Carl Richards Interview Episode 3 — A One-Page Plan

Watch the conversation
🎥 A One-Page Plan with Carl Richards → [WATCH LINK]
Prefer to read? The edited transcript appears below.

What we cover in Episode 3 (A One-Page Plan)

In this episode, I sit down with Carl Richards—a certified financial planner, author, and creator of The Sketch Guy column in The New York Times. Carl is known for his simple yet powerful sketches that make financial concepts easy to understand, as well as his best-selling book The Behavior Gap.

Complex lives don’t need complicated plans. Carl and I discuss how to build a One-Page Plan that acts like a compass: state your purpose, pick 2–3 priorities, choose your next 90 days’ actions, and commit to a simple review rhythm. The goal isn’t certainty; it’s clarity and momentum.

Key ideas

• Purpose at the top: a short statement you can return to when things get noisy.
• Priorities, not everything: 2–3 items that truly matter now.
• Near-term action + cadence: concrete 90-day steps and a review you’ll actually keep.

Phil Weiss

I’d like to move on to the next one, which was the one-page plan. And if we think about that, and I know it’s something I give to clients as well, what must you fit on that one page, and what do you leave off on purpose?

Carl Richards

That’s a really nice question. I like the way you framed that. I think a one-page plan should be done, at least metaphorically, with a Sharpie on cardstock. And the Sharpie, I think, is just a metaphor for a blunt instrument. Like, it’s not a, you know, 0.5 lead pencil that you could write a million words. You have some constraints on what, and as you pointed out, what would you leave off? I mean, the intent behind the one-page plan for me, and again, my work is largely just an adventure journal. It’s not necessarily meant to be self-help or prescriptive in any way. It’s meant to just provide a journal of a fellow traveler.

For me, the purpose of the One-Page Plan was to remind me of what was really important, to remind me of the purpose. You could use Simon Sinek’s work around start with why. You could think about it as a personal money mission statement. You know, any language is fine. So, I think the most important thing is the top sentence or two. For me, the most important part has been the top sentence or two, which I refer to as a statement of financial purpose. And for me, mine says, time with my family, mainly outside, and service in my community.

Some other examples would be my friend Jerry, who was part of Tom Brokaw’s greatest generation, a veteran. Jerry wasn’t the kind of person who was going to cry in your office when you asked him about money. But when we asked Jerry about this, he was very thoughtful about it. And he said, I never want to be a burden to the kids. And so on the top of his one-page plan, I never want to be a burden to the kids, and I’d like to spend more time with my grandkids and serve in the community if there was money left over, if there was time, energy, money, and capital left over.

I think the first part of a one-page plan serves as a reminder, a simple sentence or two. That can act as a touchstone. It can when something is important, you have to have something to self-correct to, right? And the very first place, when you’re feeling scared about money, it could be that the markets are scary. It could be that you lost your job. It could be like you didn’t get the inheritance you’d planned on. Like whatever it is, I kind of metaphorically think of us as being way out in the branches of a tree, and there’s a windstorm, and the branches are moving a lot when you’re way out in the branches. But if you can get yourself back to the trunk, it’s probably not moving at all, especially down near the roots. It’s actually not moving at all down near the roots.

And I think that’s what we’re putting at the top of a one-page plan is the roots of the issue. Like, oh yeah, that’s right. That’s right. Okay, no matter what’s going on in the scary markets, time with my family, mainly outside, can I still do it? Okay, great. Then I can start moving. up a little bit.

And, the next part of a one-page plan would be a statement of maybe your most important goals. And again, I use that word carefully. Those goals will be informed by the statement of purpose. For Jerry, he never wants to be a burden to the kids. Okay, let’s put some framework around that. What would you need to have in order to never be a burden to the kids? And we’ll call those goals. Want to spend time with the grandkids? How much do they cost? I mean, I remember Jerry specifically saying that I would like $10,000 a year, which I don’t even have to think about. I can do anything I want with the grandkids.

Okay, well, that’s a nice goal, right? $10,000 a year. So, you may have a list of goals. And I always think of ranking those goals in order of importance. Like, what’s your priority? Order of importance. And then the last part of a one-page plan to me, as it’s a living, breathing document, is, what are you going to do next? Like early on, I think of those as like the next 90 days. Sometimes they could be next week, sometimes they could be this year, depending on how mature your planning is.

You may have a bunch of stuff kind of nailed down in the early days of a financial plan. There’s a lot of work to do. And it could be that over the next 90 days, we’re going to get these 10 things done. And it could eventually be, okay, what’s our focus this year? So, it’s a statement of financial purpose, a statement of the next level, from the purpose flows, this thing we call goals. I don’t love that word, but I don’t think we have a better one. You could use intentions, right? Like whatever it is. And then what are you going to do next? That, to me, is my version of a one-page plan. I’ve seen lots of versions. They’re all amazing. That’s my version.

Phil Weiss

I like that. And I know that when I work on somebody’s life plan with them, I look to get that purpose out of that work. And that’s what I start with, too. Because I think it is so important, because it helps keep you focused.

Carl Richards

Yeah. Whenever I’m feeling a little scared or nervous, which is often, such as when considering a business project or an investment we’ve made, I’ll just go back to that purpose. Oh, yeah, that’s right. Am I spending enough time with my family, mainly outside? Yeah, I am. Or maybe right now, I feel like I’m in a slight period of planned imbalance around that. But, I can know that by returning and going, I’m not quite getting the time outside I want, especially with our new hunting dog. It’s fall. I should be spending more time. Oh yeah, that’s right. You’re intentionally doing this. So, it’s a planned imbalance. Okay, fine.

I don’t know that it’s ever about, it’s ever about resolving the tension, I’m in balance. That’s what I used to think it was about. And we’re all smart enough now to know that’s a myth. It’s just always about sort of the practice of modulating between them in a healthy way, in a very intentional way, and reminding yourself of why. And you may wake up and go, ‘Oh my gosh, how did I get so far off track?’ I know that happens to me. And then I’m like, ‘Oh, okay.’ It might take a couple of weeks to get the ship righted, but at least now I know I’m headed back. Exactly.

FAQ—A One-Page Plan

1. What belongs on a One-Page Plan?

Purpose (why money matters), Priorities (2–3), Near-term Actions (next 90 days), and a simple review cadence.

2. Isn’t one page too simple for complex finances?

The page isn’t the plan—it’s the compass. It keeps the work focused, so complexity doesn’t derail progress.

3. How often should I update it?

Annually is plenty for most people, or anytime a significant life change happens.

All Episodes:

1. Real Financial Planning → [EP1]
2. Four Sources of Capital (TEAM) →[EP2]
3.  A One-Page Plan (You are here)
4. Goals Are Guesses → [EP4]
5. Tax Planning, Not Reporting → [EP5]

Next up: Goals are guesses. (Ep4).

We’ll reframe goal-setting: treat goals like possibilities—choose a direction, take a step, learn, and adjust.

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