The summer of 2021 has certainly been eventful for all sorts of different reasons and as I write this article the news is still full of uncertainty such as overseas travel, tax rises and volatility in the stock market.

However, I want to focus on something else, it’s something that’s also very uncertain but definitely more enjoyable ‘Sport’. We’ve had so much to enjoy watching this summer with sport back to it’s best with Wimbledon, the Euro’s, Test Matches, and the Olympics.

And in just the last week, British Tennis has a new rising star as teenager Emma Raducanu has beaten all the odds to make it through to the final of the US Open. A few months ago she was studying for her A-Levels and she is now one step away from being a world champion.

It doesn’t really matter which sport you enjoy watching, they all have the same goal – to win!

As viewers we only see the final stage whether it’s a race or a match. Perhaps what we don’t think of as much is the amount of time, dedication and planning that has taken place to enable that person or team to achieve their goal.

Professional sportspeople and athletes don’t just sit at home and put their feet up expecting it all to come together on the day. With the help of experts such as coaches, fitness coaches, nutritionists and psychologist’s they formulate a plan and stick to that plan. The plan may have to be adjusted to reflect unexpected events but ultimately the goal will always remain in sight.

Financial planning and investing is no different. Saving for next year’s holiday is very different to saving for your retirement in 10 or 20 years’ time. You need to set yourself goals and then once you have specific goals in mind you can formulate a plan to achieve them.

With all the sacrifices and hard work Emma Raducanu has put in, she wanted to be competing with the best tennis players in the world and ultimately become a champion, but what are your personal goals? Would you like to retire early, help your children financially or perhaps own a holiday home in the sun?

The problem is that many people have no real goal and therefore no plan. They pay into a pension or ISA and are disappointed with the outcome because they have unrealistic expectations. The simple reason why they have unrealistic expectations is because they had no expectations in the first place and therefore any result will be disappointing (i.e. no goals and no plan will ultimately lead to disappointment).

So when you’re watching the next big sporting event, you might start thinking about some of your own personal financial goals. To achieve greatness you need a goal, and you need a plan, and you need to stick to that plan.

October 2021