A New Year means New Year Resolutions. Getting back to the gym, maybe pounding the pavements, trying to improve your diet. Well if your financial health is not where you want it to be, a resolution that should be top of the list is to come and talk to us. And we suggest that you do this sooner rather than later if you want to see your financial health improving quickly.
We start by listening
How can we help you? Well first of all, we’ll spend a lot of time listening to you. We will want to understand exactly what it is that you want to achieve with your money – are you looking to get back on an even keel, possibly squirrel away some money for your children’s education in the future or build up a nest egg for your retirement? Maybe you simply want to make sure all will be okay financially if you are unable to work or indeed if you get sick or die prematurely. Indeed you might simply want to gain more clarity and confidence about your financial future.
We help you to understand risk
We then place a significant focus on risk. We will help you to determine your own appetite for risk (how much you are happy to take) and your capacity for risk (how much you can afford to take). This is a key part of building your financial picture. We want you to achieve your potential outcomes, while at the same time ensure that you understand the relationship between risk and reward. We also want to make sure that you continue to get a good night’s sleep, and that events such as Brexit or the recent US presidential election don’t keep you awake at night!
Once we understand your financial goals and your risk profile, we’ll then want to determine where you are today in terms of your financial resources. We will want to clarify your earnings, what you spend every month, what financial assets you have and also get a picture of your debts.
It's all about a plan...
At this stage we start earning our corn! Knowing where you are trying to get to financially and understanding where you are today, we will then develop a financial plan for you. This will set out a roadmap for you to achieve your financial goals.
Yes, this might result in some tough decisions for you, as we might recommend that you need to cut right back on what you are spending on holidays and other luxury purchases. We might demonstrate that you need to be saving more for the future, that your current level of saving is simply not enough to achieve your future goals. We’ll work through all the different challenges in your own financial roadmap with you, help you to prioritise your next steps and determine how best to move forwards.
And then we will put in place any financial products that might be needed to help you achieve your goals. These could be protection policies in case any unforeseen events occur, or a pension plan to save for your retirement. Maybe you don’t need new products at all. Often we find that existing products are absolutely suited to your needs, but maybe the fund strategy needs to be tweaked. Sometimes again, the solution lies completely away from products. We’ll point out if the solutions lie in your day to day management of your finances.
We're now at the start line, not at the end!
Now you know your destination (your financial goals), your starting point (your financial situation today), you have your roadmap (your financial plan) and the vehicles to make it all happen (your financial solutions and products). So let your financial journey begin!
And that’s a key point; the journey has only just begun. We won’t just send you on your way alone. We will want to meet you year after year to review your progress towards your financial goals. We will adjust your plan as needed, and tweak some of the solutions as needed. And finally when you reach your financial objectives, and only then, our job is done!
So give us a call. Turn those good intentions into action and aim to leave 2017 more confident about your financial future and on the road to achieving your financial objectives.