Money might be the subject, but it is not the objective. How we manage money, our relationship with it and how we use it to make the most of our lives is a very human endeavour which is why our priority should be understanding where we want to go and what we would like to achieve before we start to think about how we might get there.
Our process of financial life planning essentially works in three stages:
Firstly it encourages you to ask yourself some fundamental questions about what is important to you and what you really want in life. Your lifestyle is how you choose to spend your time and your money. What is your lifestyle today? Are you happy with it? How could it be better? What lifestyle do you want in the future, as you get older and look towards some form of retirement in whatever form that may take?
Having helped you to work through the initial discussions, your financial planner will then construct a detailed model of your current and future finances incorporating variables such as your earned income, expenditure, investment returns and taxation. This model can be extended right through to the end of your life expectancy.
Once the model is created, it can be used to produce a range of scenarios using different variables such as when you might want to stop working, how much you should be saving and how your investments might perform. Most importantly, what do you want to achieve with your time and your money? What are the major projects and objectives that will allow you to live life with a purpose?
Once your financial planner has helped you to work through all the scenarios and make the choices that are right for you then you can move onto the last phase of the process which requires consideration of the various financial products that might be required to deliver and protect your plan.
Your financial life plan might help you for example to decide how much risk you need to take with your investments, how much you should be regularly saving to achieve your objectives and highlight any taxation issues that should be addressed. It can also show you the financial risks of any adverse life events such as loss of income or poor health that can help you to decide to what extent you wish to protect yourself and your family.
Provided that you regularly review your financial life plan to keep it up to date with life’s inevitable changes, it will always be there to guide your financial decisions, providing clarity and peace of mind and helping you to live your best financial life.
You are in control of your future, you know where you are going and, most importantly, you know why you are going there.
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We are here to help you to gain clarity and certainty about your financial future. Contact us today to start building your own financial life plan.
The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate Estate Planning or Cash Flow Modelling. The value of your investments can fall as well as rise and is not guaranteed.
