People have a perception of financial planning being for retirement, or simply as super and insurance. While these are all important components of financial planning, there are many more services your financial planner is able to offer.

As discussed in my earlier blogs your financial advisor is able to provide advice to guide you through your life events, many listed on our webpage.

http://futurefinancialservices.com.au/life-events

Sometimes it is not a specific event that for which you would like advice, but a more holistic view, such as where would I like to be in 5 years, A financial advisor can help with this by developing a 5 year plan.

The first step in any financial plan is identifying goals you would like to achieve. Some of these goals are specific, a recent client I saw wanted to go to New York and upgrade their house, and other common goals include things like buying a house or paying it off, saving for your kids education or have enough money to retire.

A good financial planner will assist you in identifying those goals in the fact finding process.

Once the goals are identified a financial planner will be able to assist in putting a plan is place to achieve them. A lot of the ideas are not out of the box, but simply putting a process in place that keeps you on track to achieve your goals. Sometimes they can be a simple as starting a savings plan with a portion of your income dedicated to achieving your goal. Most people find it easier to save into a plan dedicated to “New York” rather than some abstract goal of having more money in the future.

Further to the process being in place there are also technical considerations, things such as taxation, ownership and investment considerations.

Once your plan is in place it is important to monitor that you are on track to achieve your goals and check your progress.  Your situation will change as will your goals, your plan will need change to reflect the new situation. This review process will ensure that not only are you on track to achieve your goals, but always have an eye to the future.

Simply having an idea where you would like to be in 5 years, and having a plan to achieve that is likely to see you advancing financially, if you would like to make an appointment to see us about developing your own 5 year plan please contact future financial services Phone: 02 47276588 or via our contact page.