Playing to win: your game plan to financial success.

• Author: Lindberg, Kelley J.P.

Americans know what good money management is. They understand how to shop for mortgages, know they should have wills, see the importance of keeping an emergency cash fund, and agree that retirement accounts are very valuable. They just don't do it.

A recent survey conducted for Bankrate.com by RoperASW revealed that while many people understand financial concepts, only 40 percent, for example, keep an emergency cash fund. While 59 percent of people surveyed feel they are in control of their finances, the same number don't know how much insurance they should have. And 93 percent of the respondents agreed that paying bills on time was "very important," yet only 80 percent manage to do it.

"Most people spend more time planning their vacations than they do planning their financial future," says Greg B. Wood, senior vice president and regional manager for Wells 'Fargo Private Client. Services.

Maybe you're ahead of the game. Perhaps you've already met with a financial advisor, and you've got a plan filed away in your desk drawer. Did you implement everything on the plan? When was the last time you reviewed it?

If talk of managing investments, insurance, retirement plans, assets, taxes and budgets makes your eyes start to glaze over, take heart. The two keys to keeping your sanity when dealing with money issues are to take it one step at a time and to find a team of professionals to do the heavy lifting for you.

Building the team

No one is kidding you -- the financial industry is complex and constantly changing. Keeping up with all the possible investment vehicles insurance options, retirement plans and laws is more than a full-time job -- and you already have at least one full-time job. Therefore, wealth management is probably one area where you may do better to hire professionals to work with you. A small investment in an expert's time can reap much larger rewards down the road -- and leave you more time to concentrate on your business, family or other priorities.

Your financial planning team will likely consist of several different professionals. A single person can't do it all, partly because the industry is so complex, and partly because laws regulate what each type of financial professional may do. However many professionals build a network of trusted colleagues around them, so if you need a tax attorney, for example, your financial advisor probably can recommend someone they've worked with. Some firms employ or are affiliated with people in the various disciplines, to give you that one-stop shopping experience.

The Game Plan

Like most long-term projects, building and managing your wealth involves several steps, all of which your financial team can help you navigate:

1. Take stock of your current financial status.

2. Set goals for future expenses, needs and dreams.

3. Develop a plan - specific tools and actions needed to meet those goals.

4. Implement the plan. A plan isn't useful unless you actually DO what's on the plan.

5. Review and revise the plan annually. Goals change, opportunities arise, problems creep up.

The kickoff

Whether you're just beginning or are updating an existing financial plan, you must first assess where you are now. What do you own, owe, make and spend? And where do you want to go from here?

Your first meeting with a financial advisor is filled with questions from both sides: You try to establish what the advisor can do for you. The advisor tries to determine your current situation and your goals. "The...