The current Covid-19 crisis has turned up a lot of stress and anxiety regarding finances which has led, in many cases, to knee-jerk financial decisions being made. The fundamentals of a healthy financial plan have not changed. It’s important to have good cash savings in the event of a financial emergency. For many households, this is now. Insurances are still fundamental to a healthy financial plan and it’s important to get this area right and keep it under review.
However, financial planning is about more than just the short-term decisions that we tend to focus on. I would argue that they are more important than medium or long-term goals, but these shouldn’t be ignored because time does pass, and your medium/long-term goals soon become the short-term focus.
Some medium/long-term goals are more obvious than others. For example, if there are children in the household, being able to adequately fund the costs of 3rd level education can be a huge stress reliever for so many. This requires planning. Retirement is the primary focus for so many but how many have actually sat down and reviewed their pension funds. Where is the money invested and is that appropriate for you and your time frame to retirement?
Do you have previous employer pensions than you can/should take control over? This requires planning.
We firmly believe in education before solutions. If you are looking for answers to help you reduce financial stress or anxieties, or to finally put a more robust plan in place for you and your family, take action and start planning to ensure the future doesn’t hold any nasty financial surprises.
About the author : Aine Ryan
