eFinPLAN is online software that provides the tools required to create your own personal financial plan for much less than you would pay a financial planning professional.
eFinPLAN first asks you to enter numbers for income, expenses, savings, future large purchases and retirement accounts.Then the interview in eFinPLAN takes on a more conversational tone with easy-to-understand questions that cover personal aspects of financial planning such as personal money management beliefs and relationship between you, your partner and spending habits.
eFinPLAN also can be used to run what-if scenarios to see how financial decisions you make today or in the future impact your financial plan later on.
An action plan checklist at the end of the report organized tasks that needed attention.eFinPLAN recommended contacting a few financial professionals, but it is unlikely I would need to see all the professionals to fully implement my financial plan.eFinPLAN likely made those recommendations as an extra assurance that I seek additional assistance if needed.Whether or not you would need to seek each professional service depends on your background and comfort level with finances.
eFinPLAN typically updates approximately quarterly, and for a short period of time during these updates you will not be able to work on your financial plan.This is a minor inconvenience compared to restarting a computer after installing an update on the hard drive, but it means that you may find that there are short periods of time when you cannot access your financial plan.
Social security and account numbers are not entered in eFinPLAN, and you need not use real names.eFinPLAN uses multiple security measures which include data encryption and firewalls.
In the highly unlikely event that eFinPLAN experienced a security breach, no identifying information is stored that would cause identity theft or theft from financial accounts.
Because eFinPLAN stores and backs up all your data, you do not need to concern yourself with backing up data.
eFinPLAN needs no major improvements, but a few minor refinements would make using eFinPLAN even easier:
eFinPLAN is currently the only online personal financial planning software available and it is designed for all income levels with the goal of making financial planning affordable for everyone.
eFinPLAN is easy to use and uncluttered, and an eFinPLAN subscription includes online articles and a blog for ongoing financial management education.
NOTE:You may need to click on 'Turn off this top frame' in the About.com frame at the top of the page before placing an order.
: eFinPLAN - Personal Financial Planning Online){kind=link}
eFinPLAN - Personal Financial Planning Online
eFinPLAN starts by asking questions about your financial resources, with directions for each set of questions at the top of the page.Follow the interview in eFinPLAN to cover 16 financial planning topic sections one by one, or click around the sections using the left navigation bar.Your financial plan can be saved at any time to be completed or referred to later.: Getting Around Your eFinPLAN Financial Plan){kind=link}
Getting Around Your eFinPLAN Financial Plan
eFinPLAN first asks you to enter numbers for income, expenses, savings, future large purchases and retirement accounts.Then the interview in eFinPLAN takes on a more conversational tone with easy-to-understand questions that cover personal aspects of financial planning such as personal money management beliefs and relationship between you, your partner and spending habits.
eFinPLAN also can be used to run what-if scenarios to see how financial decisions you make today or in the future impact your financial plan later on.
Financial Planning Tools
eFinPLAN includes financial planning tools in the software and on the web site to enhance financial planning skills:- Pop-up budget form to plan for spending today.
- Investment tolerance test determines personal investing comfort level and is used to make general investment suggestions in the personal financial plan.
- Pop-up college tuition finder to get tuition numbers that plug into the college planning section.
- Average tax rate calculator calculates your tax rate.
- An education center on eFinPLAN.com provides ongoing opportunities to learn more about personal finance management.
eFinPLAN Financial Planning Report
After completing the interview in eFinPLAN, I printed a comprehensive 63-page financial plan.The financial planning report from eFinPLAN read as if a financial advisor was discussing my plan with me, making it easy to digest.An action plan checklist at the end of the report organized tasks that needed attention.eFinPLAN recommended contacting a few financial professionals, but it is unlikely I would need to see all the professionals to fully implement my financial plan.eFinPLAN likely made those recommendations as an extra assurance that I seek additional assistance if needed.Whether or not you would need to seek each professional service depends on your background and comfort level with finances.
Software and Calculation Updates
Because eFinPLAN is online software accessed through a browser like Firefox or IE, software updates such as those for tax codes are done on eFinPLAN servers and not on your computer.Calculations are automatically updated shortly after tax law changes go into effect.eFinPLAN typically updates approximately quarterly, and for a short period of time during these updates you will not be able to work on your financial plan.This is a minor inconvenience compared to restarting a computer after installing an update on the hard drive, but it means that you may find that there are short periods of time when you cannot access your financial plan.
eFinPLAN Support
Software support is provided via the email address found under the links to About Us or Contact Us on the eFinPLAN web site. Support email is monitored every day of the week, and you can expect a response by the next day if not earlier.A support phone number is also provided on the web site, which is answered around the clock every day.eFinPLAN can also set up an online conference to view your data input real-time to provide support, although this measure is very unlikely to be needed.Financial Data Security
Social security and account numbers are not entered in eFinPLAN, and you need not use real names.eFinPLAN uses multiple security measures which include data encryption and firewalls.
In the highly unlikely event that eFinPLAN experienced a security breach, no identifying information is stored that would cause identity theft or theft from financial accounts.
Because eFinPLAN stores and backs up all your data, you do not need to concern yourself with backing up data.
A Few Minor Details
eFinPLAN needs no major improvements, but a few minor refinements would make using eFinPLAN even easier:
- Clickable pop-up directions next to data entry fields would eliminate the need to scroll back up to the top of pages to review directions while working on lower portions of a data entry form.
- It would be better to see some dynamic information such as current and future net worth numbers change as data is entered rather than having to print a report for this information.
- Ability to export data to a common format such as CSV.
- eFinPLAN asked me for the amount of my mortgage payment twice.This information should be pulled from personal assets/liabilities, where it is entered the first time.
eFinPLAN Bottom Line Review
eFinPLAN is currently the only online personal financial planning software available and it is designed for all income levels with the goal of making financial planning affordable for everyone.
eFinPLAN is easy to use and uncluttered, and an eFinPLAN subscription includes online articles and a blog for ongoing financial management education.
eFinPLAN costs $98, billed semi-annually at $49, and has a 30-day money back guarantee if you are not satisfied.If you cancel your account before six months isup, your data will be completely removed.Buy an eFinPLAN subscription online at efinplan.com.
NOTE:You may need to click on 'Turn off this top frame' in the About.com frame at the top of the page before placing an order.