It’s the time of year when some of us adrenaline seeking individuals escape to the snowy mountains for a week or a long weekend of skiing or snowboarding.

For others they prefer to escape the rain, wind and cold to a warmer climate and spend their days relaxing in the sunshine.

As a lifestyle financial planner, I get to speak to many different people and we all have different ideas and aspirations about how we live our lives now and our plans for the future. What risks we take and what we do to reduce these risks.

A good example is perhaps wearing a helmet when we’re skiing down the mountain and applying sun cream when we’re relaxing on a sun lounger.

In a similar way to holidays, some people choose to work for themselves either by setting up their own company or working self-employed. This could be considered a risk by some but an opportunity to others. The security of being employed and receiving a salary each month and being part of a workplace pension is often appealing, particularly with ongoing expenses such as household bills, rent or a mortgage to pay.

Although everyone’s circumstances might be very different, they do have many things in common and similar decisions to make, particularly around their finances and the impact that these decisions can have on their families.

I have met many people that work very hard and are very successful but haven’t ever considered the impact of being unable to work due to long term sickness or haven’t got adequate life cover in place to protect their family. I have often heard the phrases; it won’t happen to me or it’s just too expensive!

I really do enjoy helping people plan their financial futures and achieve everything they set out to do, but just as important, protect them and their family if things don’t quite go to plan.

Some simple questions to ask yourself, particularly if you’re circumstances have changed recently.

How long will I continue to be paid for if I can’t work?

How much do my family and I need to pay our bills each month?

What position would my family be in if I died prematurely?

Would my family be able to clear debts and still have enough income to live?

If you are a business owner then you should perhaps consider these questions in relation to the business as well as your family.

Once you have the answers you can begin reviewing the protection you already have and also consider the benefits that might be provided by your employer.

Protecting the family is not as expensive as you might think and it is a very important step in financial planning and becoming financially well organised.

 February 2020