Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail – Do you have a plan for your life?

Where do you start when you’re putting a plan in place for your money? Well they say you should start with the end in mind. The end of what? Your life.

A financial plan without a life plan isn’t worth the paper it’s written on because the direction you choose for your life should determine what it is you do with your money.

What do you want? What do you really want for your life?

Life Planning

This involves you defining your purpose, values, goals and objectives. The most important question for you to answer is:

So how do you create a life plan if you haven’t done so already?  Firstly, you want to make sure that your plan is exactly that, yours.  Some people look at other people’s lives, the holidays they enjoy, the clothes they wear, the money they make and subconsciously this can influence their life planning.

To begin with a life plan:

• Have a clear purpose and vision for your life

• Ensure your life plan is consistent with your values

• Write it down! ‘A goal without a plan is just a wish’

Once you have a strategy for your life with goals set to timelines then this is the ideal time to design a financial plan to help you achieve those goals.

Financial Planning

Is defined as:

‘A process of developing strategies to help people manage their financial affairs to meet life goals’

Most individuals we meet are usually skilled when it comes to their role responsibility and core competency.  When we analyze their overall personal economy, we find that generally, it is being sub-optimized and is under-performing.  This is normally down to one and/or all the following:

1. They lack the time required to manage their money efficiently, economically and effectively

2. They do not have the interest

3. They do not have a strategic plan for their life or their money

4. They do not have enough knowledge to make fully informed decisions.

This will generally lead to them seeking out advice in isolation and where the advice may be sound in an isolated sphere, when we look at the impact on the greater picture we find there is no alignment, no cohesion, no joined up thinking and this results in losses, leaks, waste and inefficiencies often to the tune of thousands over time.

Start working on your life plan and contemplate how you’d like to spend the rest of your life while you have the time during these challenging times.

The money you generate from your career or business is the oil that allows you to live the life you want and so it is vitally important that you manage this money to a high level as it will determine the quality of life you will enjoy into the future. The next few months will test most families, some will struggle and some are thriving depending on the industry they are working in.

If you are working in a business as an owner or employee and you have a specific skillset, the chances are you have invested the appropriate time in learning and developing the knowledge required to ensure you are capable of carrying out your role within your organization.  If you are an owner of a business, you probably understand the importance of business based Financial Planning which we will cover in another edition.

The money you generate from your career or business is the oil that allows you to live the life you want and so it is vitally important that you manage this money to a good level as it will determine the quality of life you will enjoy into the future.  How are you doing in this regard?

• How much time do you allocate to the management of your earnings?
• Are you qualified to manage and optimize your finances?
• Have you a plan or strategy for your money?
• Let’s take it up even higher, have you a plan and strategy for your life?

A financial plan without a life plan is baseless, therefore financial planning should begin with… your life plan.

All information and views contained within this article is for informational purposes only and the views expressed do not constitute financial advice.  U Consulting makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness or suitability of any information and will not be liable for any errors, omissions or any losses arising from its use.  Please consult a professional financial advisor before making any financial decision.

Transform your financial life

Brian Flanagan