A comprehensive, long-term financial plan can mean the difference between reaching your goals and seeing your aspirations end in disaster. But how do you ensure your plan caters to all your current and future needs and remains relevant? This is where the value of professional financial advice is immeasurable.

You can’t control life, but you can control how you plan for it

The Covid pandemic reminded us how quickly things can change. You can’t control life – it will always be unpredictable. But you can control how you prepare for life’s twists and turns. You can also plan the legacy you leave after your death, to take care of your family or a cause close to your heart. You could leave behind a tool to build wealth for multiple future generations.

Prioritise planning to achieve your aspirations throughout life

You may be so busy trying to juggle the daily demands of life that you focus on simply trying to make it to the end of each day, with little regard of the future. As a result, you might not think about the financial plans you should put in place often enough. When you do think about financial planning, you might find it too difficult or overwhelming, so you shift it to the back of your mind.

It’s vital to break that habit. Planning and managing your finances are essential to achieving your goals throughout your life and being able to handle unexpected expenses effectively.

Watch our webinar about what to consider during different life stages.

Your financial plan should cater to every aspect of your life, today and in future

While solving for single needs is important in the advice process (particularly in your earlier life stages), without a holistic financial plan there is a real risk that you will not achieve all your goals. A well-considered, comprehensive financial plan for life is critical to enable you to take control of your financial destiny, as it serves as the map to the financial future you want. It will not only help you make more informed decisions, but it will also help you feel more confident about financial matters. 

Financial advisers fulfil a pivotal role

When it comes to your wealth, it’s important to recognise that every financial decision you make affects your ability to protect what is important to you and to achieve your life goals and aspirations. You need expert advice and support to set up an appropriate plan. A financial adviser can give you objective personal advice to help you make better financial decisions and avoid disasters at every life stage. They do this by: 

• helping you navigate your life, in a sense becoming your life coach,
  
  
• helping you choose the solutions most appropriate to your needs from the vast number of financial products available,
  
  
• helping you protect what’s important to you,
  
  
• keeping you honest about your goals and on track, and
  
  
• helping you achieve your life aspirations.

You can choose to go at it alone and create your own financial plan, but be aware that there are many obstacles to overcome. You need to be able to navigate the complex landscape of financial products, stay objective, and understand the impact of your decisions today on your long-term outcomes. 

Financial advice covers a lot more than where and how to invest

A common misconception is that financial advisers only focus on helping you select the right investment solutions to deliver a particular return. However, the value of their advice goes way beyond this.

A holistic financial plan should cater for all the interconnected parts of your financial situation, including estate planning (structuring your wealth optimally and leaving a legacy), investment planning (managing, growing, and preserving your wealth, and planning for retirement), risk planning (protecting your wealth), banking and lending (transacting and borrowing), and philanthropy (giving and making a difference).

Estate planning is a vital component of your financial plan

Estate planning is about making sure you plan for both during and after your lifetime. Contrary to what most people think, an estate is a ‘living thing’ – which means it must cater to your wishes both during and after your lifetime.  The benefits of proper estate planning for today and the future include the following:   

• Giving you peace of mind that the way your wealth is structured, both during and after your lifetime, allows for changes that provide protection against risks like creditor risk.
• Protecting your beneficiaries and children and any other vulnerable members of your family.
• Ensuring cost and time efficiency by avoiding unnecessary delays in payouts and minimising costs such as taxes.

While professional advice is not free, not getting advice also carries a cost

Like other professionals, advisers will charge an advice fee for the services they provide. If you choose not to get advice, you should consider and weigh up the financial and emotional costs of getting it wrong.

To illustrate the importance of obtaining professional financial advice about your financial plan, here are a few examples of some common financial mistakes: 

• Dying without having a valid will, which can have devastating long-term implications for your loved ones.
  
  
• Not understanding the costs associated with death – for example, capital gains tax, executor’s fees, estate duty and funeral expenses – and not making provision for these costs. This could force the executor to sell assets such as your home to cover these costs.
  
  
• Choosing the wrong investment solution, which can lead to significant costs and taxes and can set you back in terms of achieving your goals.
  
  
• Cashing in your retirement savings when changing jobs. This could delay when you can retire – you will either have to work for much longer, or you may become financially dependent on others.
  
  
• Selecting a legal ownership option for your business that comes to an end on your death. This can have devastating consequences on your loved ones and employees.
  
  
• Not having any financial plan. This means you cannot take control of your financial destiny – you won’t know where you are going to end up financially.
   

Objective, personal advice can help you make the most of your money

It’s always a good idea to consult a professional adviser when you make financial decisions, no matter the relative size or importance. Objective, personal financial advice can:

• give you peace of mind that your decisions are optimised and support one another,
  
  
• enable you to make better life decisions, and
  
  
• help you avoid financial disasters.  

Want objective, personal advice about your financial plan?

Here’s what to do:

• Contact your financial planner.
  
  
• If you’re not a client yet and want to find out more about how we can help you, we would love to hear from you. Please complete our online contact form, and one of our consultants will call you back.