At Expert Wealth, our chartered financial planners offer more than traditional, money-led advice. We focus on the individual, taking the time to find out what’s important to you and working with you to make that happen.

We will discuss your finances, recommending products and investments, but not until we understand what makes you happy and what your hopes and aspirations are.

We are Registered Life Planners. This means we are specially trained to help you understand what you want for you and your family’s future. We look to build long-term, ongoing relationships, providing money-based strategies, while helping you achieve financial wellbeing.

So, what is financial wellbeing? And how can Expert Wealth help you achieve it?

Financial wellbeing is about understanding your relationship to money and focusing on the things that matter

Financial wellbeing begins with understanding the things that make you happy. Thinking about what you enjoy and value now should help you to build a clear picture of what you want your future to look like.

We can then use financial planning to build a strategy to get you to that dream future.

Once you have control over your finances and a clear path to your goals, you can enjoy life now, confident that you have a long-term plan in place. That is financial wellbeing.

Building emotional wellbeing

“Wellbeing” will look different to different people. That is why our financial planning begins with you.

To build a long-term plan you will need to decide what constitutes wellbeing. That will probably mean thinking about what makes you happy now, and what you expect to make you happy in the future. What does your dream retirement look like?

This is one of the most important parts of the financial planning process – allowing you the time to think carefully about your goals and aspirations. When we know what they are, we can put the financial tools in place to get you there.

Building financial wellbeing

As financial planners, we can:

• Use cashflow modelling to help you understand where your money is going
• Help you build an emergency fund, decrease your debt, and save more for the future
• Look long-term, helping you to build your wealth and accrue assets.

The basics of budgeting

You will have fixed and regular expenses – a mortgage, household bills, food costs – that you can budget for each month. Whatever you have left over is your disposable income.

While a portion of this should go on things that make you happy, you’ll also need to think about building a stable financial future.

An emergency fund and debt reduction

At Expert Wealth, we would recommend a rainy day fund of between three- and six-months’ worth of household spending.

You might use money set aside for an emergency if you are made redundant, become ill, or need to cover sudden expenses such as house repairs. Having an emergency fund in place gives you peace of mind that you can still pay your regular household expenses, even if the unexpected strikes.

You’ll also need to think about any debt you hold. Reducing your high-interest debt means more of your income can go towards the things that make you happy.

Building long-term savings

In the longer term, you’ll want to think about the amount you are contributing to your pension, as well as the savings and investments you hold.

Begin with the State Pension. With 35 “qualifying years” of National Insurance contributions, the full State Pension is currently £179.60 a week. That’s £9,339.20 a year.

If you have less than ten years of qualifying contributions, you won’t receive a State Pension at all. You can use the government website to check your State Pension Age and your National Insurance record to see how much you might receive.

The State Pension alone is unlikely to provide your desired lifestyle in retirement, so consider your workplace pension too.

Since auto-enrolment was introduced in 2012, your employer has been obliged to provide you with a workplace pension. For the 2021/22 tax year, the minimum contribution is 8% but you only pay 5%. The remaining 3% is contributed by your employer.

On top of this, you also receive tax relief – effectively a top-up from the government. Basic-rate taxpayers receive £20 for every £100 they contribute. Higher- or additional-rate taxpayers can claim back additional relief through their annual tax return.

We can also help you put an investment portfolio in place, helping to supplement your income in retirement or to achieve other financial goals, such as helping a child onto the property ladder.

Building happiness into your financial plan

Financial planning is centred around people, not products, and your financial wellbeing begins and ends with what makes you happy.

The financial plan we put in place for you will put you in control of your financial future while allowing you to live your life in the present.

With the tools and confidence to think clearly about your aspirations, you’ll have a clear course to make them a reality.

Get in touch

Please get in touch if you’d like to discuss any aspect of your long-term financial plans, including how the plan we put in place for you can contribute to your financial wellbeing.

Please note

The value of your investment can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Levels, bases of and reliefs from taxation may be subject to change and their value depends on the individual circumstances of the investor.

Workplace pensions are regulated by The Pension Regulator