Where’s Your Financial Plan?

By Author: Henry Patterson
Total Articles: 1
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If you wake up every morning and think that the future is a distant place that you don’t need to worry about, we really need to talk. Your future might indeed be a distant place but if you haven’t planned for it, it’s going to be a very dull place when it arrives.

At Abound Lifestyle Planning, we believe that if we have to work for money now, it had better work for us later on. That’s why we encourage people to develop a sound financial plan.

A financial plan works out where you are now, where you want to be in the future and the best way to manage your finances to you get you there. It will give you the freedom to do the things you’ve always dreamed of without having to stress about money and debts.

There are many things to consider when you are working out your finances. Tucking a few dollars away each pay is a good start but it’s not going to give you the lifestyle you deserve. Debts, insurance, superannuation, interest and taxes all have an impact on your end result. In fact, it can be pretty complicated and that’s often the reason ...
... that people put off planning for their retirement.

A financial plan is a money management tool.
# It will show you where your money is going each pay and help you work out the best way to start saving for the future.
# It identifies the best way to invest the money so it works for you but is also shows you how to keep it protected.
# It helps manage your taxes.
# It assesses your current superannuation plan is working for you and shows you what changes you might need to make.
# It maps out the best way to clear or manage your existing debts.
# It shows you how a change in one area of your finances will impact on the others so you can make the best choice for your situation.

You don’t have to do it alone. A good financial planner can help you put everything into perspective and make sure that your plans are sound. Together you will work out how to get your financial position under control, find investments to suit your circumstances and help you make the most of your superannuation. Best of all, we show you how to do this without restricting your daily cash flow and often we can even improve on it.

Importantly, a financial planner can show you how to build a monitoring process into your plan. It’s no good choosing your goals if you don’t track your progress. A financial planner will help you identify the key result areas that you need to pay attention to.

Remember that a financial plan is never set in concrete. It needs to be responsive to changes in your needs and your lifestyle and of course legislative changes. For that reason you should revisit the plan on a regular basis to ensure that it is still going to get you to your goal. Think of it as a health check-up for your finances.

It’s never too late to start your retirement planning and with the help of a financial planning professional, you can build yourself a secure future.