We don't often spend the time to really think about what we are working so hard for? Why are we saving? If you are keen to improve your financial stability and build your wealth, here are some ideas for New Year's Resolutions so you can manage your money more effectively in 2024.
Ultimate Guide To InvestingWhether it is travelling, saving for your grandchildren’s future, buying a property or that dream car, everyone needs to have a “why” for saving and investing. The power of “compounding” can generate a passive income over time, for the future, which you can use to fund life’s adventures. One of the reasons us Unividuals get out of bed in the morning to come to work, is to help people, just like you, find their why too. It sounds easy to do but none of us spend the time to really think about what we are working so hard for because we get so consumed in the daily grind. In this article we take a look at the links between finding your why and how you could be managing your money more effectively in 2024:
Your “why” might be very different to your parents, your friends and your colleagues. The important thing is you decide to live the life that YOU want. Not one that your friends or family expect you to live or one that has to meet societal “norms.” We should resist the pressure to “achieve this norm, by this age.” All too often we end up investing towards these norms because we just feel that’s what we should do. This can come from a place of low self-esteem and a need to please others around us. It isn’t until we get in to our 30s that the primitive part of our brain matures and we have more confidence to focus on the things that we want out of life. Whether you are 30 or 60, try to break away from thoughts like “Our parents did it, so it must be the right thing to do? Right?” No that might not be the case. You are unique and we live in totally different times. You need a financial plan that works towards your own future otherwise you will become deeply unhappy and de-motivated along the way, ultimately leading to you abandoning your savings plans or at worse your plans not working.
New Year resolutions are a good method for taking charge of your finances as the new year is a fresh start that can give us some of that much needed focus. Here are our top ten ideas for money resolutions:
To help you understand what goals you want to set for 2024 you need to think about what the destination is and the purpose of those goals. One of the misconceptions about financial planning is that it is only for wealthy people. Others think they “aren’t rich enough” to need a financial adviser, or they are “too young” to plan for the future. Some of our youngest clients are 18, while others are now enjoying their retirement. We work with lorry drivers, business owners, people who work in theatre, scientists, hoteliers, sports people, gardeners, or people who work in retail. All these clients have a different “why”:
– We helped a couple who once dreamt of a house by the sea and their financial adviser made it happen
– One of our clients is a music producer who has the financial structure in place so they can focus on building their own music studio in London
– We have helped an outdoorsy couple to build the financial freedom to become their own bosses, and they now own and run a campsite business
– We found a way for a multi-generational family to all live together on the same piece of land
– We advise a couple who are enjoying a lifestyle on a canal barge boat
– We are helping a client save for reconstructive surgery
– Another of our clients are saving to go to The Ashes in Australia in 2025
– One of our clients had a dream to own an Aston Martin Vantage
An important first step in this process is to think about your values in life, how do you want to live your life and what goals excite you? Know that most of the people we sit down with find it very difficult communicating to us what they want out of life. So, you are not alone. Just take some time out with a pen and paper. Once you understand what is important, you will find the courage to build a plan that will help you work towards these goals. Your financial plan should be built around sustainable habits, it should be something that you can stay on track with, even when the chips are down, and will move your life onto an entirely new, more challenging, and more rewarding trajectory.
Claire contacted Simon Jones for a review of her and her husband’s financial position and assistance in planning their financial future. Little did they know they could achieve their wildest of dreams.
“Our financial adviser is Bristol based Simon Jones, he is friendly and thorough and investigated all of our pensions, ISAs and other assets. He advised how we can best utilise them all, assessed our attitudes to risk and proposed a plan to fit our risk profile. He then put the plan into action and made all the transfers on our behalf. He was able to demonstrate how we could afford to release equity from a rental property, fund a house move and we have been able to realise our dream of owning a motorhome, and buying an amazing house with 180 degree views across the sea. This has long been a dream, and we weren’t sure that it was possible. As part of the process, Simon arranged our residential mortgage and a let-to-buy on a rental property we own, so that we are paying the best rates possible. He has enabled us to live the dream!”
Claire, Divorce Coach, Portishead
There are three ways people tend to manage their money:
1. Do your own financial planning yourself.
2. Outsource money management to a financial planner.
3. Don’t manage your money at all.
If you manage your own finances you should be sitting down once a month t0 analyse outgoings and incomings, take stock of where your finances are, devise some savings goals, assess where you are at with targets, decide on where to invest your money, come up with a retirement plan, ensure you are utilising tax thresholds etc. then when it comes to buying a new home you will be deciding on which mortgage to take out and what level of insurance and protection you need.
If you don’t have time for this or find it stressful this is when a financial adviser can take the complexities out of managing your money. An adviser does all the hard work for you and they should be, if you find the right one, qualified to the highest levels in the industry. When it comes to both health and wealth, we can easily go down the wrong route in life and make some seriously costly mistakes and using a professional empowers you to make the right decisions in life.
Whatever your goals are, if you’re ready to start working with a professional to help you achieve what you want in life, get in touch with Chartered Financial Planner Andy Lei for a free first meeting. Or if you are not quite ready head over to our client case study page or you can search for Unividual on google to read client reviews local to you.
Author: Andy Lei, Chartered Financial Planner in London
Editor: Cherie-Anne Baxter
Date written: 4th January 2024
Approver Quilter Financial Limited: 08/01/2024
The value of investments and the income they produce can fall as well as rise. You may get back less than you invested.
The information in this article is only as accurate as the date it was written.
