How To Get A Free Financial Checkup

By Pinyo, on April 23, 2009

How can you tell if you’re financially on track or not? Unless you find yourself in one of the extremes, you’re probably wondering that right now. To get the answer, some people spend a lot of time learning and some simply hire a financial planner. However, there is an alternative that you may have not considered — i.e., online financial planning software.

Note: If you’re in debt or are just starting out, you may want to read my Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps Financial Guide article instead of this.

Online Financial Planning Software

Personally, there are two online financial planning software packages that I’m familiar with:

• Financial Engines, which I can access for free through my employer.
• eFinPLAN, which was introduced to me by a friend, but costs $98 per year.

Although both have the capability to forecast my chance of reaching my retirement goal, I prefer eFinPLAN because it’s a lot more comprehensive than Financial Engines.

eFinPLAN Financial Planning Software

Specifically, there are two key features that make eFinPLAN a better financial planning software for me.

Holistic Financial Assessment

First, it makes a very comprehensive assessment of my finances that include investments, assets, liabilities, expenses, money habits, investment preferences, insurance, children’s education, legacy information (e.g., will, power of attorney, health care documents, trusts, etc. As you can see, this is a complete look of my finances.

Just by going through the assessment alone, I learned that I still have a lot of learning and work to do to get to where I want to be.

Comprehensive Report

Once you complete the assessment (just do the best you can on the first try), you will be given access to 60+ page personalized financial plan that covers over 50 topics. The report also comes with a financial planning action step checklist to help you improve your overall financial health and move closer to your goals.

How To Get Your Free Financial Checkup

You may be wondering why I keep mentioning free when I just told you the software costs $98 a year. The answer is simple. You can try eFinPLAN online financial planning software risk free for 30 days. This gives you enough time to complete the assessment and get your personalized financial plan. If you don’t think it’s worth paying the membership fee, simply cancel your account.

If you decide to give eFinPLAN a try, sign up through this link and use the special code MOOLA1 to get 10% off your membership fee.

Final Thoughts

Although eFinPLAN does not and cannot replace a professional financial planner, it’s a good intermediary step for individuals who are trying to put a plan together but not quite ready to spend thousands on a financial planner just yet. When you are ready to work with a financial planner, the assessment and your personalize report should allow you to be more prepared and effective in your discussion.

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Pinyo is the brain behind Moolanomy personal finance blog and a few other web sites. If you like this article, please subscribe for free daily email updates.

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1. Intelligent Speculator | Carnival of Financial Planning
2. The 2009 Personal Finance “How to” Roundup | AllFinancialMatters