Client stories: John’s holiday of a lifetime

This can seem daunting when you’ve been working your whole life and are suddenly spending more than your income, often leading
to a tendency to batten down the hatches and minimise outgoings.

But by taking this approach, it’s possible that you’re missing out on the lifestyle that you really want, and, dare we say, for which you’ve worked really hard.

The starting point is to take a look at what you want to achieve in retirement
– is it a new car, a holiday each year or to support your family?
Or is it something else? We are all different, and that is why it’s important
to understand there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to planning.

First of all, we take the time to get to know our clients. Once we understand
a client’s goals, we map them against their current financial position using cash flow forecasting. This helps us to understand if aspirations are realistic
or perhaps – as is surprisingly-often the case – a little on the conservative side.

While we lead with a cash flow model, you might find that other firms talk about investments first. This is because we work on the basis of fixed fees, while some advisors work on a percentage rate, meaning there’s an incentive for them to discuss investments first. Plus, investments aren’t where the real planning takes place – there’s very little difference between one investment adviser and another. Not that they’d appreciate us telling you that, of course.

Assets start to reduce when we retire and once we come to terms with this and start planning, there is less pressure to take on additional financial burden.
If investments are right for you, we will discuss them after we’ve assessed your current position and your objectives, and you can be sure it will be the right choice for you.

Client stories: John’s holiday of a lifetime

John* came to us to discuss his finances in retirement. At the beginning of our conversation, he mentioned he’d just been to visit his brother in Australia, but that it would likely be the last time he’d see him. This was down to distance, his age and cost (“I’m not doing that trip again unless it’s first class all the way!”). And so this became our goal – to see if he could visit his brother again the following year.

Using a cash flow model, we could show John that his current assets would
be impacted very little by another trip across the globe, and even better, that he could afford to travel in style too.

John’s currently planning his second trip to visit his brother down under, as well as a trip to see parts of Asia they’d always wanted to see, something that had seemed out of reach. If we hadn’t taken the time to get to know John, we wouldn’t know how much it meant to him to visit his brother again. It’s not always about conserving money but making the most of what you’ve got. **

When meeting with our clients, we’re completely transparent. We charge
a fixed fee, and lay out our client’s finances as clearly as possible. It’s important to know why you are saving and have visible, achievable goals that will help you make the best decisions for your circumstances.

Contact us to find out how we could help you.