Increasingly varied needs in an increasingly complex environment
No two people have identical financial circumstances, which is why it’s essential you have a tailored financial planning solution in place that meets your individual needs and investment goals.
During periods of market volatility and concerns about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, you should fight the urge to respond inappropriately or irrationally when markets aren’t performing.
Goal-based financial planning will help you invest in a systematic and disciplined manner to achieve your goals. It also enables you to remain focused and unaffected by short-term volatility in markets.
Different goals depending on which life stage
Although people may have very different goals depending on which life stage they are at, their goals can be broadly categorised into essential needs, lifestyle wants and legacy aspirations.
Planning for financial success in each of these areas can be complicated in today’s world. A broad knowledge of everything from complex retirement and investment products to risk management strategies and tax laws is required.
Your financial roadmap should provide you with clarity about your future. It should detail every aspect of your vision – your hopes, fears and goals. It should also describe exactly how your future will look and help you to know exactly where you are headed and when you are likely to arrive.
Take some time and ask yourself these questions:
Can I sleep comfortably knowing I’ll have enough money for my future?
Do I have the security of knowing where I’m heading financially?
Am I going to be able to maintain my current lifestyle once I stop working?
Do I feel empowered financially to live the life I want today and tomorrow?
Have I made sufficient financial plans to live the life I want and not run out of money?
Do I have a complete understanding of my financial position?
What is ‘my number’ to make my current and future lifestyle secure?
Understanding ‘your number’
Initially you need to identify the goal for which you wish to invest and assess the time you have to reach it. Once that is done, it is important to find how much the goal costs today. Add a reasonable amount of inflation to that, and then you would know what the goal would cost you in the year you wish to accomplish it.
This process requires you to understand ‘your number’ – in other words, the amount of money you’ll ultimately need to ensure complete peace of mind in knowing your future lifestyle is secure and making sure you don’t run out of money before you run out of life.
Action plan that is focused on you
By getting to know you and what you want to achieve, we’ll be able to provide you with a detailed action plan that is focused on you. Using a holistic financial planning process, we can get a clear view of your current lifestyle and the life you want to live.
Your financial roadmap will enable you to make the right financial choices and get the balance right between current responsibilities and future aspirations. All of this should be designed in a way so that you can achieve your desired lifestyle goals and objectives reliably over time.
