Do we need a financial game plan?
“Money is a guarantee that we may have what we want in the future. Though we need nothing at the moment it insures the possibility of satisfying a new desire when it arises.” — Aristotle
The above saying rings as true today as it did then. Essentially money is there to enable you to fulfil tomorrow’s decisions. A financial game plan helps you when you are trying to create the best future for you and your family, helping to objectively answer your questions. You may be saving for when you’re older, or already enjoying the benefits of your hard work. Either way, you want a financial plan flexible enough to change as your life does, particularly as our money now needs to last longer with improvements to healthcare.
Future cash flow planning is probably the biggest innovation in the financial planning industry over the last decade. Creating a financial plan helps you see the big picture and set long and short-term life goals, a crucial step in mapping out your financial future and challenging assumptions. It allows you to understand your choices and inform your decisions. How much is enough? The amount may vary for all of us, but it’s a figure we need to know. Many people, even very wealthy people have simply no idea if they have enough. So they keep on saving… often at the expense of living a better lifestyle today, one that they can actually afford.
Alternatively you may have a big decision to make and want to know what the long term financial implications of each outcome will be. You may want to retire early or step back from your business. You might be planning the sale of your business, now or in 5 years time. You might be looking to minimise your tax liability or carry out detailed estate planning. You might want to check that your family could cope financially in the event of death or illness.
A financial plan will give you the full picture in making these decisions. You have security in the knowledge that you are addressing real needs rather than unknowingly underachieving or over achieving your objectives.
At HFMC we remain at the forefront of planning techniques and are able to build and show you your financial picture for every year from now until death, based on agreed assumptions. Our cash flow planning takes account of income, expenditure, assets, liabilities, future planned expenditure and purchases, future windfalls etc. and plots all of this out for you so that you are in a more informed position. It sets out your forecasted financial position for each year into the future. You wouldn’t try and drive from Lands End to John O’Groats without a map or satellite navigation, with regular checks to ensure that you are on track, the same should apply to your financial affairs.
