What are you looking for from life? You’ve probably asked yourself this question many times. What you might not have considered is how much easier it could be to achieve your life ambitions with a solid foundation of financial planning.

Maybe you want to buy your dream home or upgrade the car to something more prestigious. After years with your nose to the grindstone, you might be aiming to leave the rat race, move to the country, and set up that business you’ve always longed for. You could simply be contemplating a comfortable retirement with plenty of foreign holidays.

Whichever it is, it won’t do you any harm to take control of your future with a well-defined financial plan.

Combining life planning and financial planning to reach your goals

1. Where do you start?

Combining life planning and financial planning requires careful consideration.

How will you gain the financial security to achieve your lifestyle dreams? It can be a very daunting proposition, particularly if you’re not as well-placed financially as you’d hoped to be by this point. This is where good planning comes in, and it’s nothing like as stressful and complicated as many people think.

First you need to prioritise your ambitions. What can you live without and what must you have? Which of your aspirations can you put on the backburner until you’re in control? Write down your wants and needs, and
prioritise them into groups: now, soon, later, and never.

2. Be realistic

Weigh up your income against your expenditure and make your choices based on what you find. You may get a shock and have to delay things, but equally the picture might be far rosier than you’d ever imagined. It’s a good financial plan that will show you this.

Above all, stay focused on your life goals and keep reviewing your plan as time moves on.

3. Timing matters

When combining life planning and financial planning, remember that timing’s important. Don’t wait till you’re in serious trouble before starting to plan. It’s best to start from a position of relative comfort and adapt to events over time.

When all’s said and done, the things that happen in your life, things you often didn’t expect, can have major implications on your financial well being, and with good planning you’re so much better prepared to deal with them.

It’s not all bad; you may get married, start a family or get that dream job completely out of the blue. Your aspirations can broaden just as easily as they can recede, and it’s best to be ready to adjust your goals in either direction.

What sort of financial planner should I hire?

Simply put, you don’t have to hire one at all. If you’re in control of your own finances and understand fully what’s best for you, basic financial planning is something you can do for yourself.

This said, there are times when you might feel the assistance of a good independent financial planner could be beneficial. On these occasions, your investment in financial planning will pay off in the long run.

If this is the case, then a fee-only advisor can help you to weigh up options and potentially save you lots of time, money, and stress in the longer term. They’ll be able to make recommendations based on your situation and give you impartial advice as to the way forward.

To achieve your life goals, you’ll always need to take decisions with reference to your wider financial aims. The sad truth is that on occasions you may have to sacrifice one thing to achieve another, but with good financial planning you can minimise the times when this is necessary, for a more secure financial future.

For more information on life goals and financial planning, or to book an appointment, call Expert Wealth Management today on 01993 772 467 or contact us online.