The 2026 Financial Planning Challenge

Motley Fool Hidden Gems Investing

The Motley Fool

Business, Investing

4.3 • 3.1K Ratings

🗓️ 3 January 2026

⏱️ 17 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The first Saturday episode of each month this year, we will focus on a key component of a financial plan – including spending, investing, insurance, retirement planning, estate planning, and taxes. If you follow along with us throughout 2026, you will end this year in the best financial shape possible — perhaps in the best shape you’ve ever been.First up is a healthy helping of “financial truth serum.” Robert Brokamp speaks with Foolish colleague and Certified Financial Planner Amanda Kish about the five steps to documenting all you own, all you owe, and where your money is going: 1. Choose a when and how2. Complete your full financial inventory3. Track your spending for 30 days4. Calculate your personal net worth5. Establish your “Financial Baseline Summary”Have your own tips, tricks, tools, and recommendations for tracking your net worth, spending, and progress? Email them to podcasts@fool.com by Tues., Jan. 6, and we may read your suggestions the following episode. Host: Robert BrokampGuest: Amanda KishEngineer: Bart Shannon Advertisements are sponsored content and provided for informational purposes only. The Motley Fool and its affiliates (collectively, "TMF") do not endorse, recommend, or verify the accuracy or completeness of the statements made within advertisements. TMF is not involved in the offer, sale, or solicitation of any securities advertised herein and makes no representations regarding the suitability, or risks associated with any investment opportunity presented. Investors should conduct their own due diligence and consult with legal, tax, and financial advisors before making any investment decisions. TMF assumes no responsibility for any losses or damages arising from this advertisement. We’re committed to transparency: All personal opinions in advertisements from Fools are their own. The product advertised in this episode was loaned to TMF and was returned after a test period or the product advertised in this episode was purchased by TMF. Advertiser has paid for the sponsorship of this episode Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Merry New Year, fools. Welcome to the first installment of our 2026 financial planning
0:09.6	challenge on this Saturday personal finance edition of Mali Fool Money.
0:18.9	I'm Robert Brokamp, and you know your financial well-being depends on more than the value of your investments on any given day.
0:25.9	There's also the money you owe, the taxes you pay, the benefits you receive, the place you live, and the preparations you've made for the unexpected and the inevitable.
0:34.7	Getting it all right takes a lot of time, knowledge, old-fashioned hard work.
0:39.5	That's why together we will make 2026 the year of fiscal fitness. The first Saturday episode
0:45.4	of each month, we will focus on a key component of a financial plan, including spending,
0:50.4	investing, insurance, retirement planning, estate planning, and taxes.
0:59.2	If you follow along with us throughout 2026, you will end this year in the best shape possible,
1:01.7	perhaps in the best shape you've ever been.
1:05.8	For each of these monthly episodes, I'll be joined by a foolish colleague to discuss what you should do and how to do it.
1:07.6	This month, I am joined by by certified financial planner and chartered financial
1:11.2	analyst Amanda Kish. Amanda, welcome to Motley Fool Money. Thank you so much. I'm glad to be here.
1:16.9	We're very happy to have you. This first month, we are calling the Financial Truth Serum.
1:23.1	And here's how I think about it. So if you're a long-term investor in individual stocks,
1:26.6	would you buy shares
1:28.0	in a company that didn't issue financial statements? Of course you wouldn't. How would you know
1:32.4	how much money the company makes? How much it spends, whether it's profitable, and ultimately
1:36.6	how much it's worth? Well, right now you're investing in an entity that's more important than a stock,
1:42.1	you and your family and your family's finances.
1:45.5	Together, your income, expenses, debt, and savings all add up to the investment that will have
1:49.5	the biggest impact on your future financial successes. So it's important to create your own
	...

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