How to Financially Plan for a Secure Future

Financial planning is one of the most empowering steps you can take to secure your future. If you have a family like I do, then it becomes even more impactful to anyone that depends on you for a secure future. Whether you’re saving for retirement, financial independence, or building a legacy for the next generation, a solid plan helps you stay on track and adapt to life’s changes. In this post, I’ll walk you through the essentials of financial planning with a focus on retirement, and I’ll provide a template you can use to plan and track your retirement goals.

Step 1: Define Your Goals

Start by asking yourself: What does financial success look like for you? For retirement specifically, think about the lifestyle you want. Do you plan to travel? Downsize? Pursue hobbies? Estimate your annual expenses in retirement—experts often suggest you’ll need 70-80% of your pre-retirement income to maintain your standard of living. Write down your target retirement age and the amount you’ll need annually.

Step 2: Assess Your Current Situation

Assess where you are today. Calculate your:

• Income: Salary, side hustles, or passive income streams.
• Expenses: Fixed (rent, utilities) and variable (entertainment, dining out).
• Savings: Emergency fund, retirement accounts (e.g., 401(k), IRA), and other investments.
• Debt: Credit cards, student loans, or mortgages.

This snapshot helps you understand how much you can allocate toward your goals.

You can use Monarch Money to track this consistently and automatically, it saves me hours weekly and gives an easy-to-read Sankey diagram to show inflows and outflows.

Step 3: Estimate Retirement Needs

To get a rough idea of your retirement savings goal, use the “4% rule”—a common guideline suggesting you can withdraw 4% of your savings annually without running out of money for 30 years. For example, if you need $40,000 per year in retirement (adjusted for inflation), multiply that by 25 (the inverse of 4%) to get a target of $1,000,000. You can factor in Social Security or pensions if applicable, which will reduce the amount you need to save, but I don’t recommend counting on these programs as there is no guarantee they will exist in the future. No one will prepare for your future as well as you. Read here about the projection of Social Security solvency

Step 4: Create a Budget

A budget is your plan for income and expenses. You can set the inflow and outflow however you like and when you deviate, you’re only deviating from your own plan. So build your plan with the future in mind and stick to that plan to achieve your desired outcome.

A good starting point is the 50-30-20 rule. Allocate your income into:

• Needs (50%): Housing, food, transportation.
• Wants (30%): Fun money for life’s pleasures.
• Savings/Investments (20%): Retirement accounts, emergency fund, stocks, or real estate.

Automate contributions to retirement accounts to make saving effortless and enhance investment returns with DCA (dollar cost averaging).

Step 5: Invest Wisely

Time is your ally when planning for retirement. The earlier you start, the more your money can grow through compound interest. Here’s a practical order for investing and saving, prioritizing tax advantages, employer benefits, and long-term growth. This sequence assumes you have an emergency fund (3-6 months of expenses) already in place and are managing high-interest debt.

1. 401(k) Up to Employer Match: Contribute enough to your employer-sponsored 401(k) to get the full match—typically 3-6% of your salary. This is essentially “free money” and offers an immediate 100% return on your contribution.
2. High-Interest Debt (Above 6-7%): Pay off credit card balances or loans with high interest rates. The guaranteed savings from eliminating this debt often outpaces market returns.
3. Health Savings Account (HSA): If you have a high-deductible health plan, max out your HSA ($4,150 for individuals or $8,300 for families in 2025, plus $1,000 catch-up if 55+). Contributions are tax-deductible, growth is tax-free, and withdrawals for medical expenses are tax-free—making it a triple-tax-advantaged powerhouse.
4. Individual Retirement Account (IRA): Contribute to a Traditional or Roth IRA (up to $7,000 in 2025, or $8,000 if 50+). Choose Roth if you expect higher taxes in retirement, or Traditional for a tax break now. This diversifies your tax strategy beyond employer plans.
5. Max Out 401(k): After securing the match, increase your 401(k) contributions to the annual limit ($23,000 in 2025, plus $7,500 catch-up if 50+). This boosts tax-deferred or tax-free growth (if Roth 401(k)).
6. Taxable Brokerage Account: Invest in a regular brokerage account for flexibility. Focus on low-cost index funds, ETFs, or stocks. No contribution limits apply, but gains are taxable.
7. 529 Plan or Other Goals: If you have kids or specific goals (e.g., education), fund a 529 plan or similar account. These offer tax benefits for targeted purposes.
8. Real Estate or Alternative Investments: Once core retirement accounts are funded, explore real estate, REITs, or other assets for diversification, if your risk tolerance allows.

Adjust based on your income, goals, and debt load—everyone’s situation is unique!
Review your portfolio 2x annually to rebalance and adjust as you age.

Step 6: Track and Adjust

Financial planning isn’t “set it and forget it.” Life changes—job switches, family growth, market shifts—require tweaks to your plan. Use the Excel template I’ll provide to input your numbers and see how small changes (like increasing savings by 5%) impact your retirement timeline.

Step 7: Plan for the Unexpected

Build an emergency fund (3-6 months of expenses) to avoid dipping into retirement savings during a crisis. Also, consider insurance—health, disability, or long-term care—to protect your plan.

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Using the Excel Template

I’ve used retirement planning and modeling guides from Edward Jones, Dave Ramsey, Monarch Money, and many more. They’ve each provided some unique insight, whether its inflation-adjusted numbers, or compound interest recommendations. Most of these calculators don’t provide you the ability to track and save changes over time and you have to keep paying these groups to use the tools. I’ve found a way to own my own planner, track changes over time, and retain ownership of the plan. The best template hands-down is right here, it’s an Excel template you can adjust with your own inputs and save, just adjust every year and keep an eye on your plan over the years.

1. Inputs: Enter your age, target retirement age, current savings, annual income, expenses, and expected investment return rate.
2. Chart Details: Shows pay, savings, and retirement income for each year through retirement and life-expectancy.
3. Retirement Projection: Shows your savings growth year-by-year with a cone of standard deviation that investment returns could result in.
4. What-If Scenarios: Adjust variables (e.g., retirement age or savings rate) to see the impact.

Let me know if you want to see any changes to this template, or other planning templates. I’d like to begin sharing the most helpful planning tools I use for my finances. I’m also happy to walk you through building your own retirement plan.

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Final Thoughts

Financial planning is about clarity and control. Start small, stay consistent, and use tools like the Excel template to visualize your progress. Retirement might seem far off, but every step you take today builds a bridge to that future. What are your retirement dreams? Let me know, and I’ll tailor the template to fit your vision!