What are you doing about financial planning?

The following comes from an article in the Scottish newspaper, The Sunday Herald:

Public savings agency National Savings and Investments (NS&I) has just produced its quarterly report which seems to suggest that many of us live in some Walter Mitty world, crossing our fingers in the hope that we can deal with any future financial problems we may face by begging, stealing or borrowing.

Well, most of us may not resort to breaking the law, but when asked if they had any money worries, more than a third of respondents claimed that they didn't - predicting that they will earn more, borrow more, or benefit from a windfall in the future.

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More worryingly, in excess of half those questioned admitted that they did not have a financial plan to speak of, while one in six said that they did not even bother to think about their finances at all.

Now, what is the difference between here and there? I do not think there is much. How many have even considered the basics for estate planning - a Will, a Living Will, a Power of Attorney and a Healthcare of Power of Attorney? Those who have thought about it - have you done more than think?

Do read the rest of the article and ask yourself does this not apply to the United States, too?