We are all on one long journey, with multiple destinations along the way. A robust financial plan can help you along your way.
Having a financial plan can help create awareness of the different situations you will face in your lifetime. Whether you are just starting out, about to get married, buy a first home and start a family, or you could be looking to downsize your home, your children have flown the nest and you are preparing for retirement. Both scenarios will come with specific destinations that need to be considered from a financial perspective that will ultimately have an impact on the rest of your life. In both examples, there will be both excitement and apprehension and the role of the financial plan is to reduce the apprehension through an understanding of the facts, which will ultimately lead to greater focus on the excitement to come.
The task of trying to figure out whether you are financially equipped to deal with any of these specific destinations can take away from the enjoyment. Having a financial plan can help face these challenges head on and allow you to either change your path, to meet these milestones, or modify the milestones altogether. For example, instead of retiring fully, you may choose to phase into retirement by working part time for an extended period. This could allow you to fully enjoy retirement without worrying about whether you can afford it. On the other hand, you could effectively get years of freedom given back to you when your financial plan demonstrates that you could retire now, with little financial detriment allowing you to spend more time pursuing a dream that you have tucked away during your working life. Adjusting your plan at the right time can avoid you getting to your destination (retirement in this case) ill prepared and certainly make you feel more comfortable that your decisions are being made from an informed position.
Advice from a financial planner will not just be about the level of investment return that you desire, although this is important, it will be about why the investment return is required. Again, this reduces your need to focus on the numbers, and instead focus on the excitement that good financial planning can provide. No journey ever goes 100% to plan and it is important that when there are bumps in the road, the robustness of your financial plan will allow you to move forward pragmatically. If you have discussed most eventualities with your financial planner, it is likely that when difficulties arise you will not be deterred from your path. Which means you are more likely to achieve the goals that you have set yourself.
The role of a financial plan is not to completely avoid difficult times, but to understand how to navigate through them when they arise. This leaves you with more time to focus on enjoying the journey, whilst we steer you through the different milestones you will encounter throughout your life. If you feel like you would receive value in having advice and guidance during pivotal moments during your life, please get in touch and we can discuss how to create a roadmap to a more prosperous future.
