Review a compact Financial Planning I (FP I) cheat sheet for planning process, budgeting, borrowing, taxation, investments, retirement, wills, powers of attorney, and life insurance before Finance Prep practice.
Use this FP I cheat sheet as a planning-foundation checklist before mixed practice. The exam usually rewards the answer that identifies the client objective, chooses the correct planning domain, and avoids product-first shortcuts.
| Item | FP I cue |
|---|---|
| Provider | CSI |
| Exam | Financial Planning I (FP I) |
| Format | 80 multiple-choice questions in 3 hours |
| Main practice behavior | planning-process judgment across household cash flow, tax, investing, retirement, estate, and insurance basics |
| Finance Prep status | live practice available |
| Area | Weight | What to know | Common trap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Managing the Financial Planning Process | 20% | discovery, goal setting, analysis, recommendations, implementation support, review | recommending before clarifying the planning step |
| Budgeting, Consumer Lending and Mortgages | 15% | cash flow, debt-service pressure, affordability, mortgage tradeoffs, emergency reserves | treating lender qualification as full planning affordability |
| Taxation | 15% | marginal rates, deductions, credits, registered accounts, after-tax comparisons | treating tax savings as the whole recommendation |
| Investments | 15% | risk, time horizon, liquidity, diversification, account fit, return tradeoffs | choosing the highest return before checking client constraints |
| Retirement | 10% | savings needs, income timing, retirement horizon, longevity and inflation pressure | solving accumulation while ignoring retirement cash flow |
| Wills and Power of Attorney | 15% | wills, executors, beneficiaries, incapacity planning, authority to act | confusing estate transfer with incapacity authority |
| Risk Management and Life Insurance | 10% | risk exposure, coverage amount, family dependency, policy purpose, beneficiary fit | choosing a product before identifying the risk need |
Use the free diagnostic first, then sort misses by planning domain and process step. If you keep choosing product answers too early, drill managing-the-process and budgeting topics before returning to mixed sets. If misses cluster around tax, retirement, estate, or insurance, drill those domains until you can explain the client fact that changes the recommendation.