Carl Richards, a financial planner and author of "The One-Page Financial Plan: A Simple Way to Be Smart About Your Money," is known for boiling down essential money advice into a simple sketch that could fit on a napkin.
In the one above, Richards looks at the question that should guide your savings goals: Where do you want to go?
Richards writes:
When you plan a trip, you decide where to go first.
Then, you weigh your travel options, like whether to fly or drive. After all, driving won't get you to Paris if you're starting in New York.
You need to use the same logic with money. Yes, you may want to save money, but for what purpose?
Your one-page plan reminds you of "why" you're saving money, helps you weigh the different options, and makes it easier identify the best path for getting you where you want to go financially.