All of life is a journey.
So it would be sad if we focus so much on our destination that we lose track of the scenery around us. It doesn't have to be that way.
So it would be sad if we focus so much on our destination that we lose track of the scenery around us. It doesn't have to be that way.
In a proven, powerful way, financial planning is a process that helps you 'stop a while and smell the roses' before moving on again toward your major lifetime goals.
Financial planning does this by providing a framework to make sense of an increasingly complex interlinked world. The process of financial planning provides direction, meaning and context to each financial decision.
In Chaos theory, scientists theorise that the merest flap of a butterfly's wings can cause a storm to erupt on the other side of the Earth. Less dramatically - but more relevantly - financial planning helps you understand how each financial decision you make affects all other areas of your finances. Everything is interconnected.
For instance, a decision to buy the wrong type of expensive insurance can leave you with too little money to invest for portfolio growth. Or too much emphasis on stock and unit trust investing may result in insufficient insurance being bought to protect your earning capacity. Or perhaps buying a particular investment might help you pay off your mortgage faster yet delay your retirement significantly.
Every case is different. Thus the best way to reap the benefits of financial planning is to apply it holistically to every sphere of your financial life. By viewing each financial decision as part of a whole, you can readily consider its short- and long-term effects on your most preciously held goals. An added dividend will be your enhanced capacity to adapt more readily to life's dynamic changes while remaining secure in the knowledge that you are firmly riding an electrified track toward each cherished dream.
