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Financial Planning Checklist

What to do with your next dollar

Money advice usually arrives in pieces: save more, invest early, kill your debt. All true, but nobody tells you which comes first when the same $200 can only go one place. This checklist is the order we coach people through. Find your stage, check off what you've done, and your progress saves in this browser so you can come back to it.

Overall progress: 0% (0 of 0 steps)

Working the stages in order matters more than speed.

Write your two numbers here and we will fill your personal targets into the later stages. Saved on this device only.

Why first: you can't aim money you haven't measured. Two numbers, take-home and essentials, drive every other decision on this page.

Why now: without a cushion, the first surprise bill lands on a credit card and undoes your progress. The cushion comes before the debt attack on purpose.

Why here: the match outranks extra debt payments mathematically, and one uninsured bad day can erase years of progress. Lock in both before you accelerate.

Why the urgency: average credit card rates are running near 20% in 2026. No savings account or investment reliably beats that, so paying the card off is the best "return" available to you.

Why this size: a real job loss takes months to recover from, not weeks. This fund is what makes every later stage safe to start.

Why 15%: started by your 30s, it puts most households on track for a normal retirement age. Started later, the number grows, which is why this stage starts the moment the high-interest debt is gone.

Why it never ends: this stage is the point of the other six. The discipline you built becomes options, and the options become a life you chose.

The once-a-year sweep

Separate from the stages, a few things deserve a yearly appointment. Pick a month (tax season works for many people) and run this sweep:

  • Re-shop auto and home insurance. Loyalty rarely pays in 2026; switching often does.
  • Pull all three credit reports free at AnnualCreditReport.com.
  • Check your tax withholding after any raise, side income, or family change.
  • Cancel subscriptions you forgot you had. Read your card statements for one month to find them.
  • Confirm beneficiaries still match your life.
  • Raise your retirement contribution by at least 1%.
  • Recheck your emergency fund target if rent, kids, or jobs changed.
  • Have one honest money conversation with your partner or yourself: what worked this year, what didn't.

Common questions

Each stage protects the one after it. The starter fund keeps a car repair from undoing your debt payoff. The match is an instant return no debt payoff can beat. Clearing high-interest debt frees the cash flow that funds everything else. Skipping steps usually means redoing them.
Saving about 15% of gross income, started by your 30s, puts most households on track to retire at a normal age, and it's the working target most planners use. Started later, the number is higher. Your exact figure is worth a real conversation, not a rule of thumb.
Years, and that's normal. Stages 1 through 3 often take a few months. The debt stage depends on the balances. Most people live in stages 6 and 7 for decades. It's a map, not a race.
Most of this list is habits, cash flow, and follow-through, which is exactly what coaching is for. A licensed advisor earns their keep on complex investment, tax, or estate questions, usually from stage 6 on. We're happy to tell you which one you need: that's part of the free assessment.
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This checklist is education, not individualized financial advice. The order holds for most households, and real lives include exceptions worth talking through before acting on a big one.