We are just two months into the new financial year, and the time is still right to get your investment planning in place for the year ahead if not yet done. Taking stock of your past investments and reviewing your investment portfolio now will help you proactively decide on the action plan for the new fiscal.

Here's a checklist to help you plan for the current financial year:

1. Identify your Life Goals

You might have met some of your life goals in the past year, so, it might be perfect time to plan for new life adventures. So first identify your life goals, it can be short term, medium term or long term. Identifying your goal will help you to know how much corpus would be needed to achieve your goals. A lot of planning then needs to be done to align your investments and funds to meet these goals, taking into consideration your age, financial health, risk appetite and the time-frame to achieve the goals.

2. Review your investment portfolio

Having decided on your Life Goals, the second step is to channelize your investments towards achieving those Life Goals. Assess your previous investments to keep them in sync with your life goals. You might want to alter the asset allocation of your Unit Linked Insurance Plan (ULIP); or increase the amount you invest in Systematic Investment Plan (SIP); or top-up the premium that you pay for your insurance cover or you may want to move your funds from debt to equity to increase your returns. This is also the right time to de-risk your investments if you are closer to your goal.

3. The Tax Angle

A crucial part of financial planning is tax planning and no better time to do it than the beginning of the year. Last minute investments to save tax  at the end of the financial year generally lead to hasty decisions which may be counterproductive. So estimate your income for the Financial Year and invest your finances in a tax -efficient way to earn maximum returns and to achieve your long-term goals.

You might also need to re-think your tax-saving strategy depending on the changes announced in the Budget earlier this year. Hence, you might need to re-evaluate your existing financial plan, to factor in the impact of the new tax structure on your investments.

4. Review your insurance requirements

Risk cover and medical insurance should also be a part of your investments. An investment in ULIP can ensure that you not only have a life cover but also get the benefits of investing in the equity markets over a long-term. Today, there are many new-age ULIPs that provide more value on your investments and are cost effective. You should also review the health insurance plan for yourself and your family and go for one if you don't already have one.

Last but not the least make a calendar for yearly outflows towards your investments. Try to spread these over different months so the monthly budget is not impacted. Take time, dwell on the past year, improve on your financial mistakes, if any and look forward to the New Year with new goals. Keep these factors in mind and plan your investment wisely for the best results!!