What is Financial Planning?

YOUR money, YOUR plan, YOUR life.

Financial Planning is an ongoing process to help you make sensible decisions about money that can help you achieve your goals in life; it’s not just about buying products like a pension, life insurance or an ISA.

If you are one of the millions of people in the UK who could do with improving their overall financial “fitness”, take a look at what’s happening during Financial Planning Week 8 – 12 May. It’s a consumer awareness campaign which helps you take some simple steps to kick start your future.

Brown Dog Financial Planning near Hungerford are taking part in this year’s campaign by offering a free no obligation chat to help you get started with some tips and tools.

Create a Sound Financial Plan in Six Steps

1. Establish your goals in life: Short term (such as emergency savings and holidays), Medium term (buying a house, tax planning or using your ISAs), Long term (retirement and your family security)

2. Work out what assets and liabilities you have – write them down

3. Evaluate your current financial position – how close are you to achieving your goals or do you have nothing set up but lots of good intentions?

4. Develop your plan – create a “route map” for achieving your different goals and put some deadlines in. We all work better with a bit of pressure or a deadline.

5. Implement your plan – make the changes and make it happen. Actually go and do it.

6. Monitor and review your plan at least yearly and make adjustments when needed. There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing a plan come together. If you can find a cash flow projector that really brings a plan to life with a picture and tracker, then even better.

First Steps

If this all seems a bit daunting or you are not sure where to start, then come and see us for a no obligation chat in Financial Planning Week. We are available free of charge between Mon 8 – Fri 12 May to help you take some simple steps to kick start the process and show you some tips and tools.

It might involve putting appropriate wills in place to protect your family, thinking about how your family will manage without your income, spending money differently, planning a holiday or buying a new car, but it involves thinking about all of these things together i.e. your ‘plan’. You can build a plan on your own, or you might want the help of a Financial Planner.

Start by working out your goals in life, in the short, medium and long term. Make sure you include the fun things as well as the sensible ones. Prioritise them, and think about the likely cost of them and when you will need the money, so you can start to plan your finances to work out how to achieve them. Don’t forget you also have to plan for some of the hurdles you may have to overcome too. It’s about getting organised; being in control of your finances rather than letting your finances control you.

The benefits of having a financial plan

By planning your finances to meet your goals you will:

Have a much greater confidence of where you are going in life
Reduce your stress levels and start to enjoy life more
Gain control and peace of mind through knowing whether you’re on track for the future you want for you and your family