Why having a plan for life is common sense

Many people talk about how they have a life plan. In reality what does that really mean? It seems this is just about their career path. A Plan for Life is a concept I like to think about in much broader terms. This makes it about so much more than just what you’re going to do with your life. It is about how you are going to live your life in terms of not only your career but your health, education, finances, family, and social involvement among other elements.

“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!” ― Benjamin Franklin

What is A Plan for Life?

At a basic level, a Plan for Life is about having a well-balanced approach to all aspects of your life. In other words if a person focusses on one area then others are going to suffer. Looking at your life in terms of have a Plan for Life allows you to have a much more holistic approach. It is a way of putting together the various plans, goals, or objectives you may have for different parts of your life into one.

Over the next few months I’m going to touch on different elements of A Plan for Life and how they relate to each other. But as a Financial Planner, I’m going to focus on the Financial Plan.

Financial Planning

Having a Financial Plan is essential to you achieving your financial goals. And I don’t always mean the aspiration goals. Simple things like building a nest egg, saving for a mortgage, early retirement all form part of a financial plan as do the buying a second home. It should also include other elements like protecting yourself, your family, and your finances.

The starting point of any financial plan is not to focus on the money aspect. First, decide what you want out of life and how you are going to set about achieving it. This is part of the Plan for Life. Then draw up the financial plan.

A financial plan is based on a roadmap of where you are now and where you want to get to. It acknowledges milestones and provision for change along the way. I talked about some of this previously in my perception of money blog . There are a couple of main benefits to putting a good Financial Plan in place. These include knowing exactly where you stand now, being clear on what you want to achieve and then setting realistic solutions.

Implementing the plan

I know a lot of people who are excellent planners but have trouble implementing the plans. That’s why a focused plan will work to help you achieve what is important to you as well as making sure all your day-to-day items are taken care of. A plan can include planning for retirement, saving for education, maximising income, managing investments, family protection and healthcare among other things.

Need help?

While it is possible to draw up a Financial Plan yourself, working through all the detail can be tricky. We have the experience and expertise to steer you through various stages of the process. This will consider what life stage you are at and your priorities. We work with you to provide you with the peace of mind that a good realistic plan has to offer.

Once you have a plan, don’t just hope it happens. Also make sure you have a to-do list in place. Then your plan should then be updated at least once a year. Lots of things can change in a year – changing priorities, your circumstances, taxes, and economic conditions to name but a few.

We’d love to help you with your financial goal setting and planning, just get in touch.