As a follow-on from my previous blog “Change of Plan” released last month, we are now looking at the features of a financial plan.
A man, a plan, a canal…… what comes next? The Panama canal was a massive plan which, oddly enough, did fail first time. A French Company started in 1881 and gave up in 1889. The United States took over in 1904 and finished the job in 10 years. This was a massive project, requiring meticulous planning, with huge rewards – connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It meant no more travelling around Cape Horn.
So, what has this got to do with our own personal financial planning? There are many similarities; let’s have a look:
- Plans don’t always work first time round – we don’t always have total control – finances don’t always go according to plan (Covid-19, as mentioned in my first blog).
- Budgeting is extremely important – the US would not have seen any returns on their input for at least the first 10 years, until the canal was ready for use.
- Budget and other forecasts would have to be based on many assumptions, backed by good reason.
- Such plans would need to be revisited regularly, either as a routine or, if necessary, as a result of a change in circumstances.
- This means that the plan would need to be flexible, as it would need to adapt to any ‘change of plan’ along the way.
So, there are similarities between the enormous amount of planning carried out in Panama, over 100 years ago and the sort of planning that we do on a regular basis – or should do, but do we always get round to it?
Here at Advice Matters we don’t build canals; financial planning is what we do, all day, every day.
Flexible plans which aim to meet your lifestyle requirements, regularly reviewed and adapted to your changing circumstances.
Does that sound good to you? If you’d like to schedule a no-obligation meeting, or if you have a question about financial planning just call 0113 2687928 or email at info@advicemattersfinancialplanning.com and let’s chat.
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