John Lennon once wrote, “Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.” Considering real-life issues such as your career, your kids, and your parents is critical to creating a financial plan that will weather the inevitable unplanned changes in your relationships.

What's Next in Your Career or Business?

Your career and your finances are more closely linked in your 40s and 50s than they were in your 20s and 30s. When you were younger, you had more independence that enabled you to make changes and take chances that might be more difficult now that you're tending to financial and family commitments. Thinking about how your finances and your career fit together at this stage will help you make sure your financial goals are achievable.

Make an outline of how you envision your career path looking from now until full retirement. Will you continue doing the same thing you do now? Would you like to change to a new field or maybe transition to a different set of responsibilities in the field you are in? Do you expect a promotion that will increase your pay or are you considering changing jobs to something you're interested in but that will pay less? Will you continue to travel as much as you do now? Will you move for your job or your partner's job? Do you believe age discrimination will be a factor for you in your field? Do you need to be sure to be settled in a position by a particular age?

Where Are the Kids?

Whether your kids are young, in grade school, teenagers, or grown, their timeline and finances are an important part of your planning. Allocating the money you were spending on their childhood expenses back into college saving or tuition, and later into your own retirement savings, is a good first step, but you should also consider what they will be doing after they graduate. Setting your kids up for financial security isn't necessarily just writing them a check — in fact, in most cases that is the worst thing you can do. Being sure the kids are set is more related to how they function with money.

Think about your own planning in light of whether your kids are savers or spenders. Will they need your financial help in the years after they leave college? Should you start now to encourage them to plan for themselves? What will you want to do financially for your grandkids in the future? Bring your kids into the planning loop with you. Talk to them about what you are doing and what they are doing financially. Keeping the communication lines open between you will help everyone plan.

What's Happening with Your Parents?

Thinking ahead about your parents' financial situation will avoid the frustration of your financial plan being thrown askew because they unexpectedly need your help. Many people in their 40s and 50s are juggling raising their kids and helping their parents. Often parents are in good shape financially, but the time needed to care for parents should be considered as you start your own planning.

Start an ongoing dialog with your parents. Most families don't talk about money. Starting early and discussing money often will slowly start to change this habit. Being able to anticipate issues will help everyone deal with them when they are small and relatively inexpensive. Start by sharing your own planning process with your parents. You might mention that you're starting, or reviewing, an investment plan or that you are having a will created. Talk about the financial planning books you're reading or financial stories you saw on TV or on the web. Most parents want to talk to their adult kids about money, but don't know where to start. They may not be comfortable revealing all to you right away — and you don't need them to — but an open dialog, at the very least, will help you create your own plan with as many contingencies in mind as possible.