Failure to plan is ‘snow’ joke

If anything, the ‘Snowmageddon’ over the past few days have shown us the general inability of the Irish people to plan for major events and has been demonstrated once again by the fact that every supermarket was sold out of bread, and not a single supermarket was sold out of toilet paper (insert bread joke or meme here)! It makes you question what we Irish deem as priorities.

As a priority, long term planning is not something most of us tend to think about as we are mostly focused on the here and now. Unfortunately, this disregard for long term planning can be detrimental to your finances and in particular; to your future lifestyle when you no longer want to or are able to work.

The common concern most clients have is the fear of not having enough money to live the lifestyle they wish for in retirement. While a lifestyle is a desirable goal (everyone has different notions of their ideal lifestyle), the reality for most will be the situation of just over broke!

This is where planning becomes important. I understand that when people are younger it is naturally difficult to get them to focus on something which is so far out into their future. Trying to get a 25 year old to start a 40 year savings plan even with tax relief is not an easy task but it will be absolutely magic for them if they understand the value of that planning and they take ownership of their financial future.

I believe the problem of planning apathy stems from the fact that most financial institutions over the years have viewed pensions as products to sell to customers and thus have largely failed to take the time to get to know the goals and lifestyle aspirations of clients. No wonder most people cringe at the mere mention of the word pension. The reality is that pensions are only tools to help achieve a goal. However, If you don’t have a goal and a plan to help you achieve it then the joke I’m afraid is on you!

Are you ready to make a plan? Get in touch to see how we can help you create yours.