Make a Plan (Even if You Know It Won’t Happen)

No matter how busy or stressed we've been throughout the year, December brings with it a desire for relaxation and celebration.

It's also a month were many people draw up their plans for the year ahead.

Maybe you'll achieve some of those goals. Maybe you won't. But one things for sure: no matter how much you tried, you could never have planned for some of the unexpected events, opportunities, twists and turns of recent times.

Planning for the future is hard

We underestimate the extent to which we and the world will change over time. And when nothing goes as planned, it's easy to conclude that planning is a waste of time. After all, why bother with all the work that goes into goal setting and planning when everything could change tomorrow?

Well, the thing is, planning your future does not need to involve attempting to predict the future. It's more of a process of raising awareness. It assists you in determining your objectives, resources, and timetables.

Indeed, proper long-term planning should give you a sense of purpose, direction, and focus. Most importantly, it should provide you with the insight to act.

Without a doubt, in my 10+ years of assisting people to plan their financial lives, I've discovered that too much talking and not enough doing is the most significant barrier to success.

The future is coming, whether you plan for it or not

Every great achievement was accompanied by a sound strategy. While winging it may spice up your life, having no financial plan is a recipe for failure in retirement. Great things are accomplished when people know WHAT they want and WHY they want it!

Consider your favourite professional athlete or business success story. Do you believe he or she could have achieved success without first establishing a goal and then taking aim? Most likely not.

Less talking, more doing

Many people avoid visiting the dentist because they believe it will be painful. You may recognise what I'm talking about.

They never get around to doing anything about that cracked filling until it falls out.

When faced with the option of enduring a 'sometimes' sore tooth for several months versus going to the dentist, they try to ride out the bad tooth in the hope that it will improve!

If this is you, how's that working out?

Remember, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. And this translates perfectly to financial planning too.

Far too often, I meet people in their 60s who are looking for their first piece of financial planning advice. Many of these people are well aware, at least to some extent, that they are woefully unprepared for their financial futures.

These "wealth" injuries resemble "health" injuries - and they're the result of neglect.

Please don't misunderstand me. There is always something that can be done to make a situation better. But, there comes a point when the conversation shifts from planning for all sorts of exciting possibilities to dealing with much less appealing probabilities.

Whether you plan for it or not, the future will arrive.

The question is whether you will have the future you desire or the future that happens to you by chance.

Amyr Rocha Lima, CFP® is a financial planner who specialises in working with successful professionals age 50+ to help them reduce taxes, invest smarter and retire on their terms.

“I worked with Amyr on my long-term retirement planning. No ask was too difficult, no question left without a very clear answer and often he identified further areas to explore, creating more work for himself and more value to me. The cherry on the cake was simply how pleasurable it was to work with him.”

Yossi Dahan
(Director, Microsoft)

*****

“I would like to wholeheartedly endorse my financial adviser, Amyr. You would have to go a long way to find a kinder, patient and more honest person. A truly nice guy who is a pleasure to deal with.”

Jeanette Edmiston
(Partner, Cushman & Wakefield)

*****

“We worked with Amyr over a number of months to build a financial plan as a basis to enter retirement. Amyr is very personable, approachable and has demonstrated throughout a depth of knowledge, experience and foresight supported by a clarity of communication to enable us to confidently enter this phase of our lives.”

Paul Toolan
(Programme Director, Xoserve)

*****

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