The One-Page Financial Plan
By: Carl Richards
New York Times Sketch Guy columnist and certified financial planner Carl Richards has written a simple guide called The One-Page Financial Plan that emphasizes the “personal” in personal finance. Rather than telling you how to spend or invest your money, Richards asks a few simple questions to get you thinking about what you truly want from your money. His desire is to help people find satisfaction by using their money in accordance with their own values and goals, not what everyone else is doing or advising. Thus, the one-page plan is a way to get started by identifying why money is important to you, where you want to go with it, and the goals that will get you there.
This book was a fast read, easy-to-understand, and illustrated throughout with plenty of his signature sketches, most of which should help readers connect more with his concepts. I also appreciated Richards’s frequent acknowledgment of the emotional component we encounter in dealing with money. And by using examples from his own financial journey as well as conversations with clients, there is plenty of relevant material.
No matter how knowledgeable you are about finances, this book should be helpful in highlighting the essential building blocks for a solid financial plan. By showing how an often boring and complex subject can be simple and highly personalized, Richards has provided a much-needed resource for financial literacy.
Review By: Alison Orpurt