For long-term success and security, it is imperative that you ensure your finances are properly planned and budgeted. This isn’t a grandiose comment to make, as we all understand that it’s better to have money for a rainy day than not. However, there are a lot of people that are currently dealing with the stress of debt or have little understanding of their finances.

Current estimates from a study conducted by the National Endowment for Financial Education show that less than a quarter of millennials have a basic literacy of their finances. Similarly, only 30% of all adult Americans have a financial plan that sets long-term goals for their savings and investments. Further, only 10% of Americans have a basic financial plan written out.

While the data shows that very few people have long-term financial plans set in stone, it should be said that this is a serious issue. To ensure that you have financial security no matter the circumstances in your life, you should have a long-term financial plan constructed.

For those that think this is too great a task to take on by yourself, you should know that there are options available to help you through the process. One type of program that can create immediate financial changes for both yourself and your household are automated financial planning and implementation software. This personal financial planning software provides specific guidelines and trends that you can follow when structuring your long-term financial plan, all based upon your weekly income, bills, living expenses, and plans for both savings and investments.

This automated financial planning works such that you can create a long-term financial planning without the stress of having to balance your books on your own time. By taking the time to invest in retail financial planning, these programs can work to your benefit, offering automated financial planning and implementation techniques so you can consistently monitor your income, spending, savings, and investments over time.

While it might seem rudimentary — having a form of financial planning in place, you might not understand how much you are missing each and every week. Automated financial planning works to your benefit, either by providing you with immediate updates dependent upon spending and bills or through offering projected outcomes dependent upon your generated income or by how your investments are performing. With a little start-up time, you can begin structuring a financial regiment that will ensure you are saving money both in the modern-day and for time to come.