The first step in personal financial planning is controlling your day-to-day financial affairs to enable you to do the things that bring you satisfaction and enjoyment. This is achieved by planning and following a budget. Controlling spending, saving money, and investing for the future are all important aspects of financial planning, but those things mean nothing if you don't have specific goals. In order to gauge your financial success, you need to have goals to measure your success against. The second step in personal financial planning is choosing and following a course toward long-term financial goals.
The four steps to setting financial goals:

• Identify and write down your goals.
• Break goals down into short-term and long-term goals.
• Educate yourself.
• Evaluate your progress.

More information on setting financial goals.