audit, contingent beneficiaries (vital!), per stirpes vs per capita, trust as beneficiary considerations, update process.

Digital asset estate plan. Include: password manager access for executor, crypto seed phrase storage, online accounts inventory (email, social, financial, subscriptions), photos/files backup plan, legacy contact on Apple/Google/Facebook.

Audit my current financial plan. Age: [X]. Income: $[Y]. Savings: $[Z]. Include: savings rate check (target 20%+), tax-advantaged accounts maxed?, insurance adequacy, estate documents current, goals on track, gaps + fixes prioritized by impact.

Plan college funding. Kid ages: [X]. Current 529 balances: $[Y]. Total goal: $[Z per kid]. Include: 529 contributions needed, expected growth, scholarships assumption, retirement vs college tradeoff (don't sacrifice retirement!), loans as backstop.

Plan major purchase. Target: [car, house, remodel, wedding]. Amount: $[X]. Timeline: [Y]. Include: cash vs financing analysis, down payment target, savings account placement, opportunity cost vs invested money, negotiation leverage.