Financial Planning
A financial plan is the comprehensive evaluation of an investor’s current and future financial state by using currently known variables to predict future cash flows, asset values and withdrawal plans.
We work with our clients using current net worth, tax liabilities, asset allocation, and future retirement and estate plans in developing the plan. We use estimates of asset growth to determine if a person’s financial goals can be met in the future, or what steps need to be taken to ensure that they are.
A good financial plan will alert an investor to changes that must be made to ensure a smooth transition through life’s financial phases, such as decreasing spending or changing asset allocation. Our financial plans are also fluid and are updated when financial changes occur.
Financial planning is about developing strategies to help you manage your financial affairs and meet your life goals – and the first step is to make sure you have access to the right advice.
If you could achieve your financial goals by simply putting money away in the bank, you wouldn’t need a financial plan. Unfortunately, life is a little more complex – it’s hard to understand the intricacies of investment, taxation and ever-changing rules and regulations, so you need professional help.
Yet many of us resist seeking advice, as if our financial future weren’t just as important as our health or our children’s education.
We often decide to manage our financial affairs ourselves, or leave it to someone we know, which is a bit like buying vegetables at the butcher’s.
Financial planning is a specialist profession and you should make sure that you’re getting advice from a properly qualified person, as represented at Helfin Financial Services.
A financial planner will help you reach your goals; even if retirement may seem a lifetime away, the sooner you start planning the more likely you’ll be to achieve financial independence and peace of mind.
“A survey of Yale University graduates in 1953 showed that only 3% had written down their financial plans for the future. Twenty years later a follow up survey of the same graduates showed that the assets of the 3% who had written down their plan exceeded the combined assets of the 97% who had not.”
Source: Money Tree/Wealth Adviser
Advice for every stage of life
Young to mid-life
20 - 40
You are establishing and building your career and perhaps starting a family.
Mid-life
40 - 50
This is your consolidation stage – achieving a comfortable lifestyle and thinking about managing your long-term future.
You may be looking at
Getting Married, First Home, Having Children, Income Protection, Debt Management, Family Healthcare
& Business Planning
You’re likely to focus on:
Protection of Lifestyle, Healthcare, Investments, Tax Management, Inheritance, Retirement Planning & Long-Term Care Planning
Pre-retirement
50 - 60
With 20 or more years of retirement ahead of you, your priorities will depend on how well you’ve prepared.
Retirement
60+
This is the time to indulge in hobbies or travel, enjoy your family and prepare for transferring your wealth.
Your main concerns may be:
protection of assets, debt elimination, family healthcare, helping your children, retirement planning, wills and trusts & business exit strategy
Your main concerns may be:
Protection of Assets, Healthcare, Aged Care Planning, Inheritance Tax, Mitigation, Gifting to Family, Preserving Your Capital & Estate Planning
