Here at Global Financial we often speak about the value of ‘lifestyle’ and the importance of having a lifestyle financial plan. What does that really mean though? While the answer for everyone will be different, the question is the same:
‘What kind of lifestyle makes you happy?’
One person’s passion is another’s poison. You may have grand ambitions to explore the world, while your friend or neighbour might want to do nothing less. To them, the comfort of their own home could far outweigh any desire to be in unfamiliar surroundings. That same neighbour might be passionate about new cars, while to you, a car might just be a method of getting from a-to-b. We are all different. Whatever your interests though – even if you don’t really think you have any – they all need to be financed. In the case of travel this is obvious, but even sitting at home requires money to pay for bills, to eat and to keep your roof over your head.
HOW LIFESTYLE FINANCIAL SERVICES CAN HELP YOU FOCUS ON THE BIGGER PICTURE
Lifestyle financial services is all about offering you the opportunity to explore your desires and plan for the lifestyle that will truly satisfy you. It’s not about finding ways to generate the most income from the financial products available across the marketplace but determining what the level of income you actually need is. We are more interested in sitting with you and planning your future, than in discussing how you can get the most money possible from your investments. In fact, many of our clients are often surprised to find that when they come to us and we start talking through the lifestyle financial planning process, we don’t even ask them what their savings, earnings and expected income is until we have determined what their passions are.
Depending on your desires you may not need the most money that your investments could possibly generate – so why would we recommend saving strategies that carry a higher level of risk, or why would we tell you to keep working and saving into your pension if your lifestyle financial plan highlighted that you already had enough for everything you wanted to do?
It’s called a lifestyle financial plan, and not a financial lifestyle plan, for a reason. While money is important, it’s never as important as your life. Speak to us about getting the most that you can out of it.
This article does not constitute financial advice and should not be construed as such.