Are you control of your Personal Financial Planning?
To be in control you need to:
- Know what you are spending day to day and have a budget for the things you want over and above the things you need.
- Have long-term financial goals such as buying a house, sending your kids to university or being able to retire early and a plan to achieve them.
- Build a financial safety net so that should the unexpected happen, your money management is prepared to take the strain.
As an independent financial planning practice offering a free no obligation initial consultation, what have you got to lose? Looking after your financial interests is what ARK does best: Take one step towards achieving your lifetime financial goals and talk to one of the planners at ARK Financial Planning without delay.
Personal Financial Planning; a personal financial budget.
Think of a personal financial budget as a means of achieving financial success by putting your money to work for you instead of feeling controlled by it.
Challenge yourself to track every penny you spend for a month, or even just a week, you’ll be surprised just how much lunch time sandwiches and takeaways can add up to. Multiple all those ‘little’ none budgeted expenses by 12 (or 52 if you only did a week) and think what else you could do, every year, with that amount of money.
Personal Financial Planning; long term financial goals.
We’ve probably all heard the saying "most people don't plan to fail; they just fail to plan." If you leave saving for a home deposit or your dream to retire early to chance, or worse still, the Government, it is likely that you will fail to reach your financial goals.
- 1: Write down all your financial goals, whether they are buying a new car, going on a dream holiday, paying off credit card debt or something else.
- 2: Put a timeline on each goal; when do you want that car, holiday?
- 3: Identify small, measurable steps you can take to achieve these goals within this timeline and put this action plan to work.
- 4: Regularly review your progress, at least twice a year; is your plan on target? If necessary, recalculate your approach and make changes. There are no hard and fast rules for implementing a personal financial plan. The important thing is to do something.
Personal Financial Planning; preparing for the unexpected.
Having easily accessible savings to cover anything from getting the car through its MOT to paying for the kids to go on a school trip is advisable for any ‘rainy day’.
There are also many insurance options to give you peace of mind should any serious emergency or personal tragedy occur. None of us like to think about such things, but a thorough review of your insurance options with an independent financial adviser from ARK can help put you mind at ease at let you get on with living your life.
Mortgage protection, income protection and critical illness cover are all available to provide a financial cushion should you be unable to work. Whilst it is true the chances of being unable to work due to a disease or disability does increase as we get older, accidents and injuries can happen to any of us at any time.
If you save 5% of your income each year, just being off work six months would take up 10 years of your savings. If your employer doesn’t provide this sort of cover for you ARK recommend you consider your options carefully.
Life protection insurance is necessary if you have dependents who will suffer financially if you die; your spouse, your children, even your parents may struggle financially if you die unexpectedly without making provisions for them. The financial planners at ARK can advise you on how much insurance is enough and talk you through all your options.
If you have no financial dependents, it's probably not necessary, although you might want to use this type of insurance as an investment as part of your financial planning.
Contact ARK on 0161 303 9977 or email us.
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