We all know that our journey through life rarely goes exactly as planned,
the uncharted waters of the current COVID-19 pandemic is testament
alone for that.
So how do you steer the boat back on course?
………How do you get control?
How do you ensure the plans you make are going to get you to where you
want to be, to achieve your goals and objectives, to tick all your boxes and to
realise your dreams?
The short answer is Financial Life Planning.
As Benjamin Franklin said “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail”
Financial Life Planning helps you navigate the uncharted waters so can ride the storms along your journey. It helps give you Clarity in Uncertainty.
Traditionally financial advisers haven’t tackled proper financial planning, but instead tended to concentrate on one financial product to fix a ‘problem’ by giving you one solution, rather than focusing on the most important thing; you.
Financial Life Planning is so much more than just financial advice, Financial Life Planning puts you first.
It focuses on making sure the service you receive is the right fit for you and your family. It’s a service to enrich lives and help you make smarter financial decisions to live this one life well.
It’s all about helping you plan effectively and flexibly; helping you achieve your financial objectives so you can meet your lifestyle goals by taking the best steps forward to not only achieving but also maintaining the lifestyle you envisage.
A Financial Life Plan takes on a holistic approach and isn’t merely about facts or numbers. It’s working together looking at all aspects of your life, and not just the money. It’s about what’s important to you and how to achieve your life goals.
Discussing what fund, pension or investment is best, whilst often being a necessary part of financial planning, isn’t generally very exciting. Instead understanding what these things mean to you and your lifestyle makes it more relevant, personal and effective!
Everyone has realistic concerns about their finances; from wondering if they have enough money to do the things they want to do now, to wondering whether or not the money they do have or are saving will be enough for their retirement and beyond.
To ease those concerns and help you realise your dreams and aspirations for the things you wish to achieve, and similarly to gain an idea of how later life might look, then bespoke holistic Financial Life Planning is the avenue for anyone looking to gain support with their financial choices in order to maximise both their current and future lifestyle.
By using Financial Life Planning you will be able to gain clarity of your current situation and what that means for your future to help you realise your dreams.
Financial Advisers have great cashflow modelling and financial forecasting tools that help them connect the Life Planning and Financial Planning. It takes the life planning conversations and enables them to connect them to the financial data, allowing the conversations to be presented visually, demonstrating an analysis of how financial positions might change based on various scenarios such as market crashes, job losses and pandemics (how apt!).
The ongoing relationship with your Financial Adviser is about maintaining Your Plan and sticking to your goals, they are the ones that help you make the right decisions so that you don’t make mistakes and can continue to make good choices over and over again.
Your Adviser is there to guide your boat safely to harbour and steer you around the obstacles along the journey. Providing you Clarity in Uncertainty.
It’s hard not to be emotional about your own finances, so I will leave you with one of my favourite quotes from my fellow professional Carl Richards:
“You don’t hire a financial adviser because you are not smart enough to do it
yourself, you hire one because they are not you”.
Financial Life Planning Blog by Rachel Whiteside-Blaxter DipPF
Independent Financial Adviser at Clarity Wealth Management.
www.claritywm.co.uk | rachelwhiteside-blaxter@claritywm.co.uk
