While many of us don’t realize it, we are constantly engaged in subconscious acts of investment planning. We plan how we can best invest the limited time we have at our disposal. Would the 2-hours we have best be spent visiting a friend at the hospital, or would it be better invested, say, by taking in that ball game? We do some longer-term planning too: Does it pay to invest the effort studying for a degree in Arts, or would we get a better return studying to pass the Bar exam?
So, why don’t we invest the time planning our investments?
Many individuals confuse financial planning with general savings and investing advice. While how to save (and how much!), and where and when to invest those savings, is every bit important, prudent Financial Planning goes much beyond the realm of just saving and investing. The sooner you understand the role of financial planning in meeting your short, medium and long-term financial aspirations, the better you’ll be able to control your financial destiny.
It’s said that only two things are certain in life: Death…and Taxes! And while there’s not much you can do to avoid the former, with prudent planning and foresight, there’s a lot you can do to minimize the later. However, similar to planning that goes into living a happy and fruitful life, a well-planned tax strategy can yield great benefits – but only if it’s done professionally, and earlier on during your wealth accumulation cycle.
For some people, financial planning is mainly concerned with how best to go about building a nest egg, and how to make it last through retirement. But for many, there is a desire to ensure their estate delivers benefits beyond their own retirement, and produces a lasting legacy even after they have passed.
Long before retirement even hits our radars, we’re planning what type of education, skills training and professional designations we’ll acquire. We also spend a lot of time planning which industries are the best place to work in, and which employers to work for. Once employed, we carefully strategize our every career move, so that we progress to the top of the ladder in our respective fields.
Sadly though, while we focus most of our efforts on all these plans, we often forget to plan for “life after work”!
When entrepreneurs start a business, the last thing on their minds is succession planning. Most business owners spend a lot of time – as they should – on Operations Plans, Marketing Plans, Capital-spending Plans, Maintenance Planning, Staffing Plans…and more. But what about Succession Planning? Wouldn’t you like an orderly “exit” from the business, once it’s time for you to take a back seat?
