Help me build an educational personal financial planning worksheet from the information below. Do not give individualized investment, tax, legal, or insurance advice; identify where a qualified professional should review the plan. Household and goals: [HOUSEHOLD AND GOALS] Income and cash flow: [INCOME AND EXPENSES] Assets and debts: [ASSETS AND DEBTS] Savings, benefits, and tax context: [SAVINGS AND TAX CONTEXT] Planning assumptions: [ASSUMPTIONS]
Produce these sections:
1. A one-page financial snapshot table: monthly net income, essential expenses, discretionary expenses, debt minimums, current savings rate, liquid emergency funds, high-interest debt, and net worth. Show formulas and label all supplied versus calculated values.
2. Goal map for the next 12 months and 1-5 years. For each goal, show target amount, deadline, current amount, monthly contribution needed, and the trade-off if funding it reduces another priority.
3. Prioritized action plan. Address cash-flow gaps, emergency reserves, employer matches, high-interest debt, insurance or estate-review questions, and goal funding in that order where applicable. Explain the rationale without claiming a universal rule.
4. Three scenarios: baseline, income down by [DOWNSIDE CHANGE], and one planned improvement. Show the arithmetic, not only conclusions.
5. A list of documents, questions, and decisions to take to a CFP, tax professional, attorney, or insurance professional as relevant.
Do not invent account balances, tax rates, returns, fees, eligibility, or debt terms. Keep investments at an educational level and state uncertainty rather than predicting performance. Before answering, reconcile monthly inflows and outflows, and flag any missing debt rate, tax, benefit, or timeline that could change the priorities. Ask up to 3 clarifying questions only if a required input is missing.Fill in
| Placeholder | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| [HOUSEHOLD AND GOALS] | Your household setup, dependents, location if relevant, and dated financial goals. | Two adults in Ohio, one child age 4; build a $24,000 emergency fund in 18 months and save $12,000 for a car in three years. |
| [INCOME AND EXPENSES] | Monthly take-home income and regular essential, discretionary, and irregular spending. | Monthly take-home pay $8,400; essentials $4,650, discretionary $1,150, irregular annual costs $3,600. |
| [ASSETS AND DEBTS] | Cash, investments, retirement accounts, property, loans, balances, interest rates, and minimum payments. | Checking and savings $10,500; 401(k) $92,000; student loan $14,800 at 4.2% with $260 minimum; credit card $2,100 at 21.9% with $85 minimum. |
| [SAVINGS AND TAX CONTEXT] | Existing contributions, employer benefits, account types, and broad tax or residency facts you know. | Contribute 5% to a 401(k) with a 4% employer match; HSA eligible; married filing jointly. |
| [ASSUMPTIONS] | Any planning assumptions such as inflation, a contribution change, or a target emergency reserve. | Use a $6,000 monthly emergency reserve target and no investment-return assumptions. |
| [DOWNSIDE CHANGE] | A specific income loss or expense increase to model in the downside scenario. | One income falls by $1,500 per month for six months. |
How to use
- Paste numbers from statements and your budget, separating known facts from estimates.
- Check every calculation and replace broad debt or account descriptions with the actual rate, minimum, and restrictions.
- Use the professional-question list to prepare a meeting when taxes, estate documents, insurance, or investments are involved.
- Follow up with: “Update the baseline after I reduce discretionary spending by $200 and show only the changed rows.”
Variations
Budget reset
Use this when monthly spending regularly exceeds income.
Create a 90-day budget reset from [MONTHLY INCOME], [SPENDING BY CATEGORY], [DEBTS], and [NONNEGOTIABLE COSTS]. Build a zero-based monthly plan, distinguish fixed obligations from flexible spending, and show the dollar effect of each proposed cut or timing change. Include a weekly check-in routine and a debt-payment schedule using the actual rates and minimums provided. Do not assume costs can be canceled or that debt terms can be changed. Check that the total plan does not exceed income and flag any expenses needing human verification.
Goal comparison
Use this to choose between competing savings priorities.
Compare these financial goals: [GOAL A], [GOAL B], and [GOAL C]. My available monthly amount is [MONTHLY SURPLUS], current balances are [CURRENT SAVINGS], and relevant debts or deadlines are [CONSTRAINTS]. Create a decision table with deadline, consequence of delay, liquidity need, funding amount, and monthly contribution. Give baseline and delayed-goal scenarios with visible arithmetic. Do not make investment or tax recommendations. Flag facts a financial planner, lender, or tax professional should confirm before I act.
Advisor meeting
Use this before meeting a financial professional.
Turn my financial notes into a concise meeting brief for a [PROFESSIONAL TYPE]: [NOTES]. My decisions or concerns are [QUESTIONS], and my household facts are [HOUSEHOLD FACTS]. Produce a one-page snapshot, a timeline of upcoming decisions, documents to bring, and 10 precise questions sorted by urgency. Separate verified facts from estimates and do not fill gaps with assumptions. Check that each question is relevant to the named professional and mark items that require another specialist.
Tips
- List debts with the balance, annual percentage rate, minimum payment, term, and any prepayment restriction; a balance alone cannot set a sound priority.
- Convert annual and irregular costs into a monthly sinking-fund amount so a monthly surplus is not overstated.
- Keep an emergency reserve separate from money earmarked for a near-term purchase; calling both “savings” hides liquidity risk.
- For tax, insurance, estate, and investment decisions, use AI to organize facts and questions, then confirm action with the licensed professional who sees your full situation.
FAQ
Can Claude make a financial plan for me?
It can organize your information, show arithmetic, and help prepare questions. It cannot replace advice from a fiduciary planner, tax professional, attorney, insurer, or lender.
What numbers should I gather first?
Start with take-home pay, spending, cash, all debt terms, account balances, employer benefits, and dated goals. Exact rates and minimum payments are especially important.
Should I include investment returns in the plan?
You can model clearly labeled hypothetical assumptions, but do not treat them as forecasts. A near-term plan is often more useful when it focuses on contributions, cash flow, and liquidity.