Busy People

What is a financial planner worth to you or your family?

I speak to many different people of different ages and at different stages in their lives. I have noticed that there appears to be a common trend that life is getting busier and busier and there are always so many things to deal with and decisions to make.

Even if it isn’t you then I’m sure you know someone in the family or have a friend that is constantly busy and juggling so many things at the same time.

By the time they’ve finished work, found time to prepare an evening meal and managed to squeeze in some time to exercise or see friends they really don’t want to be sitting down and switching the computer or laptop on to work on the family finances.

If they do manage to sit down and open the laptop, do they have the time needed to start sifting through the paperwork, build spreadsheets and read through the money pages to try and find the answers to some of these questions:-

o   Are we keeping to a budget or spending too much?

o   Are we saving enough and could our savings be working harder for us?

o   How do we invest money and where do we start?

o   Do we have the right level of life insurance to protect the family?

o   Could we be saving tax legitimately?

o   Do we need to worry about the stock market?

o   Will we be able to afford school and/or University fees?

o   How will our children or grandchildren ever be able to afford their first home?

o   What should we do about pensions and how much will we need to save for retirement?

I often find that business owners have to spend so much time doing this for their business that they often overlook or don’t have time for their own personal finances.  It’s normally on their to-do list but never makes it to the top. As we all know, time seems to speed up as we get older and there comes the realisation that we have got less years ahead of us than we have behind us.

If this sounds familiar, consider engaging with a comprehensive financial planner who, as clients tell us, is able to take these worries and concerns away. Building a thorough financial plan, which is understandable and realistic, is key to becoming financially well organised.

By reviewing everything at least once a year and communicating regularly, busy people are able to spend more time enjoying the important things, like their career, business, family and leisure time.