The 7 Deadly Financial Planning Sins
Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Andrew Neligan – a Chartered Financial Planner and CFP professional at Informed Choice.
With a new year and a new decade under way, and the economic gloom persisting, it is an appropriate time for us to consider our financial positions and for us to understand what we all need to do to determine our financial independence.
However, the road to financial independence is pitted with stumbling blocks and distractions that can divert us from our course.
Here are seven of the most disastrous financial planning perils that can befall us; call them the Seven Deadly Financial Planning Sins if you like.
1 – Apathy
“It’ll be alright in the end”, “I haven’t got time to look at my finances now, daily activities are more important”
It is easy to put your Financial Planning to the bottom of the list because the long term is so far away isn’t it?
Don’t! Do not put this Financial Planning stuff off.
Time passes quickly (the Millennium doesn’t seem like ten years ago does it?) and you may find you can’t afford to when you expect to.
2 – Hope
In life, hope is a good thing but it cannot be relied upon. Do not hope you have enough to be financially independent when you want to be.
Work out what financial independence means for you (what ‘your number’ is) and put a plan in place to attain it.
3 – Greed
This is perhaps the oldest but least heeded lesson in Financial Planning. Too many people get caught up in the fervour of a bull run only to see their hard fought gains lost during a market crash.
Don’t chase every last penny of profit; leave a bit for the next person and ensure you have enough cash to provide security in an emergency.
4 – Inattentiveness
Financial Plans are not a one off document that, once established, will see you through to the end. Personal circumstances change, investment markets and economies rise and fall, and legislation changes.
By not reviewing what you have established, you are hoping your Financial Plan will do its job when in fact it may be stalling or in fact in decline.
5 – Indebtedness
There is little point in devising a plan to have your assets work as hard a possible for you if you are increasing your bottom line costs through needless loans and credit card debt.
Run your finances as a business by keeping control on your costs and focussing on profit.
6 – Imprudence
“If it seems too good to be true it probably is.” This is another often quoted and often ignored piece of advice.
You cannot get rich quickly without taking significant risk and even then you should only risk what you can afford to lose.
Think carefully about how much risk you are willing to take with your money and understand the downsides.
7 – Hastiness
Do not rush into an investment or contract that you may not be able to reverse or may mean you lose access to your capital for too long.
Always consider what you are investing in, read the terms and conditions carefully and seek professional advice if you are not sure whether something is appropriate.
Andrew Neligan is a Chartered Financial Planner and CFP professional at Informed Choice. He was a winner at the FT New Breed Adviser Awards 2009. Andrew is a specialist in Financial Planning services for legal professionals.
