Everything You Need To Know

• What is financial planning? Advice tends to be about products. Planning tends to be about people. Planning starts with: What do you want to achieve? …life to look like?
• Examples of a planning framework.
  • Deciding on an investment approach based on things other than ‘where do you fit on a scale of 1-10?’
  • Deciding when to retire based on assumptions about spending patterns and longevity of a portfolio.
  • Brokering a deal to sell a business by asking ‘how much is enough?’
  • Estate planning based on multi-generational goals.
  • What to do with a windfall – not just invest it, but pay off mortgage, make gifts etc.
• A good planner is also a coach. Planning really helps people to make good decisions because they can see the impact of changes of variables. ‘Problem’ is, we make decisions now, based on a multi-decade trajectory. Some decisions have to continue being made each day/week/month for years. Easy to lose sight of the goal – a coach can help with that. At our annual reviews, we usually end up talking about the money for ten minutes and the client for 50. A good financial planner knows their client so well that they will pick up changes the client may not always be aware of.

Everything You Need To Do

• Do your own financial planning. How are you invested? What plans do you have? How much are you contributing? How much will pay out if you die? Map out the ideal scenario – what are we working towards? A general direction is fine though – the destination doesn’t have to be crystal clear.
• Or see a financial planner. We’re convinced that while anyone can benefit from seeking professional advice, it’s easier than ever to do it yourself. Look for a Chartered (APFS) or Certified Financial Planner (CFP) – individual or corporate. Insist on cashflow modelling. Most advisers/planners will have an initial chat at no cost or obligation – a get-to-know-you session. If they talk about what products you could benefit from at this meeting, run away!
• Understand the value of cashflow modelling. I’ve yet to meet the person who can do the maths required and hold together the different threads of inflation, growth assumptions, ins and outs etc in their heads. Software makes this easy – mostly the preserve of financial advisers, but there are some good options out there.
  • RetireEasy looks decent and there are different levels of subscription.
  • Financial YouTuber James Shack has a free spreadsheet that is excellent.
  • I offer Voyant Go as part of the Build Wealth and Retirement Planning phases of Meaningful Academy – this is the tool I use every day. Plus there's a community of fellow users and excellent technical support from the legend that is Nick Mitchell who helps me in Academy.
  • Get started. Planning helps you to course-correct mid-flight. Don’t think that it is too complicated for you – Me and Rog are not maths geniuses, so if we can do it, then you can too! Biggest challenge is in knowing yourself. Either do it yourself or seek advice, but don’t do nothing.

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