Once you have identified your desired lifestyle, the next step is to establish how you will fund it, which brings us on to financial planning.
Many people think that financial planning is all about pensions, investment funds and life assurance. That is probably because that is what the financial services industry has led them to believe, so they can sell them more products.
The Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments describes financial planning as:
“A professional service for individuals, their families and businesses, who need objective assistance in organising their finances to achieve their financial and lifestyle objectives more readily.”
Ultimately, I think financial planning is about ensuring that you do not end up in your later years looking back over your life and have regrets.
You don’t want to feel you did not leave enough money to ensure your loved ones can maintain their lifestyle or that you will die leaving too much money, which could mean a life of wasted opportunities.
You don’t want to mourn experiences that you never experienced or hold on to your wealth for too long when you could have passed it to your children when they actually needed it.
I have seen websites promising to produce a financial plan after a short initial meeting. But a properly constructed plan requires a lot of detail and reasoned and reasonable assumptions.
This series of articles will highlight the essential questions you should be able to answer and score, to ensure that your financial planning is on track to help you achieve you and your family’s desired lifestyle.
- Find out how your financial planning is progressing – take our two-minute financial planning scorecard
