How might finances influence my academic plan?

Well, your finances play a major role in the world, let alone the academic world. If you don't have enough to cover for a certain aspect of your academic plan, then you either will not be able to do it, or you will get a loan. But that is all up to you. If you choose to not pay for that aspect and not do it, then that could deeply alter your academic plan, if not change it altogether. If you get a loan, you will then have to give small payments in order to pay that back. If you fail to do so, that could also greatly affect your academic plan.

You should be looking at scholarships as much as possible but you might have to take out loans for college. Make sure you take into account the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition. Can you live at home and go to a community college for two years and then transfer to a four year college if money is tight?