Time to reset your finances
By VetYou.
Consider your short and long term financial objectives
In our last article “survive today to prosper tomorrow” we discussed the idea of fixed costs (regular outgoings) and discretionary costs. Hopefully you have been able to review your fixed costs and reduce them to the minimum in the short term. Many of your discretionary costs; meals out, cinema visits, holidays etc will have vanished due to social distancing.
Reflecting on your spending enables you to have a clear understanding of how much you need to live off on a monthly basis and how much spare cash there might be when, hopefully, your world returns to normal.
So, now might be a great time to have a good think about your financial position and press the “reset button”. Perhaps consider your short and long term financial objectives?
- How much do you want to spend on discretionary costs each week, month, year? How many holidays do you want to afford each year? Have your financial priorities changed?
- What do you want from your financial position, stability or risk, or somewhere in between?
- When do you want to retire – for many this is a long way off but can be bought much closer with some long term planning?
- How much money do you want to put aside or invest to secure your financial future?
These are all questions many people put off, hoping that if they keep working and earning their money everything will be okay. But with a little forward thinking you can really help shape what your financial future will look like. If you are struggling with this then seek help. Speak to your family or friends and seek professional input from a Financial Advisor.
It is a very “British” thing to not talk about money and future prosperity.
Break the mould and give it a go! There have been many studies about how saving a small amount today can make a massive difference to your future financial position.
So, here are 4 things you can do now to help secure yourself in the future:
- Work out your fixed costs per month (use our Financial Health Check Support Sheet)
- Agree a level of spend each month for discretionary items. These might be small e.g. meals out or larger e.g. holidays
- Discuss your long term financial objectives
- Seek some professional advice to help make these happen!
We are here to help and by connecting with an Independent Financial Advisor (IFA) through us, you won’t have to spend a penny.
Our IFAs have kindly waived their fees and gained their commission, along with ours IF you choose to invest in financial products with them. They are on hand for advice and guidance so YOU can make the decisions that are right for you.