First, we listen to our clients. We need to know (as far as you know!) what you want to do with your life. It is very important that we have an open and frank discussion so that we understand each other and can comfortably work together over time.
As time ticks by, the accumulation of capital and repayment of debt becomes more important. We start to seriously consider the future, ensuring that along the way you defend yourself against life’s “what ifs”.
The long term goal is to secure financial freedom at our chosen retirement ages. All aspects of our financial affairs need to be considered together, but we can look at aspects separately. The benefit of successful financial planning is having CHOICES in life.
If you haven’t seen it on our homepage, here is what Christine, a client of ours, has to say about the effect of good financial planning.
You can read more detail about the steps we take to build your financial plan here.
We will set out your financial life in a highly visual way. Using highly intuitive software we can project future scenarios to help you to take very important, sometimes life changing decisions. First we look at all aspects of your financial affairs and how they interact, to see if you are on course to meet your own objectives. We then agree a strategy to make best use of your resources. We can move to the implementation of changes if appropriate to bring your affairs in line with your goals.
However, like establishing a garden, any new planting needs to be tended. We weed and feed, prune and tidy every year and over time it comes together and blossoms. The ongoing reviews are the financial equivalent for our clients – and like an established garden, we gain the satisfaction of standing back to admire our handiwork.
When can I retire? Can I afford to retire? How much will I have in retirement? How long will my resources last? Will I be able to afford care in later life? These are the key questions that we can answer, giving you accurate information that will enable you to take appropriate action.
Successful investment means striking a balance between living for today and providing for tomorrow. Important ingredients are; timescale, appetite for the ‘ups and downs’ in world markets, the amount of ready cash needed and whether or not you even need to accept investment risk. The mix of ingredients needs to be tailored to you as an individual.
Well, this aspect needs no explanation; we all want to ensure that our affairs are arranged in the most tax efficient way! We cover income, capital gains and inheritance taxes in our initial and ongoing reviews, but we can tackle ‘one-off’ projects where tax efficiency could be improved.