5 reassuring ways a financial plan could help you deal with life’s scares

18 October 2024

Halloween is just around the corner, but there’s more than ghouls and ghosts to be scared of. Sometimes, daily life can be just as frightful as the latest horror film.

Here are five reassuring ways a financial plan could help you next time you encounter one of life’s scares.

1. A financial plan could help you build financial resilience to overcome obstacles

Even the best-laid plans can be knocked off course by events outside of your control. Dealing with obstacles like long-term illness or losing your job can be scary, especially if low financial resilience means you’re also facing additional pressure.

For example, if you’re diagnosed with a serious illness, you may want to focus on your recovery, spending time with your loved ones, or adapting to a new lifestyle. But if your income has stopped and you don’t have a plan in place, you could find you’re more worried about how to meet bills or support your family.

So, as part of your financial plan, we’ll work with you to assess your financial resilience and the steps you might take to improve it.

Depending on your circumstances, that could include building an emergency fund, taking out appropriate financial protection, and assessing how you might use your other assets to provide a regular income if necessary.

A financial plan can’t remove unexpected obstacles, but it could provide you with a way to overcome them and mean they’re less scary to face.

2. A financial plan could help you prepare for the future

Effective financial planning often involves considering the future. In some cases, you might need to consider what you want your life to look like in several decades.

It can be exciting to set out your life goals, but, at the same time, it may be frightening too. There might be many different factors you need to weigh up and, for some goals, the steps you need to take to achieve them can seem impossible.

Take retirement planning, for example. The figure you want to save into your pension to secure the retirement you want may seem dauntingly high. Even as you near the milestone, you might still have retirement worries. Indeed, according to a report in IFA Magazine, almost half of pension savers are worried they won’t have enough to last their lifetime.

A financial plan could help you prepare for the future and break down large goals so you can see how to reach them. 

3. A financial plan could provide answers to questions that keep you up at night

It’s not just the memories of a horror film that might keep you up at night, wondering “what if?” could be just as harmful to your wellbeing.

Dealing with uncertainty can be terrifying. If you’re kept up at night by wondering what would happen in different scenarios, a financial plan could offer some reassurance.

A financial plan doesn’t just consider how your finances will change if everything goes according to plan. It also looks at how factors outside of your control could affect your wealth and lifestyle. As a result, it could help you answer the questions you’re worried about.

You might want to understand:

• If your partner and children would be financially secure if you passed away
• Whether you could afford the cost of care if you needed support later in life
• How your finances would be affected if you’re no longer able to work due to an illness
• If your retirement would still be secure if investments underperformed or the pace of inflation increased.

Often “what if” scenarios are scary because of the unknown. It’s impossible to know what’s around the corner, but we could help you understand the potential impact and then take steps to keep your long-term plans on track.

4. A financial plan could help you tackle conversations you’re dreading

There might be times when you need to have a difficult conversation with your loved ones about your finances or long-term plans. For some, the nerves around talking about certain subjects could lead to anxiety or putting them off altogether.

Indeed, according to a Canada Life survey, 5.1 million UK adults who received an inheritance in the last five years did not discuss the value of it with the benefactor beforehand.

It’s easy to see why some benefactors choose not to discuss inheritances. Talking about passing away may be difficult or they might not feel comfortable divulging the value of their estate. However, doing so could help beneficiaries better manage an inheritance when they receive it.

Other difficult conversations could include how you’d like someone to handle your affairs if they become your Power of Attorney or your preferences for a funeral.

Setting out your goals and taking steps to improve your financial wellbeing could mean you feel more confident tackling difficult conversations around money and your life.

In some cases, you might decide to have your financial planner be part of the conversation too. Having a third party who understands the financial aspect could help you all get on the same page.

5. You’ll have someone to turn to for support

By working with a financial planner, you don’t have to tackle life’s scares alone – you’ll have someone to turn to who understands your goals, worries, and financial circumstances. Knowing that a professional has reviewed your plan and is there to answer questions could make the intimidating far less daunting.

If you’d like to arrange a meeting to talk about your aspirations and worries, please get in touch.

Please note: This blog is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.

A pension is a long-term investment not normally accessible until 55 (57 from April 2028). The fund value may fluctuate and can go down, which would have an impact on the level of pension benefits available. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

The tax implications of pension withdrawals will be based on your individual circumstances. Thresholds, percentage rates, and tax legislation may change in subsequent Finance Acts. 

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