Easy Financial Planner V5.0

The New Easy Financial Planner (EFP) Desktop v5 (Part 1 of 2)

Greetings Neighbors,

Now that Christmas 2024 is over, and I hope yours was a very good one, most of us are now looking forward to a Happy New Year. For me and some others we are now into Kwanzaa, so I wish everyone a Happy Kwanzaa or whatever other holiday you may be celebrating.

As I said, most of us are looking forward to 2025, which literally, in time, is right around the corner.

Furthermore, we are at that time of the year when we make resolutions or promises to ourselves to do something different or new or discontinue something.

I recently read an internet article that pointed out several barriers to people’s success, financial and otherwise. They were failure to budget and thus overspend, a bad economy, lack of savings, insufficient income, not setting financial goals, late or delaying financial decisions, and lack of money management skills or knowledge.

No one, even the least well-off will admit to many the problems. But they can happen to any of us due to medical, job loss, the economy and other reasons. So, I make no assumptions as to why a person may not be doing well, I just try to do what I can to help or prevent hardship. The best way I know to prevent hardship is to plan ahead, not when the hardship hits.

This article only addresses the EFP Desktop version. The online password subscription base version is still under construction, but I have provided you with a quick peek at the Login and Menu screen, of this coming online version.

They say ‘promises are easier said than done’. It’s goes right along with ‘actions speak louder than words’.

I say all this to ask, what will you do or not do in 2025?

It’s a good time to think about those things, I hope you do, for whatever reason.

One thing to keep in mind is that seeing the potential of your money on paper, or in digital formats matters for your success. Seeing is believing.

If, it-so-happens you wish to start using a financial management software, then consider my Pick-N-Time’s Easy Financial Planner. You make all the decisions, the software simply accepts your data input, organize your data and present your data as information, which you can use to make better decisions to benefit you and your family. Whether you are single, a couple, a two parent household, the EFP can serve you well.

After years and months of development, using it and spending thousands of dollars on past and recent major upgrades, the EFP now has all the features which make it shine even more in helping you manage your finances. The EFP isn’t just a budget, it is a planning tool that allows you to pre-plan, plan, conduct ’what if’s’, forecast your cash flow, peer into you short-term future finances, execute your budgets and make better decisions that affects your long-term financial health.

And the EFP goes a step further, it allows you to flag or check untaxed incomes and tax-deductible expenses, both on the budgets and in the Debt Resisters where you record loans and credit card charges, interest, refunds and payments. Then at year end you may generate the Tax Report for use in preparing your taxes.

Financially, at least for me. There is nothing like knowing where you are at, what you have, what you can do or where you can go with a good financial planning application that allows you to accomplish all this ‘working’ your money.

As a retired production planner, I know any good plan needs a pre-plan, you have heard it ‘Plan the Plan’ before. The following is a bare minimum outline of the steps to create your financial Profile “Pre-Plan or The Big Picture” (see Profile photo) and then create from this your “EFP Annual Budgetary Plan”, inside the EFP. You complete this one form, click “Send Profile”, and the app completes a Traditional setup for you. But you have a recommended option—the Perpetual setup. But to get started with Traditional setup (required in both cases) you:

1. Collect Your Documents and Thoughts, for names, due dates and amounts for all your actual and potential incomes and expenses.
2. Create an Income, a Living & Debt Expense, and a Misc. Expense list, in the Name Manager; and designate your Checking Account, in the space provided.
3. Access the Calendar, set the year, and configure (pay period, 1st pay date and amount) your periodic (Monthly Net) incomes. Send it to Budgets and Profile.
4. Access the Profile (to Pre-Plan), by selecting Names, entering Due Dates, and Budget Amounts for:
5. Other Net Incomes
6. Monthly Living Expenses
7. Other Living Expenses
8. Monthly Misc. Expenses
9. Other Misc Expenses
10. Mortgage Information
11. Other Debt Expenses
12. Saving
13. You then “Send Profile” data to create your annual plan in the:
14. Budgets
15. Mortgage Amortization
16. Debt Registers
17. Summary Reports
18. Update (Jan 1st) all Liability accounts; then enter or update your monetary assets (savings, investments) balances on the Net Worth.
19. Enact Temporary Mortgage Measures (to reverse January mortgages payment automatically generated by amortization schedule)
20. Compute & Record your Beginning Net Worth.
21. Undo Temporary Mortgage Measures, then check “Show Amount” when payment clears checking.
22. Choose a Recording Method: with Traditional complete only name, due date and budget side amount; or with Perpetual you complete name, due date, budget & actual side, and clear date (actual side & clear date initially same as due date and budget side amount. When item clears checking, both the budget and actual amount are recorded the same as the actual amount.
23. If Perpetual, take additional setup steps. There are buttons for that too and more.
24. Start Budget Execution
25. Verify begin checking balance
26. Use Color Coding
27. Use Checkboxes
28. Use Tax Flags
29. Sort Transactions
30. Record ‘Actual’ Amounts & Clear Date from Checking
31. Record Debt Account (loans, cards) transactions: Charges, Interest, Refunds, Payments.
32. Using Summary Reports
33. Update Saving & Investment Balances
34. Mortgage Refinance
35. Adjust Home value
36. Balance Transfers
37. Reconcile Current Checking Balance
38. Close Budget
39. Compute & record Month Ending Net Worth
40. Start Next Month’s Budget, repeat 12 & 13.
41. Prepare for Next Year
42. Duplication current file with new name (i.e. MY2026EFP)
43. Clear & rebuild only Budgets and Debt Registers, from Profile.
44. Close current Annual Budget Plan (December 31)
45. Print Tax Report (Tax Flagged items)
46. Archive closed budgetary plan.

The new Desktop version 5 is now on the www.pickntime.com website. I’m still revising the User Manual, but the app, essentially, still works the same. Most things about the app is self-explanatory, but some require further explanation, which I have upon your request, and I will be glad to schedule Zoom meetings to assist you in getting started and understanding the app.

Contact me: support@pickntime.com or hamzee@yahoo.com or 801-425-9173

Be Prosperous

FaraJi GoreDenna